Nadal-Djokovic. Central court of Roland-Garros.
For many, it is difficult to find a better matchup in the world of tennis.
A total of 46 titles in Grand Slam and three Olympic medals on the clay of Philippe-Chatrier.
Or in other words: Rafael Nadal (22 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic golds) vs Novak Djokovic (24 Grand Slam and one bronze at the Games).
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games were the setting for one of the greatest classics in tennis over the last few decades… in the second round of the men’s singles tournament. A match that has been repeated 60 times and with almost perfect balance in the results (31 victories for Djokovic and 29 for Nadal after the defeat of Nadal in Paris 2024) explains the reason behind the eternal debate:
Nadal vs. Djokovic: Who is better?
Although in the second round duel at the Games, Nadal struggled against the Serbian, losing 6-1, 6-4 in two sets, the Philippe-Chatrier was completely on his side, proving that history precedes him and that, no matter what happens, he remains the king.
He has plenty of reasons to be supported there.
At Roland-Garros, where Olympic tennis is taking place in Paris 2024, the tennis stars arrived at the second round match with a favorable history for Rafael Nadal, but this classic match is historically more likely to take place in the semifinals or finals of the French Open than in a second round of any competition.
Much less so in the Olympics, where they had previously only faced each other once (semifinals of Beijing 2008, where the Spaniard not only defeated Djokovic but also won the gold medal).
Nadal, who holds the record for the male tennis player with the most titles at the French Open (14), arrived at this duel in Paris 2024 after having defeated Djokovic, a three-time French Open winner, in eight of the ten times they had faced each other in the same venue. Here is their record:
Nadal-Djokovic: results at Roland Garros
- 2024: Second round of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – Djokovic wins
- 2022: Quarterfinals of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2021: Semifinal of the French Open – Djokovic wins
- 2020: Final of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2015: Quarterfinals of the French Open – Djokovic wins
- 2014: Final of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2013: Semifinal of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2012: Final of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2008: Semifinal of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2007: Semifinal of the French Open – Nadal wins
- 2006: Quarterfinals of the French Open – Nadal wins
For duels like this in the Parisian capital, it was no surprise that the Nadal-Djokovic matchup in a second round surprised even the Spanish tennis player himself: “It has always been super special to play against Novak, but normally we’ve played in finals or semifinals. This is a second round, but in the Olympic Games, every round is super special,” he said to ITF before the duel.
And this one was super special too.