Nadal was again a huge part of Spain’s Davis Cup title in 2008, with 2 victories against the United States in the semifinals. But he missed the finals against Argentina due to knee injury. In the absence of world number one Nadal, Ferrer, Lopez and Verdasco upset the title favorites and captured Spain’s third Davis Cup.
In 2009, Spain defeated Serbia, Germany and Israel en route to the final, where they faced Czech Republic at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. And this time, Nadal was part of the team.
Palau Sant Jordi:
“Their rivalry was listed as the third best rivalry of the past decade by the ATP, behind Federer-Nadal (of course) and Sampras-Agassi (kinda weird because they only met 6 times in the 00’s ).
In just over 6 years, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic already met 32 times (Federer and Nadal “only” met 28 times in 8 years). And they provided some intense matches: this year’s Australian Open final, the 2009 Madrid SF, the 2008 Olympic Games SF…
Quick facts:
– Nadal won five of eight of their Grand Slam matches.
– Nadal dominates on clay and grass, whereas Djokovic rules on hard courts.
– Nadal lead 2-1 in 2012: Djokovic won the Australian Open final on hard courts, and Nadal won in Monte Carlo and Rome on clay
In pink the Grand Slam matches, in gold the Olympic Games. You can click on the column to sort.
| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | N. D. | R. N. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006 | French Open | Clay | QF | Nadal | 6-4 6-4 retired | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 2007 | Indian Wells | Hard | F | Nadal | 6-2 7-5 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | 2007 | Miami | Hard | QF | Djokovic | 6-3 6-4 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | 2007 | Rome | Clay | QF | Nadal | 6-2 6-3 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 2007 | French Open | Clay | SF | Nadal | 7-5 6-4 6-2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | 2007 | Wimbledon | Grass | SF | Nadal | 3-6 6-1 4-1 retired | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 2007 | Canada (Montreal) | Hard | SF | Djokovic | 7-5 6-3 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | RR | Nadal | 6-4 6-4 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | 2008 | Indian Wells | Hard | SF | Djokovic | 6-3 6-2 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | 2008 | Hamburg | Clay | SF | Nadal | 7-5 2-6 6-2 | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | 2008 | French Open | Clay | SF | Nadal | 6-4 6-2 7-6(3) | 3 | 8 |
| 12 | 2008 | London (Queen’s Club) | Grass | F | Nadal | 7-6(6) 7-5 | 3 | 9 |
| 13 | 2008 | Cincinnati | Hard | SF | Djokovic | 6-1 7-5 | 4 | 9 |
| 14 | 2008 | Beijing | Hard | SF | Nadal | 6-4 1-6 6-4 | 4 | 10 |
| 15 | 2009 | Serbia v Spain | Clay | RR | Nadal | 6-4 6-4 6-1 | 4 | 11 |
| 16 | 2009 | Monte Carlo | Clay | F | Nadal | 6-3 2-6 6-1 | 4 | 12 |
| 17 | 2009 | Rome | Clay | F | Nadal | 7-6(2) 6-2 | 4 | 13 |
| 18 | 2009 | Madrid | Clay | SF | Nadal | 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(9) | 4 | 14 |
| 19 | 2009 | Cincinnati | Hard | SF | Djokovic | 6-1 6-4 | 5 | 14 |
| 20 | 2009 | Paris | Hard (i) | SF | Djokovic | 6-2 6-3 | 6 | 14 |
| 21 | 2009 | London | Hard (i) | RR | Djokovic | 7-6(5) 6-3 | 7 | 14 |
| 22 | 2010 | US Open | Hard | F | Nadal | 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 | 7 | 15 |
| 23 | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | RR | Nadal | 7-5 6-2 | 7 | 16 |
| 24 | 2011 | Indian Wells | Hard | F | Djokovic | 4-6 6-3 6-2 | 8 | 16 |
| 25 | 2011 | Miami | Hard | F | Djokovic | 4-6 6-3 7-6(4) | 9 | 16 |
| 26 | 2011 | Madrid | Clay | F | Djokovic | 7-5 6-4 | 10 | 16 |
| 27 | 2011 | Rome | Clay | F | Djokovic | 6-4 6-4 | 11 | 16 |
| 28 | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | F | Djokovic | 6–4 6–1 1–6 6–3 | 12 | 16 |
| 29 | 2011 | US Open | Hard | F | Djokovic | 6–2 6–4 6-7 6–1 | 13 | 16 |
| 30 | 2012 | Australian Open | Hard | F | Djokovic | 5-7 6–4 6-2 6–7 7-5 | 14 | 16 |
| 31 | 2012 | Monte Carlo | Clay | F | Nadal | 6-3 6-1 | 14 | 17 |
| 32 | 2012 | Rome | Clay | F | Nadal | 7-5 6-3 | 14 | 18 |
This match is without a doubt the best ATP match played in 2009.
Nadal had a tremenduous start of the year with wins at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Rome. He seemed unbeatable on clay and was the clear favorite to win a record fifth consecutive Roland Garros title. But things didn’t really turned out that well for him.
With a win in Madrid, the Mallorcan would have been the first player in history to win the 3 Masters tournaments played on clay the same year.
Nadal and Djokovic met for the fourth time of the season in Madrid semi finals, Nadal having won their 3 previous meetings (Davis Cup and finals of Monte Carlo and Rome).
Do you prefer Rafa:
with sleeves
or sleeveless?
