5 records over which Federer and Nadal have jointly established a stranglehold

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the most successful players of all time. Together with Novak Djokovic, they constitute men's tennis' famed Big 3 trifecta.

Federer and Nadal have achieved a number of records during the course of their illustrious careers. The duo have won more Grand Slam titles than any player since tennis opened its doors to professionals in the summer of 1968.

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The only players to play three consecutive Grand Slam finals at two tournaments in three consecutive years (2006-08 French Open, 2006-08 Wimbledon), Federer and Nadal have also appeared in more Grand Slam title matches than any other player in the Open Era.

Let us now have a look at 5 significant records over which Federer and Nadal enjoy a monopoly together:

#1 Federer and Nadal are the only 2 players to appear in 5 or more finals at all 4 Grand Slams

Federer (right) and Nadal

Federer has won a record 20 Grand Slam titles from a record 31 Slam finals. The Swiss maestro has won 6 titles at the Australian Open, 1 at the French Open, a record 8 at Wimbledon, and 5 at the US Open.

Federer's Grand Slam final defeats have come at all 4 majors - 1 at the Australian Open (2009), 4 at the French Open (2006-08, 2011), 4 at Wimbledon (2008, 2014-15, 2019) and 2 at the US Open (2009, 2015).

Nadal moved to 19 Grand Slam titles by beating Daniil Medvedev in the 2019 US Open final. It was the Spaniard's 27th title match at a Major.

In Slam finals, Nadal is 1/5 at the Australian Open, 12/12 at the French Open, 2/5 at Wimbledon and 4/5 at the US Open. Nadal's 12 titles at the French Open is double that of the next best tally of titles at the tournament.

On reaching the 2019 US Open final with a win over first-time Slam finalist Matteo Berrettini, Nadal joined Federer as the only players in the Open Era to appear in five or more finals at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

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#2 Most consecutive Grand Slam-winning seasons

Federer (left) and Nadal

Roger Federer held the record for most consecutive Grand Slam-winning seasons (8) when the Swiss maestro won his 16th title at the 2010 Australian Open. During this period, Federer won 3 Grand titles in a season on 2 occasions (2006-07), 2 titles in a season twice (2005, 2009), and a title apiece in 3 other seasons (2003, 2008, 2010).

Rafael Nadal went past Federer's record by registering a 10th consecutive Grand Slam-title winning season when he lifted his record-extending 9th title at the 2014 French Open. During this period, Nadal lifted 1 Slam title in a season on 7 occasions (2005-07, 2009, 2011-12, 2014), 2 Slams in a season twice (2008, 2013), and 3 Slams in a season once (2010).

#3 Most weeks in the Top 2

Federer (left) and Nadal

Federer (310 weeks) and Nadal (332 weeks) hold the record for most weeks at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.

The duo have also spent more weeks in the top 2 than any other player. Nadal, who became the oldest year-end No. 1 in 2019, has been a top 2 player for 537 weeks as on the week starting 30 December 2019.

The next best tally of top 2 weeks belongs to Federer (528).

#4 Most outdoor titles

Federer (left) and Nadal

Rafael Nadal (82) and Roger Federer (77) have won more outdoor titles than any other player in the Open Era. Nadal has won the bulk of his outdoor titles on clay (58), while winning 20 titles on hardcourt and 4 on grass.

Federer's tally of 77 outdoor titles comprise a record 19 on grass, 47 on hardcourt and 11 on clay.

The next player on the all-time list of most hard court titles is Novak Djokovic, who has won 64 titles.

#5 Most Masters 1000 match wins

Federer (left) and Nadal

Federer (138) and Nadal (118) have played in more Masters 1000 tournaments than any other player since the tournament category was introduced in 1990.

Nadal (384) and Federer (381) also have more match wins in Masters 1000 tournaments than any other player. Nadal (35) and Federer (28) have two of the best three tallies of most Masters 1000 titles won by a player, the other being Novak Djokovic (34).