Top 5 encounters between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Djokovic went on to lose the final of the Paris Masters to Khachanov
Djokovic went on to lose the final of the Paris Masters to Khachanov

While the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry might be more famous, the rivalry between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic has produced a higher number of mouth-watering encounters.

Attack against an impenetrable defense - Federer and Djokovic have played some thrilling encounters between themselves.

Their first meeting came way back in 2006, with Federer defeating a young Djokovic at Monte Carlo in three sets. The Swiss Maestro would go on to win their first 4 encounters before Djokovic got his first win against his nemesis at the ATP Masters Series in Canada in 2007.

Overall, the head to head is 25-22 in favour of Djokovic.

Let's take a look at the top 5 encounters between these two superstars:

Honourable mention: Indian Wells Final 2014

Djokovic defeated Federer in three thrilling sets to lift the Indian Wells crown. The scoreline was 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 in favour of the Serb.

#5 Paris Masters 2018 Semifinal

Djokovic came into the encounter on a 22-match winning streak and was looking invincible. Federer, on the other hand, was not looking his best despite winning his 99th title at Basel just a week prior to their meeting in Paris. He had even lost to Djokovic just a month ago at Shanghai in straight sets.

However, he turned up big time in the semifinal encounter in Paris against Djokovic.

He played some great attacking tennis and was able to hold his serve throughout the match, saving as many as 12 break points. However, Djokovic was just a little better on the big points and edged Federer to win the match in 3 tough sets. This was also the longest ever 3-setter played between the two players.

With this win, Djokovic won his fourth straight match against the Swiss Maestro and extended his head-to-head with Federer to 25-22.

Djokovic went on to lose the final to 22-year-old Karen Khachanov in straight sets.

Result: Djokovic d. Federer 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-6(3)

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#4 US Open Semifinals 2010

Djokovic celebrates after defeating Federer
Djokovic celebrates after defeating Federer

This was the first of the two US Open semifinals which Djokovic snatched away from Federer in dramatic fashion.

Federer went on to win the first and third set, both seven games to five. However, Djokovic came back fighting to win the fourth quite comfortably. It was going level in the fifth set on serve, until Federer had two match points at 15-40, 4-5, on Djokovic's serve.

However, the Serb managed to hit a few exquisite forehands, something he did a year later as well, to win the match. With this win, Federer's streak of defeating the Serb at the US Open ended. He had defeated him on three previous occasions in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Unfortunately for Djokovic, he would go on to lose to Nadal in the final of the tournament.

Result: Djokovic d. Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5

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#3 US Open Semifinals 2011

2011 US Open - Day 13
2011 US Open - Day 13

A similar fate awaited Federer at the semifinal stage at Flushing Meadows against Djokovic once again.

With the first four sets split between the two players, Federer had the upper hand in the fifth with a break to his name. He was up 5-3 and serving for the match and had two match-points.

However, Djokovic played one of the best and one of the riskiest shots of his life to deny Federer the win. From there on, there was no looking back as the Serb won the next four games to send the stadium into shock.

Federer too was quite shocked with what had happened, saying that he did not expect Djokovic to go for that shot when he was down a match point. The Serb went on to defeat Nadal in the final to lift the title.

Result: Djokovic d. Federer 6-7 (7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5

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#2 French Open 2011 Semifinal

Federer played one of the best matches of his life
Federer played one of the best matches of his life

This is the only four set encounter on this list and is at no. 2 purely due to the quality of play between the two players.

Djokovic came into the semifinal not having lost a single match throughout the year till that point. He had won 43 matches in a row. However, Federer seemed unperturbed by that number as he would go on to produce arguably his best performance ever on a clay court.

His forehand and backhand worked wonders as he took the attack to Djokovic, winning the first two sets. The Serb fought back to win the third and was serving for the fourth at 5-4 but was broken by Federer, who then won the match in the tie-break. Unfortunately, he went on to lose the final to Nadal.

Result: Federer d. Djokovic 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)

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#1 Wimbledon 2014 Final

Djokovic celebrates his win against Federer
Djokovic celebrates his win against Federer

The 2014 final at the All England Club is arguably one of the best ever matches played. Roger Federer, in particular, was looking invincible with the way he had played over the course of the two weeks.

Unfortunately for Federer, it was the Serb who came out on top, denying him his first Slam since 2012. However, it was the quality of the match and Federer's comeback in the fourth set which had everyone talking. He was down 5-2 in the fourth but came back to win the next five games by saving a championship point and breaking Djokovic's serve twice.

It was going on serve in the fifth until Federer faulted a few times in the tenth game of the set to give Djokovic the match and the championship.

This was the Serb's second Wimbledon title. He would go on to defeat Federer in the final in 2015 as well.

Result: Djokovic d. Federer 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4

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