By Chris Oddo | Saturday, July 5, 2014
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will play their first Grand Slam final in nearly seven years on Sunday at Wimbledon. We go inside the numbers of the rivalry here.
Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Though it has been overshadowed historically by Federer-Nadal, and of late by Nadal-Djokovic, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have had no shortage of classic moments during their storied rivalry. In honor of their 35th meeting in the Wimbledon final on Sunday, we'll add up some of the numbers that have made this rivalry special and unique.
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35
Number of times Djokovic and Federer have locked horns, which moves them two past past Federer and Nadal (33) and Connors and McEnroe (34) and into a tie for third all-time for most head-to-head meetings by two players.
Here are the top five:
1. Djokovic-Nadal, 42
2. Lendl-McEnroe, 36
3. Connors-Lendl, 35
3. Federer-Djokovic, 35
4. Connors-McEnroe, 34
4. Agassi-Sampras, 34
5. Federer-Nadal, 33
18-16
Federer owns the edge in the head-to-head by two matches. Federer holds a 2-1 head-to-head vs. Djokovic in 2014. The Swiss won for the first time when dropping the first set against Djokovic in Dubai this winter, and after dropping the Indian Wells final in a third-set tiebreaker, he defeated Djokovic in the Monte-Carlo semis while the Serb was struggling with his right wrist.
23
Grand Slam titles between the two. Federer comes in with a pretty hefty edge of 17-6.
5-4
Djokovic owns the slight edge in career finals against the Swiss maestro, due to the fact that he has won their last two finals (Indian Wells, ’14, World Tour Finals, ’12)
133
Career ATP titles between the two. Federer, five years Djokovic's senior, has the edge of 79 to 44. Federer has two titles on the season, including one on grass in Halle, while Djokovic has three after his Indian Wells-Miami double and Rome title.
10-5
Djokovic's record against Federer in deciding sets, including victories in five of the last six deciders.
27-7
Record of player who wins the first set when Federer and Djokovic play. Federer is only 17-6 when taking the first set against Djokovic, far from a lock. Djokovic is 10-1 when he takes the opener.
1-0
Federer holds the edge against Djokovic in Grand Slam finals. Remarkably, the pair haven’t met at this stage in a major since Djokovic’s maiden Slam final at the 2007 U.S. Open. Federer won 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4.
The rivals have met 11 times in Slams, with Djokovic holding a 6-5 edge. At Wimbledon they have only met once, with Federer claiming a 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 victory en route to his 7th Wimbledon and 17th overall Grand Slam title in 2012.
67
The lowest ranking that either player has taken into a meeting with the other. Djokovic was a qualifier ranked 67 in the world when he faced Federer in the first round at Monte Carlo in 2006. Federer was ranked eighth when he faced Djokovic in Dubai this year, which is the lowest ranking he's ever held when facing the Serb. In 17 of their previous 34 meetings, one or the other held the No. 1 ranking (Federer 12 times, Djokovic 5).
Federer comes in ranked No. 4, while Djokovic is ranked No. 2.
Djokovic can claim the world No. 1 ranking if he wins the final.
16
Number of tiebreakers the pair have played. Djokovic pulled even with the Swiss maestro at 8-8 in this category when he took the third-set tiebreaker in the Indian Wells final this spring.
39
Number of Grand Slam finals contested by the pair collectively. Federer has gone 17-7 in Grand Slam finals, including 7-1 at Wimbledon. Djokovic has gone 6-7, but has lost five of his last six Grand Slam finals. The Serb owns a 1-1 career record in Wimbledon finals, winning the title in 2011 over Nadal, and dropping the final last year to Andy Murray.
1.29 million
Djokovic's edge in Twitter followers, which has dropped by 500K since their meeting in Monte-Carlo. Roger has made the bigger buzz on Twitter of late, but Djokovic still holds the massive lead.
9.34 Million
Federer more than makes up for the Twitter deficit with a giant Facebook advantage, though Djokovic has gained nearly 300,000 on Federer since their last meeting.