Intriguing Nadal and Djokovic stat shows true Slam level of peak Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem is the only player to have faced Novak Djokovic in an Australian Open final as well as playing Rafael Nadal in a Roland Garros final, both being monumental challenges.
Roland Garros is ‘Nadal’s house’ while the Australian Open is Djokovic’s domain.
Nadal is 13-0 in Roland Garros finals, while Djokovic is 9-0 in Melbourne finals, a combined 22-0 record described in a tweet as “the greatest duopoly in men’s tennis.”
The Spaniard is 8-8 in Major finals outside of Paris, and Djokovic is 11-11 in Slam finals away from the Australian Open.
Thiem has played three of the combined 22 finals that Nadal and Djokovic have won at their favourite Slams, being Roland Garros in 2018 and 2019 and the Australian Open in 2020.
Nadal claimed his 11th and 12th Roland Garros titles in 2018 and 2019, and Djokovic secured his eighth Australian Open in 2020.
Thiem did eventually claim a maiden Slam crown at the 2020 US Open, but has been hit by an unfortunate wrist injury which has kept him with little play since.
Combined that puts them at 22-0 for Rafa in RG finals and Novak in AO finals. Guess which poor soul has faced both of them in both finals? It’s not Fed or Andy, or even Stan. It’s Thiem. 0-3 against the greatest duopoly in men’s tennis. He’s better than just 1 major title. https://t.co/uSqBVkaGPE
— Aoun Jafarey (@ajafarey) February 3, 2022
In the Open Era, a number of men boast undefeated records over multiple finals at specific Slams.
For example, Gustavo Kuerten went 3-0 at Roland Garros (1997, 2000 and 2001), while Bjorn Borg went 6-0 there (1974-75 and 1978-81) while Pete Sampras went 7-0 at Wimbledon (1993-95 and 1997-2000).
However, 9-0 for Djokovic in Australian and 13-0 for Nadal in France are the top of the heap for most prolific Slam final records.
? Read >> Breaking tennis news
? Follow >> 24/7 LIVE scores
? Free >> Receive our legendary newsletter
? Join >> Tennishead CLUB, the world’s only virtual tennis club
? Social >>Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
? Order >> World’s best tennis magazine
? Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted retail partner