In the second round of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, there is one match that stands out over all the rest. In an early tournament treat, world number one and 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia faces 22-time grand slam champion and 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain. Head-to-head, Nadal and Djokovic have played against each other 59 times with Djokovic winning 30 occasions. Let’s take a look at their last five matches.
2022 French Open Quarterfinal
Djokovic and Nadal have not played each other in over two years. When they did, Nadal won in four sets on clay, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6. Nadal won the fourth set tie-break 7-4. Nadal then went on to win the 2024 French Open after beating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the semifinals (in a memorable match that saw Zverev pull out because of a serious ankle injury), and Casper Ruud of Norway 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final.
2021 French Open Semifinal
Almost exactly a year earlier, Djokovic beat Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2. Djokovic went on to beat Stefanos Tstitsipas of Greece in the final, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. This was Djokovic’s second of three French Open titles, as he also won in 2016 and 2023.
2021 Rome Masters Final
In the Italian Open final, Nadal beat Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. Even though Djokovic lost the match, the fact that Djokovic was able to clobber Nadal in the second set, boosted his confidence heading into the 2021 French Open semifinal.
2020 French Open Final
The 2020 French Open final took place in October that year, as the grand slam was rescheduled because of coronavirus. Nadal steamrolled past Djokovic rather convincingly in the first two sets, 6-0, and 6-2, before the third set was much more competitive. In the third set, Nadal won 7-5 for his 13th French Open men’s singles championship of his remarkable clay court career.
2020 ATP Cup
In the Australian Open tuneup tournament in Sydney, Australia, Djokovic beat Nadal 6-2, 7-6. The match came in the best of three final where Serbia won two matches to one.
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