Greater US Open player: Nadal vs Djokovic | 2021 Edition

Who is greater?

  • Total voters
    101
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
Titles

Nadal: 4 in 15 participations [26.6%]

Djokovic: 3 in 15 participations [20%]

Finals

Nadal: 5 in 15 [33.3%] (Lost to Djokovic in 2011)

Djokovic: 8 in 15 [53.3%] (Lost to Federer in 2007; Nadal in 2010, 2013; Murray in 2012; Wawrinka in 2016)

Semi Finals

Nadal: 8 in 15 [53.3%]

Djokovic: 11 in 15 [73.3%]

Head to Head

Nadal leads 2-1

Disqualifications

Djokovic leads 1-0

US-Open-2010-Rafael-Nadal-and-Novak-Djokovic-hug.aspx
 
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
Amritia said:
Right now it's clearly Nadal; but their careers are not over yet so may be premature.
Click to expand...
Well, there was a poll after Djokovic won the title in 2018. Since then, a few things shifted, so I decided to make a remastered edition.
 
D

Deleted member 779124

Guest
Even. Djokovic has had clearly much tougher draws at the USO which should be considered and i think 2011 Djokovic beats 2010 Nadal at the USO.
 
LoveTheGreatOne

LoveTheGreatOne

Semi-Pro
Yugram said:
Titles

Nadal: 4 in 15 participations [26.6%]

Djokovic: 3 in 15 participations [20%]

Finals

Nadal: 5 in 15 [33.3%] (Lost to Djokovic in 2011)

Djokovic: 8 in 15 [53.3%] (Lost to Federer in 2007; Nadal in 2010, 2013; Murray in 2012; Wawrinka in 2016)

Semi Finals

Nadal: 8 in 15 [53.3%]

Djokovic: 11 in 15 [73.3%]

Head to Head

Nadal leads 2-1

Disqualifications

Djokovic leads 1-0

US-Open-2010-Rafael-Nadal-and-Novak-Djokovic-hug.aspx
Click to expand...
Djokovic without a shadow of a doubt.
More finals, more SFs, more consistency, tougher competition.
 
NoleIsBoat

NoleIsBoat

Hall of Fame
I would have voted tied. Nadal fluked the last couple of titles there with his HC masters being injured both years.

Other than that they both have 2 decent to strong USO titles - Djokovic defeated Fedal b2b then federer in 2015. Nadal with 2 cupcake draws but a solid djokovic in the final of 2010/2013.

I don't really put much weight into Nadal winning in 2017/2019 - it's just luck and timing. 07-10 and 12 Djokovic wins any of those handily.
 
SardinesForDinner

SardinesForDinner

Professional
Djokovic's disqualification tips it over towards Rafa... joking aside; I'd have to go with Nadal even though Djokovic is obviously the greater hard court player. Nadal has made the most of his opportunities there, unlike Djokovic. Djokovic hasn't really dominated the tournament the way Federer did back in the days when he was nearly invincible.
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal. He has the H2H and more titles. I don't think it's arguable at this point in time.

But if Djokovic wins one more -- then he has to be the better of the two. #1 - Djokovic's 8 finals > Nadal's 5 finals. Djokovic has faced Federer 6 times at the USO, Nadal has faced him 0 times.

I'm really intrigued by this year's tournament and will 100% attend a day or two. New courts and a historically crowd-influenced tournament having fans back will be huge. Nadal loves the stage and it could be the chance to win #22 for him, and after missing the USO last year he will be pumped.

I suspect we'll see Djokovic go all out to win after his default last year, and probably face a hostile crowd too. Exciting.
 
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
Kralingen said:
Nadal. He has the H2H and more titles. I don't think it's arguable at this point in time.

But if Djokovic wins one more -- then he has to be the better of the two. #1 - Djokovic's 8 finals > Nadal's 5 finals. Djokovic has faced Federer 6 times at the USO, Nadal has faced him 0 times.

I'm really intrigued by this year's tournament and will 100% attend a day or two. New courts and a historically crowd-influenced tournament having fans back will be huge. Nadal loves the stage and it could be the chance to win #22 for him, and after missing the USO last year he will be pumped.

I suspect we'll see Djokovic go all out to win after his default last year, and probably face a hostile crowd too. Exciting.
Click to expand...
It’s interesting where US Open resurfacing leads us this year. If we look at the last editions

2017: Slow and high bouncing (Nadal)
2018 Very slow and high bouncing (Djokovic)
2019: Medium and high bouncing (Nadal)
2020: Medium and moderate bouncing (Thiem)
 
T

TheNachoMan

Guest
Yugram said:
Dimitrov, who was a top 10 player at that time, in the place of Del Potro would certainly make the draw harder, amirite?
Click to expand...
In 2017, when Dimitrov pushed Rafa at AO and then won the WTF? I think so
 
Tennis_Freak99

Tennis_Freak99

Legend
Nadal for right now, although it was equal after 2018 USO. Things can change for the worse for Nadal pretty quickly

VB shouldn't be so cocky if they meet again in the final at USO;)
 
USO

USO

Banned
TheNachoMan said:
The fact Novak has 1 less USO than Rafa makes me quite nauseous :sick: idk why he excels at AO but chokes there
Click to expand...

Actually Djokovic is too lucky at the US Open, he even managed to reach a final there with help of not 1, not 2 but 3 retirements/withdrawals.

Djokovic's run at the 2016 US Open

1R Jerzy Janowicz (PR) 247 Win 6–3, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1
2R Jiří Veselý 49 Walkover N/A
3R Mikhail Youzhny 61 Win 4–2 ret.
4R Kyle Edmund 84 Win 6–2, 6–1, 6–4
QF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) 11 Win 6–3, 6–2 ret.
SF Gaël Monfils (10) 12 Win 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
F Stan Wawrinka (3) 3 Loss (2) 7–6(7–1), 4–6, 5–7, 3–6

He did lose at the end but it's just another example of how extremely lucky Djokovic is and how he has overachieved. I mean, 3 matches with opponents not being able to compete? What a joke.
 
Tennis_Freak99

Tennis_Freak99

Legend
USO said:
Actually Djokovic is too lucky at the US Open, he even managed to reach a final there with help of not 1, not 2 but 3 retirements/withdrawals.

Djokovic's run at the 2016 US Open

1R Jerzy Janowicz (PR) 247 Win 6–3, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1
2R Jiří Veselý 49 Walkover N/A
3R Mikhail Youzhny 61 Win 4–2 ret.
4R Kyle Edmund 84 Win 6–2, 6–1, 6–4
QF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) 11 Win 6–3, 6–2 ret.
SF Gaël Monfils (10) 12 Win 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
F Stan Wawrinka (3) 3 Loss (2) 7–6(7–1), 4–6, 5–7, 3–6

He did lose at the end but it's just another example of how lucky Djokovic is and how he has overachieved.
Click to expand...
Nadal also had a walkover in his 2019 run
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Yugram said:
It’s interesting where US Open resurfacing leads us this year. If we look at the last editions

2017: Slow and high bouncing (Nadal)
2018 Very slow and high bouncing (Djokovic)
2019: Medium and high bouncing (Nadal)
2020: Medium and moderate bouncing (Thiem)
Click to expand...
the Laykold seems like it would fit Djokovic's current game. He could definitely struggle against the big hitters of NextGen but I'd be lying if I thought anyone else was going to win it last year, especially after he won Cincinnati convincingly on the same surface.
 
ForehandCross

ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
Prediction:

Tsitsipas and Medvedev and Zverev and Thiem(if he is to come back) will make life a living hell for Big 2 at USO.

They aren't winning USO this year.
 
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
ForehandCross said:
Prediction:

Tsitsipas and Medvedev and Zverev and Thiem(if he is to come back) will make life a living hell for Big 2 at USO.

They aren't winning USO this year.
Click to expand...
I think Tsitsipas will unload at the Olympics, thus becoming a non-factor for US Open, he said it is his dream to win them and he is very patriotic. With Zverev and Medvedev a lot will depend on how much this year’s US Open court will reward serving. They have no chance in hell to beat Nadal or Djokovic if it’s anything like 2018.
 
NoleFam

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
ForehandCross said:
Prediction:

Tsitsipas and Medvedev and Zverev and Thiem(if he is to come back) will make life a living hell for Big 2 at USO.

They aren't winning USO this year.
Click to expand...

Djokovic might go into this USO with purpose considering what happened last year. I guess we will have to wait and see. If he's in form, his biggest competition in that group will be Medvedev but after the demotlion he laid on him at the AO, that may have shifted. Don't leave out Zverev who gave Djokovic the toughest match at the AO imo.
 
GabeT

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
I’m a little lost here. Do we only look at aggregate results or at each individual slam separately?

if aggregate then Novak is clearly ahead in HC slams. Nothing to debate here.
if we look at each one individually then Fed is ahead of Nadal in 3 of the 4 slams and so has the greater record.

which do you prefer? :unsure: :unsure: :giggle:
 
Yugram

Yugram

Legend
GabeT said:
I’m a little lost here. Do we only look at aggregate results or at each individual slam separately?

if aggregate then Novak is clearly ahead in HC slams. Nothing to debate here.
if we look at each one individually then Fed is ahead of Nadal in 3 of the 4 slams and so has the greater record.

which do you prefer? :unsure: :unsure: :giggle:
Click to expand...
Fail
 
NoleIsBoat

NoleIsBoat

Hall of Fame
GabeT said:
I’m a little lost here. Do we only look at aggregate results or at each individual slam separately?

if aggregate then Novak is clearly ahead in HC slams. Nothing to debate here.
if we look at each one individually then Fed is ahead of Nadal in 3 of the 4 slams and so has the greater record.

which do you prefer? :unsure: :unsure: :giggle:
Click to expand...
Nadal fans quickly switched from evaluating strength of slams when he was on 14, to adopting the Fed fan mantra of spamming 20 > 18 with no further insight or analysis :whistle:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
  • Poll
Djokovic v Agassi - Who is greater US Open player?
Replies
39
Views
1K
duaneeo
duaneeo
M
4, 3, 2, and 1 Grand Slam final seasons - Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic - updated
Replies
7
Views
327
Djokodalerer31
Djokodalerer31
Madinolf
Big Tournaments won by Big4
Replies
37
Views
908
mike danny
mike danny
Fedeonic
Djokovic's record in US Open finals breakdown
Replies
3
Views
230
Fedeonic
Fedeonic
G
  • Poll
Peak Novak Djokovic vs peak Rafael Nadal at US Open, who wins?
2
Replies
88
Views
5K
Deleted member 770948
D
Top