Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov have enjoyed a long-standing rivalry. While Nadal took the tennis world by storm and ended up as one of the greatest, Dimitrov failed to reach his full potential. Over the years, the Rafael Nadal vs Grigor Dimitrov h2h often delivered and Nadal leads 14-1.
Over the course of their careers, when it was time for a Nadal vs Dimitrov h2h, the one-sided numbers do not justice to the entertainment the matches provided. Here is a timeline of their rivalry –
2009 – The first edition of Rafael Nadal vs Grigor Dimitrov h2h was played out at the Rotterdam Open, Round of 16 clash. The Spaniard won the match in three sets to take a 1-0 lead against the Belarusian. Although the match was a close encounter, it was an indication of where things would eventually head among these two tennis stars.
2013- 2015 – This was the period when Rafael Nadal totally dominated against Grigor Dimitrov. The Spanish superstar won all six matches against Dimitrov and improved his head-to-head to 7-0. Among these matches were some big clashes in the business end of the tournament. Nadal defeated Dimitrov in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in thrilling four sets match. The Spaniard then followed it up with victories in the semi-final in Rome and quarterfinals in Madrid.
2016 – This was the year when Grigor Dimitrov finally got his first-ever win against Rafael Nadal. The Belarusian met the Spaniard just once throughout the year, at the quarterfinals in Beijing. Dimitrov won that match in straight sets.
2017- 2020 – Rafael Nadal continued his dominance over Grigor Dimitrov by winning a thrilling Australian Open semi-final against the Belarusian. The Spaniard won the match in five sets to knock Dimitrov out of another Grand Slam. The duo met in the quarterfinals and semi-finals on five occasions during this period and Nadal won all of these matches. By the end of 2020, Nadal had extended his head-to-head against Dimitrov to 13-1.
2021 – This was the year when Dimitrov and Nadal clashed for the last time. The duo met in the Round of 16 at Monte Carlo and Nadal won in straight sets. The Spaniard improved his head-to-head record in the Rafael Nadal vs Grigor Dimitrov matches to 14-1.
Recently, a video of Dimitrov and Nadal practicing together has gone viral again. The two competitors have huge respect for each other and often compliment each other too. With both players still playing competitive tennis, there is still a chance of these two tennis stars clashing again.
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