Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, alongside Rafael Nadal, starred in one of the most thrilling rivalries in sports history. They faced each other 50 times, with the Serbian holding the edge with a 27-23 record. Beyond their encounters, both have broken records and made history. So, who does 2024 US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz think is the GOAT between them?
“In terms of achievements, it’s Novak. It feels like Fed [Federer], but in terms of achievements, it’s Novak,” he told the ATP Tour official YouTube Channel back in September 2024.
In his head-to-head against Federer and Djokovic, Fritz hasn’t recorded a win against either of them. He only faced Federer, retired in 2022, twice, once in Stuttgart and once at the Australian Open in 2019, with the Swiss winning both. Meanwhile, he has lost all 10 of his matches against Djokovic so far.
However, Fritz, who has a career-high ranking of World No. 4, is one of the few players with a non-negative head-to-head record against Nadal, having beaten him twice in their four encounters. One of those wins came at the 2022 Indian Wells final, where he claimed his most important title to date.
Grand Slams, Masters 1000 titles, and Weeks as No. 1 – Djokovic’s legacy
While Djokovic came behind Federer and Nadal, who were already dominating the sport between 2003 and 2007, he managed to surpass them both in terms of titles, particularly Grand Slams.
Federer was the first man to reach 20 Grand Slam titles, but Djokovic now sits at 24 majors, making him the player with the most major titles in the Open Era. He has also surpassed Serena Williams (23), Steffi Graf (22), and Nadal (22).
Djokovic also holds the record for the most Masters 1000 titles (40) and is the only man to have won all nine tournaments in the series. Finally, he has set the record for the most weeks as World No. 1, with 428, surpassing Federer’s 310 weeks.