By Chris Oddo | Friday July 13, 2018
Wimbledon, England—Keeping up with the game of tennis, by the numbers. Each day at Tennis Now we’ll give you a fresh set—without any further ado, here’s what the numbers say prior to today’s today’s semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.
26-25
The all-time record between the two rivals, with Djokovic holding the slightest of edges. Djokovic has won 11 of his last 14 battles against Nadal but the Spaniard has won the last two, including their last meeting at Rome in May. Nadal leads Djokovic 2-1 on grass, but the Serb took their last meeting in four sets at the 2011 Wimbledon final.
52
By contesting their 52nd career match, Nadal and Djokovic have now met seven times more than any other ATP pair in the Open Era. Djokovic and Federer have met 45 times, while Federer and Nadal have met 38.
43
Percent of return games won by Novak Djokovic (31/72). The Serb leads all remaining men in this category at Wimbledon. Nadal has won 31 percent of his return games (25/80)through five rounds.
14
Number of times that Djokovic and Federer have met at the majors. Nadal holds the 9-4 edge. Nobody has defeated Djokovic more than Nadal at the majors (nine) and nobody has defeated Nadal more than Djokovic at the majors (four).
4-0
Nadal has won all four Grand Slam semifinals that the rivals have contested. Nadal has won his last 16 major semifinals overall and holds a lifetime record of 24-3. The three players to defeat Nadal in the semis of a major are Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008 Australian Open), Andy Murray (2008 U.S. Open) and Juan Martin del Potro (2009 U.S. Open).
21-10
Djokovic’s record in Grand Slam semis. The Serb has won his last seven and he has won 11 of his last 12, dating back to 2013 Wimbledon.
63
Number of wins at Wimbledon recorded by Novak Djokovic. If the Serb defeats Nadal today he’d move past Pete Sampras and into
806
Djokovic is bidding to pass Stefan Edberg and move into eighth on the ATP’s all-time Open Era win list with 807.
35-2
Nadal’s record in 2018. If the Spaniard wins today he’ll tie Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev for the ATP lead in victories in 2018.
3
Nadal is bidding to reach the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals in the same year for the sixth time. Nadal won Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back in 2008 and 2010. Bjorn Borg (1978, 1979, 1980) is the only player that has won both events in the same season three times.
7-1
Nadal’s record against Djokovic when he wins the first set in a best-of-five sets match, with the one loss coming in the 2012 Australian Open final. Nadal is 1-3 against Djokovic when he loses the first set against him in a best-of-five sets match, with his one win coming at the 2014 Roland Garros final.