How Novak Djokovic's Grand Slam success compares to Federer, Nadal
Despite failing to win the French Open final on Sunday, top-ranked Novak Djokovic is still the most dominant player in men's tennis. Stan Wawrinka thoroughly dismantled the Serb at Roland Garros, winning 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4, but barring unforeseen circumstances, Djokovic will still likely be the favorite entering both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Djokovic, 28, is third among active players in terms of Grand Slam titles with eight, behind Roger Federer (17) and Rafael Nadal (14). Djokovic is in just his 13th season as a professional, while Federer is in his 18th year and Nadal is in his 15th.
But how does Djokovic's Grand Slam success compare relatively to Federer and Nadal's? To determine how the Serb stacks up, we charted the pace at which each player has accumulated Grand Slam titles.
For the sake of parallelism, the graph stops at the French Open of each player's 13th professional season.
Through the French Open of each player's first 13 years as a pro, Federer had accrued 16 Grand Slams and Nadal had won 12. Djokovic currently has eight.
Unsurprisingly, the data shows that Djokovic has won a far lesser percentage of Grand Slams than Federer and Nadal had at similar points in their careers. Djokovic has played in 42 Grand Slams, winning 19% of them.
While winning one out of every five Grand Slams entered puts Djokovic among the best ever, the fact that Federer and Nadal's rates of success dwarf Djokovic's at similar points in their careers underscore just how dominant Fed and Rafa have been. (Nadal has only played 41 Grand Slams in his career.)
Federer had won 36% of his first 42 Grand Slam main draw entrees, while Nadal has won 34% of his 41 attempts.
Djokovic seems certain to continue gaining on Federer and Nadal's career totals. But the charts highlight Federer and Nadal's former preeminence, even compared to a dominant player like Novak Djokovic.
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