The 9 greatest men’s H2H rivalries in Open Era: Djokovic v Nadal, Sampras v Agassi, Connors v McEnroe
Tennis has produced some iconic rivalries over the years and Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal lead the way for most matches played in the Open Era.
The two legends met for the 60th time at the top level at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which is the most prolific in the men’s game in the Open Era, although there are some pretty big numbers when it comes to all eras with Pancho Gonzales and Ken Rosewall reportedly meeting in more than 200 with the majority of those coming before the sport turned professional in 1968.
A lot of matches from the olden days can’t be verified, but Gonzales and Rosewall played 204 matches with Gonzalez winning the H2H 117–87.
Rod Laver and Rosewall met 164 times and the former was 89–75 (36–20 in finals) by the time they retired.
In terms of the Open Era, the greatest rivalries have involved Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray, McEnroe, Connors and more.
The 9 greatest men’s H2H rivalries in Open Era:
=8. Pete Sampras v Andre Agassi – 34 matches
American legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi dominated the 90s tennis scene as they were both ranked No 1 during that decade.
Sampras won the head-to-head 20-14 as he won their last three meetings. They met five times in Grand Slam finals with Sampras winning four times.
Their first-ever clash was on the clay in Rome with Agassi winning in straight sets and the last Sampras’ 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory in the 2002 US Open final.
=8. Jimmy Connors v John McEnroe – 34 matches
Like their fellow Americans Sampras and Agassi, Connors and McEnroe also met 34 times and their H2H had a similar outcome with McEnroe winning 20-14.
Their rivalry spanned from 1977 until 1991 and Connors won their first four encounters before McEnroe got on the scoreboard. Connors also had a 6-1 advantage at one stage, but McEnroe won 11 in a row from 1983 to 1986 to take a 19-12 advantage while his final win came at the Swiss Indoors in 1991.
=6. Boris Becker v Stefan Edberg – 35 matches
Both are six-time Grand Slam winners, but it is German legend Boris Becker who has dominated the H2H as he has won 25 of the 35 matches for a 71.4% winning record.
Edberg won three of their four Grand Slam encounters, including two of their three finals at Wimbledon.
After the Swede won their first two clashes, Becker won their next seven matches. Edberg managed to claw his way back to 17-10 at one point, but Becker won their last eight matches.
=6. Jimmy Connors v Ivan Lendl – 35 matches
Ivan Lendl won the H2H 22-13, but Connors won both their Grand Slam finals at the 1982 and 1983 US Open.
Connors dominated early on as the American won their first eight matches and he took a 13-5 advantage in 1984, but Lendl then won the last 17 matches between the two greats.
Their final encounter was in the round of 64 at the 1992 US Open.
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=4. Novak Djokovic v Andy Murray – 36 matches
One of the great modern rivalries ran from 2006–2017 with Djokovic taking the head-to-head 25–11.
They met in seven Grand Slam finals with Djokovic taking it 5–2 while he was also 8–2 in all major matches.
Murray, though, won their only encounters on grass – both at Wimbledon with one in the semi-final of the 2012 London Games and the other in the 2013 Wimbledon final.
Djokovic won their first meeting in 2006 and also their last one in 2017.
=4. Ivan Lendl v John McEnroe – 36 matches
Ivan Lendl won the H2H 21-15 and he was also 7-3 at Grand Slams (2–1 in finals).
McEnroe won their first encounter in Milan in 1980 and their second one at the US Open later that year before Lendl took charge as he won seven consecutive clashes between the two greats.
By mid-1989, the rivalry was tightly contested as it was 15-15 but Lendl then finished with six wins in a row.
3. Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal – 40 matches
The Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry took tennis into a new era with their Fedal partnership transcending tennis.
Nadal finished the rivalry with a 60% winning record (24-16) and he also dominated finals (14–10) with six of his 10 wins coming in Grand Slam finals. Nadal won all four of their finals at Roland Garros while they were 1-1 at the Australian Open with Federer 2-1 at Wimbledon. Interestingly, they never met at the US Open.
The Spaniard was 14-2 on clay while Federer was 3-1 on grass with the Swiss also edging the hard-court stat 11–9.
In case you forgot, Nadal won their first match at Miami in 2006 while Federer won their final match in the semi-final at Wimbledon in 2019.
2. Novak Djokovic v Roger Federer – 50 matches
Roger Federer held a 13-6 advantage in his head-to-head rivalry with Novak Djokovic at one point, but the Serbian ended up winning it 27-23.
Federer won their first meeting at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2006 and Djokovic won their 50th and final match in the semi-final of the 2020 Australian Open.
The two icons met five times in Grand Slam finals and Djokovic dominated that stat 4–1 (3-0 at Wimbledon and 1-1 at US Open).
Djokovic was 20-18 on hard courts and 3-1 on grass while they were 4-4 on clay.
1. Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal – 60 matches
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s first ever meeting came at the 2006 French Open when the Serbian retired while 6-4, 6-4 down.
The Serbian famously claimed: “I think I was in control of the match. I was playing pretty well. Everything was depending on my racquet. Even with a sore back, I think I played equal.
“I think I could have won today. He’s not unbeatable.”
Nadal didn’t really want to get involved in a debate and said: “Oh yes. If he thinks that, it’s okay. I don’t need to answer.”
Their rivalry has been iconic with 18 of their matches coming at Grand Slams (11–7 in all matches and 5–4 in finals). Nadal has won their three French Open finals, Djokovic is 2-0 at the Australian Open and 1-0 at Wimbledon while Nadal is 2-1 at the US Open.
Djokovic took their most recent meetings at the Paris Olympics in two sets to go 31-29 ahead.