Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer: Age at centennial match wins
Did you know that Rafael Nadal was younger than Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer when they claimed their 100th and 500th top-level wins respectively?
Federer, meanwhile, was younger than his two Big Three rivals when he reached his 1,000-win milestone on the ATP Tour.
Each of the three managed to notch up more than 1,000 match wins in top-level tennis with Federer retiring with a 1,251–275 win-loss record in September 2022 while Nadal called it a day on 1,080–228.
Djokovic is still going strong and he currently has a 1,134–226 win-loss record.
But when did each of the Big Three record their centennial match wins?
100th victory
Rafael Nadal – 19 years and 51 days
The Spaniard claimed a century of top-level wins just a month after he celebrated his 19th birthday as he defeated Hugo Armando in the first round in Stuttgart in July 2005.
Novak Djokovic – 20 years and 68 days
Djokovic was 20 years and two months old when he claimed his 100th victory with a first-round victory over Pablo Andujar at the Croatia Open in July 2007.
Roger Federer – 20 years and 81 days
Federer was just a touch older then Djokovic as he celebrated his 20th birthday in August and in October he defeated Julien Boutter in the semi-final of the Swiss Indoors for ATP win No 100.
200th victory
Rafael Nadal – 20 years and 302 days
Victory No 200 for Nadal took place at the Miami Open in March 2007 when he beat Juan Martin del Potro 6–4, 6–0 in the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Novak Djokovic – 21 years and 305 days
Djokovic was a year older than Nadal when he claimed his 200th win when he beat Martín Vassallo Argüello at the Indian Wells Open.
Roger Federer – 21 years and 311 days
The Swiss Maestro’s 200th win came just two months before his 22nd birthday as he beat Mikhail Youzhny in June 2003 at Halle Open.
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300th victory
Rafael Nadal – 22 years and 12 days
The Spaniard beat the big-serving Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-final at Queen’s Club in June 2003, just days after he turned 22.
Roger Federer – 23 years and 35 days
Federer celebrated his 23rd birthday on 8 August 2004 and just over a month later he beat Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the US Open for his 200th career win.
Novak Djokovic – 23 years and 92 days
Djokovic won the all-Serbian clash against Viktor Troicki at the Cincinnati Open in August 2010 to secure his 300th win at the top.
400th victory
Rafael Nadal – 23 years and 186 days
Nadal’s 400th win came on home soil as he defeated Tomas Berdych during Spain’s Davis Cup win over the Czech Republic in December 2009.
Roger Federer – 24 years and 174 days
Federer was a year older than Nadal when he claimed his 400th win and his achievement came at the 2006 Australian Open when he defeated Tommy Haas.
Novak Djokovic 24 years and 252 days
Djokovic’s 400th win also came at the Australian Open as he reached the milestone when he beat Andy Murray in the semi-final of the season-opening Grand Slam in January 2012.
500th victory
Rafael Nadal – 24 years and 325 days
The 500th win of Nadal’s career also came on Spanish soil as it took place at the Barcelona Open in April 2011 when he beat Ivan Dodig in straight sets.
Roger Federer – 25 years and 257 days
Win No 500 for Federer came in April 2007 when he defeated David Ferrer in the quarter-final of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Novak Djokovic – 26 years and 18 days
Djokovic celebrated his 26th birthday on 22 May 2013 and 18 days later he won his 500th match when he beat Grigor Dimitrov at Roland Garros.
600th victory
Rafael Nadal – 26 years and 287 days
Two years after claiming his 500th win, Nadal’s 600th victory arrived at the Indian Wells Open in March 2013 when he beat Juan Martin del Potro.
Roger Federer – 27 years and 30 days
Just a month after his 27th birthday, Federer won his 600th match when he defeated Thiago Alves at the 2008 US Open.
Novak Djokovic – 27 years and 164 days
Djokovic was the oldest of the trio when he won his 600th match with the milestone arriving against Milos Raonic at the Paris Masters in November 2014.
700th victory
Rafael Nadal – 28 years and 21 days
Three weeks after turning 28, Nadal picked up his 700th ATP-level when with victory over Martin Kližan at Wimbledon in June 2014.
Novak Djokovic – 28 years and 281 days
Djokovic’s 700th win came in Dubai in February 2016 when he beat Malek Jaziri.
Roger Federer 28 years and 302 days
Federer was only a couple of weeks away from his 29th birthday when he moved to win No 700 with victory over Julian Reister at the 2010 French Open.
800th victory
Rafael Nadal – 30 years and 72 days
Two months after turning 30, Nadal celebrated his 800th win when he beat Thomaz Bellucci at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Roger Federer – 30 years and 97 days
Federer’s 800th win was against Juan Mónaco in November 2011 at the Paris Masters.
Novak Djokovic – 31 years and 33 days
Djokovic defeated Adrian Mannarino a month after his 31st birthday to claim another milestone victory.
900th victory
Roger Federer – 31 years and 305 days
For once Federer was the youngest as his 900th victory came shortly before his 32nd birthday as it took place at the 2013 French Open when he defeated Gilles Simon.
Rafael Nadal – 32 years and 7 days
Nadal’s 900th win also came at Roland Garros as it took place in June 2018 when he beat Maximilian Marterer in the fourth round.
Novak Djokovic 32 years and 256 days
Djokovic celebrated his 900th win at the Australian Open in January 2020 when he got the better of Jan-Lennard Struff at Melbourne Park.
1,000th victory
Roger Federer – 33 years and 156 days
Federer was also the youngest for the 1,000th victory as he notched up the achievement at the 2015 Brisbane International when he beat Milos Raonic in the final.
Rafael Nadal – 34 years and 158 days
Nadal was a year older than Federer as he reached 1K top-level wins in November 2020 during the Paris Masters. That was the last milestone win as he retired on 1,080 ATP match wins.
Novak Djokovic – 34 years and 359 days
Just days before his 35th birthday in May 2022, Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in the semi-final of the Italian Open for his 1000th win.
1,100th victory
Roger Federer – 35 years and 321 days
Federer’s 1,100th victory came against Yuichi Sugita at the Halle Open in June 2017.
Novak Djokovic – 37 years and 3 days
When Djokovic beat Yannick Hanfmann in the second round of the Geneva Open in May 2022, he joined Federer on the list of 1,100 wins.
1,200th victory
Roger Federer – 37 years and 235 days
Federer’s 1,200 ATP Tour win came at the Miami Open in March 2019 when he beat Kevin Anderson.
Djokovic is currently on 1,134 wins and he will turn 38 on 22 May.
