Top 10 most-lopsided head-to-head records in men’s tennis as Novak Djokovic bags new milestone
Novak Djokovic secured a record-breaking win over Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open, but the Frenchman is by no means the only player to be on the wrong end of a lopsided head-to-head record in men’s tennis.
Tennis great Djokovic is yet to taste defeat against Monfils as he claimed his 19th consecutive win over the Frenchman when he won their round of 16 clash at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament on Thursday.
Both players took their result in their stride and Monfils even asked the 23-time Grand Slam winner to autograph his shirt after the historic defeat while Djokovic declared he was “sorry not sorry”.
That 19-0 record could still turn into 20-0 or 19-1 as both have made it clear they plan to continue playing next year if they stay fit and healthy so there is every chance they could be drawn to face each other again.
There have been many one-sided H2H records over the years, but who features on the Top 10 list of most-lopsided head-to-head records in men’s tennis?
9. Roger Federer 15-0 Jarkko Nieminen
20-time major champion Roger Federer appears three times in the top 10 as he is joint-10th with 15 wins over Jarkko Nieminen with the Finn managing to win only one (!) set against the tennis great over the years.
You have to spare a thought for Nieminen as the Finn had to deal with Federer at his peak with their first-ever match coming in Moscow in 2002 with the Swiss winning 6-1, 6-4.
Federer earned win No 15 at the round of 16 in Istanbul in 2015 as he secured a 6-2, 7-5 win.
9. Bjorn Borg 15-0 Harold Solomon
American Solomon was by no means a journeyman as he won 22 singles titles and had a solid 585-339 win-loss record, but sadly none of his victories came against Borg.
Solomon managed to take only four sets off Borg in 15 matches.
Their first-ever clash was in Tokyo in 1974 and their last clash came at Roland Garros in 1980 when Borg won 6-2, 6-2, 6-0.
7. Ivan Lendl 16-0 Scott Davis
Ivan Lendl won an incredible 1,068 top-level games so it’s not a surprise that he has some incredible head-to-head records against a few players.
One such player is Scott Davis, although the American came close to beating his more esteemed colleague as he took Lendl to five sets at Wimbledon in 1984.
7. Ivan Lendl 16-0 Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert is another player that you can’t call a journeyman as he won 20 titles and had a 519-288 win-loss record, but 16 of those 288 defeats came at the hands of Lendl.
They first met at Hartford in 1982 with Lendl winning 6-2, 6-2 and when they squared off for the final time in Philadelphia in 1981, the result was the same with Lendl taking the win.
3. Roger Federer 17-0 Mikhail Youzhny
Swiss Maestro Federer has two 17-0 records, but the first “honour” goes to Mikhail Youzhny.
The Russian, though, won the first-ever set they played during their first match in Stockholm in 2000, but Federer won the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
And Youzhny also had his chances in their final match at the 2017 US Open as he was two sets to one up, but it was Federer who came away with the 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 4-6 6-4, 6-2 win.
3. Roger Federer 17-0 David Ferrer
David Ferrer was one of the most unfortunate players on the ATP Tour as he had to deal with Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic when they were all at the top. Oh and you can throw in Andy Murray there for good measure.
Former world no 3 Ferrer did manage to take six sets off Federer during their 17 matches with three of those coming in their last three encounters.
3. Ivan Lendl 17-0 Tim Mayotte
Lendl and Tim Mayotte met 17 times over a 10-year period and on all 17 occasions it was game, set, match Lendl.
Four of American Mayotte’s 17 defeats came in finals while Lendl also enjoyed a walkover in the Philadelphia final in 1986.
3. Bjorn Borg 17-0 Vitas Gerulaitis
Vitas Gerulaitis is famous for his 1979 quote after he defeated Jimmy Connors to end the American’s winning streak against him.
“And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row!” he stated as he made it 16-1 against the American. Connors held an 18-5 record against Gerulaitis by the time they retired.
But somebody did end up beating Gerulaitis 17-0 and that somebody was Bjorn Borg.
Their first-ever match was in Tehran in 1974 with the Swede winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and Borg would go on to win all 17 clashes with the final victory coming at Wimbledon in 1981.
2. Rafael Nadal 18-0 Richard Gasquet
Rafael Nadal drew level with Novak Djokovic’s 18-0 record against the same opponent at the 2022 US Open when he defeated Richard Gasquet.
The Spaniard’s first-ever top-level clash against Gasquet came at Estoril in 2004 and he won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Gasquet, though, did taste victory during their Challenger Tour clash in St. Jean De Luz, France, in 2003 when Nadal retired.
1. Novak Djokovic 19-0 Gael Monfils
The most-lopsided head-to-record in men’s tennis in the Open Era belongs to Djokovic since August 17, 2023 after he claimed a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gael Monfils.
When they first met at the 2005 US Open, Monfils came close as it went to a decider before Djokovic won 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5-7), 0-6, 7-5. He also had his chances in the 2009 Paris Masters final as he was a break up in the decider, but lost 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3).
