An old rivalry is renewed on Friday with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic set to scrap it out for the right to be the favourite in Sunday’s Wimbledon final.

It’s difficult to know where to begin, which stat to throw out, which past meeting to highlight, such is the enormity and quality of this match-up as we look towards their semi-final clash. But here goes.

Fifty one meetings, 13 in Grand Slams, of which seven have been finals. Twenty seven Masters Series matches, of which 12 have been finals. Five at the end-of-season ATP Tour Finals, two in the 500s, two in the 250s, and to top it off, a meeting in the Davis Cup as well as the Olympics.

You then have the six-hour epic in the 2012 Australian Open final, which went Djokovic’s way, the 2013 French Open semi-final, which went Nadal’s way. The list could go on and on and on.

As you can see, meeting No. 52 has a lot to live up to. And while many will be mourning the absence of a Federer-Nadal final, this more than fills the hole.

Three years since last Grand Slam clash

It feels like a long time coming, too. Sure they met in Rome this year, and Madrid the last, but it has been three years since they met in a Grand Slam, and seven since they faced off at Wimbledon.

In arguably the grandest, and statistically the most frequent, showdown of the Open era, the momentum has swung this way then that.

Nadal led the head to head 16-7 by 2010, only to see it become 16-14 by early 2012, but he wrestled back the impetus to open the gap to 21-15 by the end of 2013.

Djokovic’s game reached new heights in the following few years, losing just one of 10 encounters to move 26-23 in front. And just when Nadal was thought to be a spent force, he closed the gap to 26-25 during what has been a remarkable return to the top of the men’s game.

Now it’s World No. 1 Nadal facing a Djokovic who is enjoying a renaissance of his own. The troublesome elbow appears to be a distant problem, and the hunger is evidently back.

And it is Djokovic’s return to form which gives this match the final ingredient required to make it a potential classic in the making. This may not be the Djokovic-Nadal slugfest of yesteryear, but it remains a fascinating encounter all the same.

When they stare each other down for the 52nd time, there’s no telling which way it will go. It could go all the way, it could be decided in three, but the fact no one knows for certain is what makes this semi-final a must watch.

The title of favourite awaits the victor, a spot in the final is on the line.

A breakdown of the Djokovic-Nadal rivalry

Head-to-head: Djokovic 26-25 Nadal
Last meeting: 2018 Rome Masters semi-final, Nadal won 7-6 6-3
Last Wimbledon meeting: 2011 final, Djokovic won 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3

What Djokovic said…

“After surgery I didn’t think it was going to take me so much time to really get on the desired level.

“It took me two or three months and that was frustrating that I wasn’t able to perform the game that I was used to and the level of tennis I wanted to play.

“It’s starting to come together for me. I think that these performances here at Wimbledon have been the best I’ve had in the last 12 months. Hopefully I can maintain that.”

What Nadal said…

“It is always a big challenge facing Novak. He is one of the more complex players that I ever saw on our sport, it Is always a big test. You know that you can't win against him if you don't play very well.

But my goal is to try to play very well. I know in semi-finals of Wimbledon you will not have an easy opponent in front. You have to accept that if you want to win important things. Of course, you will face the best players. You need to be ready for it.”