Djokovic one step closer to Nadal and Federer’s Grand Slam record

Novak Djokovic will be playing his 29th Grand Slam final on Sunday. The World No 1 will face Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a bid to win his 19th career Slam and second at the Roland Garros.

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The 2021 French Open victory will make him the only player in 52 years to win all Grand Slams twice. But the more pressing stat is that by defeating Tsitsipas, the Serbian will move one step closer to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who have won 20 Grand Slams each. 

The 34-year-old has 18 Grand Slam men’s singles titles against his name. He has won a record nine Australian Open titles. Djokovic leads both Nadal (30-28) and Federer (27-23) in career head-to-head matchups. 

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However, the 19th Grand Slam title won’t come easy to Djokovic.

His opponent, Tsitsipas, comes riding on a wholesome win over Alexander Zverev. The 22-year-old also holds a decent record against Djokovic. Tsitsipas has defeated Djokovic twice in their five meetings, and both the defeats came on the Serbian’s favorite surface – outdoor hardcourts. The two locked horns in the French Open semi-final last year, where Djokovic won 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.