RG 2021: Novak Djokovic bags rare French Open feat that Rafa Nadal may never achieve
French Open 2021
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have qualified for their 15th quarter-final at the French Open – joint most last-eight appearances in the tournament. Federer (12) is next on the list.
Djokovic’s record
Djokovic has now reached the French Open’s quarters for 12 consecutive times – the most in the tournament.
Consistent Djokovic
Even though the Serbian has won the Roland Garros just once, he has been quite consistent over the years, reaching the quarters every season since 2010. In this period, he has played five finals, winning just one.
Rafael Nadal in RG
The World No. 3 has bagged 104 victories in as many as 106 games at the French Open since his maiden appearance in 2005. The two losses came in 2009 and 2015.
Nadal is behind in QF’s record
The two losses have disrupted Nadal’s run in the quarters of the French Open. His longest quarter-final run in Paris has been 6 straight QFs that came between 2010 and 2015. Coincidently, it was Djokovic who had ended Nadal's streak by beating the Clay King in the 2015 season’s quarters.
Nadal may never achieve the record
The upcoming quarters against Diego Schwartzman on Wednesday will be Nadal’s fifth straight QF at the Roland Garros. For him to match Djokovic’s current record, the Spaniard will have to play the QFs of the next seven tournaments. However, the longevity of the 35-year-old's career is still unclear.
Overall record: Most QFs in a Grand Slam
The record belongs to former ATP top-ranked player Jimmy Connors of USA, who made 13 quarter-finals appearances at the US Open between 1973 and 1985.
French Open 2021: Nadal vs Djokovic
If Nadal and Djokovic win their respective quarters fixture on Wednesday, they’ll face each other in the semi-final of the ongoing Roland Garros. It would be a ‘showdown’ before the grand finale. Nadal has a massive head-to-head lead over Djokovic on clay: 19-7.