Roland Garros, which plays host to the French Open, is usually the symbol that summer has arrived in the sporting world.
It is also where, in the men’s tournament, a group of men play tennis and then give a trophy to Rafael Nadal.
That was until a certain Novak Djokovic decided to spoil the party, knocking out the Spanish great in the semi-final last night, winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
Djokovic has been at the same level as Nadal and Roger Federer for some years, but for some reason, he slightly goes under the radar when it comes to the conversation topic of who is the Greatest Of All Time of men’s tennis.
Let’s have a look at some stats, with thanks to Forbes, to help us out in getting Djokovic involved in the discussion.
Djokovic vs Nadal vs Federer
The traditional method is to look at a player’s success within the Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open). Nadal and Federer currently have 20 Grand Slams each, while Djokovic has 18 Grand Slams (before tomorrow's French Open final).
In terms of match-winning percentage, Nadal has a slight advantage with 87.7%, Djokovic 87.2% and Federer on 86%
Federer’s last Grand Slam title was at the 2018 Australian Open, where, since then, Nadal has won four titles and Djokovic an impressive six titles, with a possible seventh title since 2018 if he were to win Sunday’s French Open final.
However, you not only have these Grand Slams, you also have the tournaments which form the ATP Tour. Here, Federer has an incredible 103 ATP tournament wins, with Nadal on 88 and Djokovic on 83.
There is also the match-winning percentages on different surfaces, which can be seen below:
Grass – Federer (87.4%), Djokovic (84.1%), Nadal (78%)
Hard court – Federer (84.3%), Djokovic (83.5%), Nadal (77.9%)
Clay – Nadal (91.5% - No, you’re not reading that wrong), Djokovic (80.4%), Federer (75.9%)
In terms of ranking history, Djokovic currently holds the record for most weeks spent at number one, having been top of the list for 324 weeks, with Federer holding number one for 310 weeks and Nadal only 209 weeks.
The most crucial stats, some would argue, is the head-to-head results. Well buckle in for a surprise…
Djokovic is ahead on both Federer (27-23) and Nadal (30-28). Nadal also has an edge on Federer (24-16).
Just from these stats, it makes you wonder if we are witnessing the last years of Federer, meaning we would be down to just Nadal and Djokovic.
Either way, what we have learnt is that Djokovic deserves far more credit and acknowledgement on his astonishing achievements.