Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after their match at the Six Kings Slam
Novak Djokovic looks set to finish his career with most of the key records, but Rafael Nadal may still hold one of the most impressive in the history of the men’s game when this golden era finally comes to an end.
Djokovic holds an all-time record 24 Grand Slam titles and he has also spent more weeks as world No 1, cementing his claims to be recognised as the greatest male player of all-time.
Yet when it comes to best-of-five-set matches in Grand Slam and Davis Cup competitions, Nadal is the undisputed king.
Spanish legend Nadal called time on his tennis career after playing his final match in the Davis Cup last month and one of the big records he holds ahead of Djokovic is his stunning record in the longer format matches.
Nadal’s incredible win rate at the French Open – where he won a stunning 14 times – helped him to finish his career with 345 wins from the 391 five-set matches he played.
That gave him a final win percentage of 88.23%, with Djokovic second in this esteemed list with an equally staggering 406 wins from his 465 five-set matches.
That leaves Djokovic with a 87.31% win rate over and he will be looking to win a few more and take him closer to Nadal in that list when he competes in the Australian Open next month.
Conceivably, Djokovic could overhaul Nadal in this list if he has a strong 2025 in Grand Slam tournaments, but he would probably need to win two or three of them or at least get to a run of finals to challenge that record.
Swedish legend Bjorn Borg is third on the list with 216 five-set wins from 251 matches, giving him a 86.05% win rate.
Roger Federer is fourth on the list with 424 wins from 499 five-set matches, resulting in a 84.96% win rate.
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There have been calls for Grand Slam events to trim matches back to best-of-three sets as modern audiences struggle to maintain focus on a match that can last for five hours, but Nadal has made it clear that he is against changing a format that has been a part of tennis for so long.
“I am totally against it in the Grand Slams,” said Nadal when he was asked whether best-of-three sets should be implemented at the Majors. As we have a day off between games, we must keep that fundamental part of the history of our sport.
“Playing five sets in the Grand Slams makes the difference because it makes all tennis players more physically and mentally demanding. It is something different.
“I am one for testing new things, but in a Grand Slam, it’s important that the tradition is still there. It makes sue the matches are remembered.
“At the end of the year, when you speak about the best matches, it’s the longest one, that was close and that had some drama. It’s a nice part of the game. It would be a mistake that it gets lost.”
“The debate should not be here. You should look at it for what makes tennis more interesting from a fan’s point of view.
The long-running debate over who should be crowned as the greatest male player of all time will not be decided by this list, but it offers a reminder of how hard it was to beat Nadal in long matches.
