Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer: Who has received the most bagels among the Big 3?

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal make up the Big-3 in tennis. The trio have dominated the men's game since the 2003 Australian Open, winning 63 of the 78 Grand Slam singles titles since. However, there have been instances where each has been bagelled in certain matches, with Nadal being the most bagelled of the trio.

A bagel set in tennis is when a player wins a set of six games without losing any, i.e., 6-0. The phrase is most commonly used because the bagel, a doughnut-shaped bread, is round and resembles the number zero.

The Spaniard has been bagelled 15 times in his career, with Federer the only one to serve him a bagel thrice. The Swiss bagelled the 36-year-old in the Wimbledon finals in 2006 (6-0,7-6,6-7,6-3), the Hamburg Open finals in 2007 (2-6,6-2,6-0), and the Nitto ATP Finals in 2011 (6-3,6-0).

However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion's first bagel came in 2004 when he lost to former World No. 1 Andy Roddick (6-0, 6-3, 6-4) in the second round of the US Open and the most recent one came in the 2018 US Open quarterfinals (0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6(4)-7, 7-6(5)) when he was up against Dominic Thiem.

Apart from being bagelled 15 times in his career, Nadal has also served 119 bageles to date.

List of matches Nadal has been bagelled in:

• US Open 2004 - Andy Roddick d. Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-3, 6-4
• Lyon 2004 - Julien Benneteau d. Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-0
• ATP Monte-Carlo Masters 2005 - Rafael Nadal d.Guillermo Coria 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5
• Buenos Aires 2005 - Gaston Gaudio d. Rafael Nadal 0-6, 6-0, 6-1
• Wimbledon 2006 - Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3
• ATP Hamburg Masters 2007 - Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
• ATP Masters Paris 2007- David Nalbandian d.Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-0
• Chennai Open 2008- Mikhail Youzhny d. Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-1
• Rotterdam Open 2009- Andy Murray d. Rafael Nadal 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
• Nitto ATP Finals 2011- Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-0
• Rakuten Japan Open 2011- Andy Murray d. Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
• Qatar Open 2011- Rafael Nadal d. Lukas Lacko 7-6(3), 0-6, 6-3
• Australian Ooen 2015- Tomas Berdych d. Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5)
• ATP Masters Miami 2017- Rafael Nadal d. Philip Kohlschreiber 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
• US Open 2018- Rafael Nadal d. Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5)

His arch rival Federer has been bagelled only five times in his career, thrice on hardcourts and twice on grass. He was never bagelled on hardcourts. To date, he has served 95 bagels.

The Swiss star was bagelled for the first time at the 1999 Monte-Carlo Masters, which was also his debut in the competition. Up against Vincent Spadea in the first round, he lost 6-7(3), 0-6.

His most recent bagel came at Wimbledon in 2021, where he advanced to the quarterfinals before losing 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 to Hubert Hurkacz. Additionally, it was the 41-year-old's third bagel at a Grand Slam and the first time since 2002 that he had lost in straight sets at SW19.

List of matches Federer has been bagelled in:

• Monte Carlo Masters 1999- Vincent Spadea d. Roger Federer 7-6(3), 6-0
• French Open 1999- Patrick Rafter d. Roger Federer 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2
• Queen’s Club 1999- Byron Black d. Roger Federer 6-3, 6-0
• French Open 2008- Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0
• Wimbledon 2021- Hubert Hurkacz d. Roger Federer 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0

Djokovic has served 106 bagels so far, while being on the receiving end 13 times. At the Budapest Challenger in 2004, he received his first bagel at the hands of former World No.1 Francisco Costa, going down 6-3, 0-6, 6-2. His latest one came at the Serbia Open this year, when Andrey Rublev beat him 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0 to take the singles title.

List of matches Djokovic has been bagelled in:

• Budapest Challenger 2004- Novak Djokovic d. Francisco Costa 6-3, 0-6, 6-2
• Australian Open 2005- Marat Safin d. Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 6-1
• US Open 2005- Novak Djokovic d. Gael Monfils 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5), 0-6, 7-5
• Estroil Open 2007- Novak Djokovic d. Richard Gasquet 7-6(7), 0-6, 6-1
• Masters Cup China 2008- Novak Djokovic d. Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-5
• Indian Wells 2010- Novak Djokovic d. Mardy Fish 6-1, 0-6, 6-2
• Basel 2011- Kei Nishikori d. Novak Djokovic 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-0
• Cincinnati Masters 2012- Roger Federer d. Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6(7)
• Rome Masters 2016- Novak Djokovic d. Thomaz Bellucci 0-6, 6-3, 6-2
• French Open 2017- Dominic Thiem d. Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0
• Rome Masters 2019- Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
• French Open 2020- Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
• Serbia Open 2022- Andrey Rublev d. Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0

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Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to represent Team Europe at 2022 Laver Cup

ATP Heritage Celebration - Inside

While Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Andy Murray have faced off against each other several times over the years, they will now be playing together for the first time ever at this year's Laver Cup in London.

The veterans, along with World No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2022 French Open runner-up Casper Ruud, will represent Team Europe, which will be led by Bjorn Borg.