Nadal's Clay Record A Cut Above
ATPWorldTour.com takes a look at how Federer, Nadal and Djokovic compare by surface
Have you ever wondered how Rafael Nadal’s clay record compares to Roger Federer’s grass record or Novak Djokovic's hard-court record? The FedEx ATP Performance Zone sheds some light...
Nadal's record on clay - winning 91.69 per cent of matches he plays - eclipses the records of Djokovic on hard courts (84.02 per cent) and Federer on grass courts (86.86 per cent). Incredibly, no player has less than a 75 per cent winning mark on clay, hard or grass courts over the course of their illustrious careers.
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Below, ATPWorldTour.com breaks down how Nadal, Djokovic and Federer compare on clay, hard and grass courts.
CLAY COLOSSI
Nadal, the undisputed 'King of Clay' since 2005, has captured an Open Era record 51 crowns on red dirt, including nine times at Roland Garros, 10 times at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
and on 10 occasions at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The Spaniard compiled an 81-match
winning streak on clay between 11 April 2005 and 20 May 2007.
Player | W-L Record | Winning % | Titles | Events Played | Titles Per Event Played |
Rafael Nadal (ESP) | 375-34 | 91.69% | 51 | 87 | 58.62% |
Novak Djokovic (SRB) | 178-44 | 80.18% | 13 | 53 | 24.53% |
Roger Federer (SUI) | 214-68 | 75.89% | 11 | 75 | 14.67% |
View Career Clay-Court FedEx ATP Win-Loss Index
HARD-COURT HEROES
Djokovic has won 22 of his record 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies on
hard courts. The Serbian has won more titles (37) than he's lost matches (35)
on hard courts since 2011. Federer, who has won 63 of his 89 titles on hard courts, compiled
a 56-match-winning streak on hard courts between 17 February 2005 and 5 March 2006.
Player | W-L Record | Winning % | Titles | Events Played | Titles Per Event Played |
Novak Djokovic (SRB) | 510-97 | 84.02% | 51 | 140 | 36.43% |
Roger Federer (SUI) | 687-140 | 83.07% | 63 | 199 | 31.66% |
Rafael Nadal (ESP) | 400-122 | 76.63% | 16 | 133 | 12.03% |
View Career Hard-Court FedEx ATP Win-Loss Index
GRASS-COURT GREATS
Federer has won an Open Era record 15 grass-court titles, which includes seven
at Wimbledon and eight at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. The Swiss won a record
65 consecutive grass-court matches between 10 June 2003 and 6 July 2008. Over the course of his career, Federer has won 86.86 per cent of his grass-court matches he played and 39.47 per cent of lawn tournaments.
Player | W-L Record | Winning % | Titles | Events Played | Titles Per Event Played |
Roger Federer (SUI) | 152-23 | 86.86% | 15 | 38 | 39.47% |
Novak Djokovic (SRB) | 69-16 | 81.18% | 3 | 18 | 16.67% |
Rafael Nadal (ESP) | 58-17 | 77.33% | 4 | 21 | 19.05% |
Djokovic’s consistency of performance in hard, clay and grass-court matches since his first great year in 2011, has helped him compile a 49-16 record in title matches over the past six years. With 67 crowns overall since turning pro in 2003, he has lifted a trophy almost once every three tournaments (31.8 per cent) he has played (211 events).
Nadal, who has won the fifth-most titles in the Open Era (since April 1968) with 71 crowns – 51 of which have come on his beloved clay courts, has sunk his teeth into silverware at 29.5 per cent of events he has played. Federer, by comparison, with a 1,099-246 match record and third on the Open Era titles list with 91 trophies*, wins a title 28.5 per cent of events he has entered (312).
View Career Hard-Court FedEx ATP Win-Loss Index
OVERALL COMPARISON - HARD, CLAY, GRASS TOURNAMENTS
Player | Titles | Events Played | Titles Per Event Played |
Novak Djokovic (SRB) | 67 | 211 | 31.8% |
Rafael Nadal (ESP) | 71 | 241 | 29.5% |
Roger Federer (SUI) | 89* | 312 | 28.5% |
* Federer has 91 titles in total, two titles came on carpet, which were not included in the individual breakdowns.
- Statistical research courtesy Graham Edgar