3 Tennis players with a cumulative winning head-to-head record against Federer and Djokovic

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Roger Federer (left) and Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer (left) and Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are two of the most successful players in men's tennis history. Together with Rafael Nadal, the trio are affectionately called the Big 3 due to their stellar achievements in the sport.

Federer (357) and Djokovic (280) have the most Grand Slam match wins in the Open Era. Both players completed the coveted career Grand Slam (the feat of winning all the 4 Grand Slam tournaments during the course of one's career) in their respective fourth appearance in a French Open final - Federer did so in 2009, and Djokovic followed suit seven years later.

Djokovic (4) and Federer (3) are the only players to have won the first two Masters 1000 tournaments of the year - Indian Wells and Miami - in the same year (called the Sunshine double) on multiple occasions.

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Among 172 different players to have played against both Federer and Djokovic, 84 of them have never won against the duo. Since Djokovic took the head-to-head lead against Nadal in the pair's rivalry, no player has a winning head-to-head record against both Federer and Djokovic.

Among 40 players to have beaten both Federer and Djokovic, only three have a cumulative winning head-to-head record against the duo. Let us meet this elite trio.

#3 Dominic Thiem (9 wins / 17 matches, 52.9%)

Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem's tally of 9 wins from 17 cumulative matches against Federer and Djokovic is dwarfed by just five other players.

The two-time French Open finalist is the only player to have beaten Djokovic and Federer multiple times in 2019.

Thiem's five wins from seven matches against Federer makes him one of only 10 players (6th active) to have beaten the Swiss maestro on five or more occasions. Thiem beat Federer in the 2019 Indian Wells final to win his first Masters 1000 title, saved a match point in the Madrid quarterfinals before clinching the three-setter and also handed Federer a rare straight-sets defeat at the season-ending ATP Finals.

The Austrian beat Djokovic in a five-set French Open semifinal before overcoming the Serb in a thrilling third set tiebreak in a group-stage match at the ATP Finals. That helped him close his head-to-head deficit against the World No. 2 to 4-6.

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#2 Rafael Nadal (50 wins / 94 matches, 53.2%)

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

h a staggering total of 50 wins against Federer and Djokovic, Nadal's win tally is more than double the next best of cumulative wins by any player against the duo (Andy Murray - 22).

Nadal is responsible for the most Grand Slam defeats suffered by Federer (10) and Djokovic (9). 13 of his wins have come at Grand Slam tournaments, 10 of them being Grand Slam finals.

The Spaniard stopped Federer thrice and Djokovic twice in French Open finals before the duo completed their respective career Grand Slams at the claycourt Major.

The World No. 1 famously ended the five-year reign of then top-ranked Federer in a thrilling five-set final at Wimbledon. The Swiss had fought back from two sets down to come within two points of the title, before being denied in fading light.

Nadal also pulled off successive five-set wins in as many days to beat Federer at the 2009 Australian Open - a defeat which reduced Federer to tears.

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In an epic five-set final at the 2006 Rome Masters, Nadal escaped two match points to beat Federer. Weeks later, on his Roland Garros debut, the Spaniard beat the Swiss in the semis en route to his 1st of 12 titles at the claycourt Major.

Nadal beat Djokovic in the pair's first five Grand Slam meetings, and then escaped from a break down in the fifth set of the 2013 French Open semis before going on to lift his 8th title at the tournament. Nadal enjoyed a commanding 14-4 head-to-head lead over the Serb before Djokovic pulled level at 23-23 in the 2015 ATP Finals semifinals.

The Spaniard has also dealt more tournament final defeats on Federer (14) and Djokovic (11) than any other player - a tally which includes 10 Grand Slam finals (Federer - 6, Djokovic - 4) and 13 Masters 1000 finals (Federer - 7, Djokovic - 6).

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#3 Filippo Volandri (2 wins / 3 matches, 67%)

Filippo Volandri
Filippo Volandri

Among all the illustrious players to have beaten both Federer and Djokovic, Filippo Volandri is perhaps the most surprising name.

The Italian has played Federer both times at his home tournament in Rome. He lost to the Swiss maestro in the 2003 quarterfinals in straight sets, before beating the dominant World No. 1 in three sets in the second round of the same tournament four years later.

Volandri's only meeting with Djokovic came in the opening round at 2004 Umag, where he beat the young Serb in straight sets. In his second ATP singles match, the then 368-ranked Djokovic endured the first defeat of his professional career en route to ending his debut year on tour with a 2-3 win-loss record.

The Italian is in a rarefied group of 8 players, 4 of whom are still active, who have never lost to Djokovic. For over one and a half decades, Volandri remained the only Italian player to beat Djokovic - until Marco Cecchinato beat the Serb in the 2018 French Open quarterfinals.

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Edited by Musab Abid
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