As one of the greatest players in tennis history and a dominant force in the last two decades, Rafael Nadal holds a strong record against the vast majority of opponents he has faced.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has a 24-16 record against his great rival Roger Federer, but here are the 11 players who hold a winning record against the Spanish legend.
Novak Djokovic – 30-29
Having lost 14 of his first 18 matches with Nadal from 2006 to 2009, Djokovic has remarkably turned the head-to-head in his favour in what is one of tennis’ greatest ever rivalries.
The Serbian had two separate streaks of seven straight wins over Nadal in 2011-12 and in 2015-16, while Nadal has won three of the pair’s four most recent encounters.
The 59 matches the great duo have contested between 2006 and 2022 is a men’s Open Era record – and there could yet be more when Nadal returns from injury in 2024.
Nikolay Davydenko – 6-5
Nikolay Davydenko is the only player besides Djokovic who holds a winning record against Nadal after playing 10 or more matches against the Spaniard.
The Russian, a former world No 3 and ATP Finals winner, lost four of his first six meetings with Nadal, before winning four in a row between 2009 and 2011 to flip the rivalry on its head.
While Nadal won all four of their matches on clay, Davydenko proved a nightmare opponent on hard courts as he won six of the pair’s seven encounters on the surface. Two of these hard-court wins were straight-set triumphs in the finals of the 2008 Miami Masters and the 2009 Shanghai Masters.
Dominik Hrbaty – 3-1
Dominik Hrbaty, who was ranked as high as 12th, had success against Nadal in the early stages of the Mallorcan’s career as he earned a win each year from 2003-2005.
The Slovakian edged a 17-year-old Nadal 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the future tennis legend’s first-ever ATP final at the 2004 Auckland International.
Borna Coric – 3-2
World No 37 Borna Coric, who has been ranked as high as No 12, stunned Nadal in straight sets as a 17-year-old wildcard at the 2014 Swiss Indoors in Basel.
The 27-year-old Croatian earned both of his other victories against the former world No 1 at the Cincinnati Masters in 2016 and 2022, while Nadal’s wins came at the 2015 US Open and the 2017 Canada Masters.
Alex Corretja – 2-0
Alex Corretja, a former world No 2 and two-time French Open finalist, claimed both of his wins over Nadal at the start of his fellow Spaniard’s time on tour.
The 1998 ATP Finals champion defeated the future 22-time Grand Slam champion in three-set encounters in Barcelona and Madrid in 2003.
Dustin Brown – 2-0
Dustin Brown, who reached a career-high position of 64, is the only player besides Corretja with an undefeated record against Nadal having played more than one match with the Spaniard.
Joachim Johansson – 1-0
Joachim Johansson, who reached a career-high ranking of world No 9 in February 2005, won his only clash with Nadal 6-4, 7-6(4) in the second round of the 2006 Stockholm Open.
The Swede, who was making his return to the main tour following injuries, described beating the then world No 2 as his “greatest win ever.”
Lloyd Harris – 1-0
Big-serving South African Lloyd Harris overcame Nadal 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the last 16 of the Citi Open in Washington in 2021 in the only tournament Nadal played after the French Open that season. The Spaniard pulled the plug on his attempted comeback that season due to his chronic foot condition.
Harris, 26, reached his career-best ranking of world No 31 in September 2021 – shortly after his win over Nadal.
Paradorn Srichaphan – 1-0
Former world No 9 Paradorn Srichaphan downed Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships in what was the Mallorcan’s debut Grand Slam event.
The athletic Thai won five ATP titles before retiring in 2010.
Chris Guccione – 1-0
Chris Guccione, an Australian player who was ranked as high as world No 67, faced Nadal for the only time in the first round of the 2007 Sydney International.
Guccione was leading 6-5 in the first set when Nadal was forced to retire due to a thigh injury.
Olivier Mutis – 1-0
Olivier Mutis earned a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over an 18-year-old Nadal in the second round of the ATP tournament in Palermo in 2004.
The Frenchman, a former world No 71, holds the interesting distinction of being the only player to have won every set he has played against Nadal on clay.
