Nadal has definitely been the least consistent of the big 3 in slams (due to a slew of injuries):
How many slams total?
Djokovic has played
46 slams (his first one was AO 2005) and amazingly, # he's skipped = a big fat
0.
Federer has played
67 (first was RG 1999) and has skipped only
2: USO 99 and RG 2016
Nadal has played
45 (first = W 2003) and has skipped a staggering
8 (RG 04, W 04, AO 06, W 09, USO 12, AO 13, USO 14, W 16). Most skipped: W. Least skipped: RG. Situation has worsened in the last 5 years: he has skipped a slam every year bar 2015 since 2012.
Player hit hardest by wear and tear is also player with fewest slams played!
Fun fact: all 3 played their first slam at
17 years old.
How long did it take them to reach their first good result in a slam (QF or better)?
Nadal and Djokovic:
5 participations (before RG 2005 title for Nadal and RG 2006 quarter for Djoko).
It took Fed a bit longer:
7 participations (before RG 2001 quarter)
Fun facts: they all reached their first QF+ result at a slam at
RG and all at
19 years old. (Do you copy that Sasha? Not that much time left
)
# of losses in 1st round (R128):
Federer:
6 (all in early career. Last time was at RG 2003, 13 years ago!)
Djokovic:
2 (also early on: AO 2005 and AO 2006)
Nadal:
2 (both recent: W 2013 and AO 2016)
Slow start vs early decline pattern
Fun fact: Djoko's worst losses happened at his best slam!
# of losses before QF:
Federer:
20 (6 RG, 5 AO, 5 USO, 4 W = clay worst, grass best- surprise,surprise...)
Nadal:
16 (6 W, 5 USO, 3 AO, 2 RG = the slower, the better...)
Djokovic:
10 (3 AO, 3 W, 2 RG, 2 USO = no loss before quarter since RG 2009, ie for the last 7 years!)
Worst streaks:
Nadal: last
9 consecutive slams without reaching semi or not playing at all: from W 2014 to W 2016 (yep, decline sucks)
Djoko: first
9 consecutive slams of doing worse than semi : from AO 2005 to AO 2007 (first semi reached was RG 2007)
Fed: it took Fed
16 attempts (from RG 99 to RG 03, 4 full years!!) to reach his 1st semi but when he did (W 2003), he won the whole thing and never looked back. Morality: better be a tortoise than a hare
Best streaks:
Federer: a record breaking
10 straight finals (between W 2005 and USO 2007, winning 80%, the 2 losses were to Nadal at RG, who else/where else?. And who stopped the streak, hum? Well, of course, no other than Djoko in his pet slam 2008). Not to be fazed , Fed proceeded to embark on a 2nd streak of
8 consecutive finals
(RG 08 to AO 10), winning and losing 50% of those (4/4)
Djokovic is on an ongoing streak of
6 consecutive finals (AO 15 to RG 16), losing only 1 of them (and scoring a historical 4 in a row "Nole slam" in the process)
Nadal did
5 finals in a row from RG 2011 to RG 2012 (but won only 2 of them, no need to tell you which ones
)
Quarter or better streak:
Federer had a mindboggling
36 QF+ streak from W 2004 to RG 2013 (9 years!). The streak got broken by Stakho at W 2013 (in the midst of multiple early upsets that year)
Djoko has an ongoing streak of
28 QF+. Last time he lost before QF was at RG 2009 (R32) 7 years ago
By comparison, Nadal's
11 (from USO 2009 to RG 2012) seems a bit shabby. Once again, consistency not his strong point.
SF or better streak:
Djokovic had
14 consecutive semi or better from W 2010 to USO 2013 (Wawa snapped that one at AO 2014 and boy did that match go to the wire!)
But there again, Fed rules with a remarkable
23 between W 2004 and AO 2010. It seemed like Fed's would go on forever until Soderling decided that enough was enough at RG 2010.
There again, Nadal trains lamely with no better that
5 in a row ever.
Slam success in %:
Slams skipped (since 1st played): Nadal
15% 
(8 out of 53)- Fed
2.8% (2 out of 69)- Djoko
0% (played them all! 46)
1st round losses: Federer
8.6% (6) - Djoko
4.3% (2) - Nadal
3.7% (2)
2nd round : Nadal
9.4% (5) - Djokovic
4.3% (2) - Fed
1.4% (1)
3rd round: Nadal
9.4 (5) - Djoko
8.6 (4) - Fed
7.2 (5)
R16: Fed
11.5 (8) - Nadal
7.5 (4) - Djoko
4.3 (2)
QF: Djoko
13.0 (6) - Fed
11.5 (8) - Nadal
11.3 (6)
SF: Djoko
21.7 (10) - Fed
17.3 (12) - Nadal
5.6 (3)
F: Djoko
17.3 (8) - Fed
14.4 (10) - Nadal
11.3 (6)
W: Nadal -
26.4 (14) - Djoko
26.0 (12) - Fed
24.6 (17)
Worse than quarter: Nadal
45.2 (24) - Fed
31.8 (22) - Djoko
21.7 (10)
Quarter or better: Djoko
78.2 (36) - Fed
68.1 (47) - Nadal
54.7 (29)
Consistency may not be his forte but Nadal made the most of the opportunities he got with highest % of titles won.
