Roger Federer has been a trailblazer in creating records throughout his career and some of his astonishing records are too tough to beat. The likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have been trying to beat them for a number of years now. One such record was his consistent battles against a specific player over a number of years.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic burst onto the scene and tried to end the Federer-Nadal monopoly in the late 2000s. But the biggest ‘what if’ in tennis perhaps remains about Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentina star had all the talent to challenge for major trophies but injuries halted his progress.
When Roger Federer played Novak Djokovic 8 times in 2015
2015 was a big year for the Djokovic-Federer rivalry. The duo faced of eight times against each other in important matches. Rafael Nadal’s injury and a slump in-form enabled Novak Djokovic to capitalize and play frequent matches with Roger Federer. The Serbian eventually dominated the Swiss in 2015 by winning 5 out of their 8 encounters.
Novak Djokovic enjoys a positive head-to-head record against Roger Federer, something not a lot of tennis players can boast about. Novak Djokovic leads the head-to-head against Federer by 27-23.
In 2015, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic faced off in both the Wimbledon final and the US Open finals. The Serbian won both the finals in 4 sets each. Djokovic announced himself to the world as a player who will surely be remembered as a legend, with those wins.
Federer dominated del Potro in their 8 matches in 2012
Roger Federer has faced off against Juan del Potro on 8 occasions as well in 2012. Federer dominated this rivalry against the Argentine winning six matches in a row before losing the last two, one of them being at the Basel Indoors tournament. 2012 was a year when del Potro managed to stay fit and challenge for major honors.
Overall, Federer enjoys a great head-to-head record against del Potro. The Swiss has managed to defeat the Argentine 18 times and lost 7 times. In 2012, Federer and del Porto faced off in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. Although, the Swiss won easily at the Australian Open, their match at the French Open was something special. Federer won that match in five sets, as both the players delivered an epic match. Furthermore, del Potro’s win over Federer in the 2009 US Open final shows his ability to defeat big players on big stages.
In conclusion, Roger Federer is the only player to play more than opponent 8 times in separate calendar years especially in the 2010s. Novak Djokovic could play 8 times against Federer in that decade and has not found a rival to replicate that achievement. Rafael Nadal came close but he and Djokovic played 7 times each against each other, in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
