5 Greatest tennis rivalries of all time

#3 Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic:

Career head to head: Djokovic 25-22 Federer (9-6 in majors, 11-9 in Masters)

Federer and Djokovic

The first of the three combinations involving the 3 finest players of all time in the so-called golden era of tennis features Federer and Djokovic. They also happen to be the 2 greatest hard-court players of all time and therefore, their battles on those surfaces are also bound to be among the very best.

The pick of the lot was the 2011 US open match between the two, where Djokovic won in 5 sets. Most recently, they played another classic in the 2018 Paris Masters semifinal when Djokovic again won. Federer’s triumph over Djokovic in the 2008 US Open semifinal was yet another classic.

Both Federer and Djokovic have incomparable groundstrokes and therefore, their battles are baseline slugfests with long rallies and vicious winners. However, Federer has the tendency to come to the net to narrow the angle and try to end rallies quickly against Djokovic.

This strategy has worked at times for him as he has been able to force some points that way. However, Djokovic beat him in 2 consecutive Wimbledon finals in 2014 and 2015. On the other hand, their battles have been more or less even on clay courts. Federer, however, mastered Djokovic in 4 sets in a classic French Open semifinal in 2011.