The GOAT debate in tennis might be a three-way battle between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, but when it comes to the most intense rivalry, the first two's on-court battles stand out the most.
Football got Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo, basketball got Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird, and boxing got Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier.
Tennis fans are treated to clashes of the same stature via the Djokovic-Nadal meetings.
The Serbian legend recently won against Hubert Hurkacz, but his excitement about playing Nadal again was the headline dominating conversations.
"It would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me," Djokovic told reporters at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Nadal, 37, is planning to return to the court next year after missing much of 2023 due to recurring injuries.
"I'm at a good stage of my life," he said.
"Until now I didn't know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I'm still not ready to say when, but I'm able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good," he explained.
Pros, pundits see Djokovic-Nadal as tennis' greatest
Several publications hailed their matchup as the greatest in sports history.
Former tennis professional turned pundit Alex Corretja said the pair's battles are must-watch.
"I think we should consider this the biggest one, even if you like Federer-Nadal or McEnroe-Borg, Edberg-Becker the most," Corretja said in 2022 ahead of their French Open match that Rafa won.
ATP Tour also put Djokovic-Nadal as the greatest rivalry of the decade in 2011.
The numbers
Djokovic has the most Grand Slam wins, but Nadal got his numbers in major finals.
They met 59 times in total, with Nole winning 30 times. However, their meetings in major events went Rafa's way. Nadal recorded 11-7 at the majors against the Serbian, including 5-4 in major finals.
Nadal dominated the Djoker the most in the French Open 8-2. On the other hand, the Serbian got the bragging rights as the only player to have beaten the Spanish rival in all four majors.
Their match-ups are also considered the greatest in sports history, starting with the 2009 Madrid Masters semifinal that Nadal won.
Former players, pundits, analysts, and legends are in unison in saying that their 2012 Australian Open final was the greatest game ever. In that game, Novak won, proving that he could beat Nadal. It was the game where he slayed in the unkillable to kick off his way to greatness.
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Records they own together
The pair also set records that no other duo achieved.
They are the only players in the Open Era to play 59 times against one another. They are also tied in Most Grand Slam tournament finals with nine (tied with Federer-Nadal) and are the only pair to have played each other 10 times in a single tournament (French Open).
Their games also showed how they don't want to concede. They own the record for the longest Grand Slam final ever played (2012 Australian Open) at 5 hours and 53 minutes and are the only male pair to figure in consecutive Grand Slam finals starting from the 2011 Wimbledon until the 2012 French Open.
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