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Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates in his Men’s Singles first round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during Day one of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 01, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates in his Men’s Singles first round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during Day one of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 01, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The ATP rankings are a reflection of the consistent top performers in the sport. Victories against the top-10 players show that you are performing better than your rivals. In 2020, World No.1 Novak Djokovic leads the charts with an impressive ten victories against top-10 ranked players.
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Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning set point. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic posts an impressive record against the top-10 players
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Djokovic finished 2020 with a win-loss record of 10-3 against the top-10. The three losses he suffered were against Rafael Nadal at the French Open final, Dominic Thiem, and Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic has performed in a similar tone for years, and he often dominates his rivals. But trailing Djokovic in second in terms of the top 10 wins is Dominic Thiem. Thiem is slowly breaking into the bracket of the big 3 of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer.
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Dominic Thiem reacts during his final match against Daniil Medvedev. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Dominic Thiem again had a stellar season
Thiem had a wonderful record of 8-4 against the top-10. And more impressively held a great record against the ‘big 3’. He didn’t play against Federer but had a 1-1 record against Djokovic. And surprisingly had a 2-0 record in his favor against Nadal.
Thiem beat Nadal in two big tournaments, first at the Australian Open and then at the ATP Finals. Overall, he now has a 9-3 record against the ‘big 3’ since 2019. Thiem, now being a Grand Slam champion, can move further ahead and displace the dominance of the big 3 in the coming years.
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Rafael Nadal reacts during his semi final match against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Teenager Jannick Sinner finds himself on the top; Rafael Nadal has poor numbers
But the Italian 19-year-old Jannik Sinner also features high up the list of top-10 wins. He is even higher than Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal. Sinner had a great 3-4 record against the top 10. Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Goffin fell prey to the teenager.
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The most notable player who had a poor record against the top 10 was Nadal. He had a record of 3-5, and until the French Open, he held a 2-0 against him. He further won three and lost three, which proved costly as he couldn’t win the ATP Finals.
Read More: Rafael Nadal Explains Why 2011 and 2020 French Open Were the Toughest Victories for Him
