List of players who beat Novak Djokovic in five consecutive matches

Only Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner have beaten Novak Djokovic five times in a row.

In every sport, the game is driven by the top players of respective eras. In tennis, for the first decade since the turn of the millennium, it was termed the era of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Both lived up to expectations and won 25 of the 40 Grand Slams during the decade.

Just when everyone thought the duo would dominate, a certain Novak Djokovic unleashed the beast in him. He won three Grand Slams in 2011. Since then, he has been raising the bar in the circuit, becoming the player with the most Grand Slams in Men’s Singles (24).

The Serbian has gotten better with age, pulling off some incredible performances over the years. Having dominated the last decade and a half, it now looks like the time has come for the next set of stars to take guard. In Djokovic’s long tennis career, only two players were able to dominate him.

On that note, let’s look at both players and their respective timelines when they defeated Novak Djokovic in five consecutive matches.

Rafael Nadal – 5 Matches (Aug 2008 – May 2009)

The rivalry between Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest in modern sports as it is between two of the most successful Tennis players in the history of men’s Singles.

The rivalry is a tale of two halves, with Nadal dominating the first half with a scoreline of 14-4 in their first 18 encounters. This includes a five-match winning streak that began with the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympics.

Battling it out to have a shot at the Gold Medal, both players showed immense athleticism, but it was the southpaw who won the game and went on to win the Gold, while Djokovic settled for a Bronze medal. The next meeting for the pair was on the clay courts of the Davis Cup. The Balearic Islander was on top of his game as he coasted through Djoker in straight sets.

The game set up a wonderful little period when the Serbian was improving every game, but fell short of Nadal. The duo faced each other in the finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, and the 22-year-old Nadal was the favorite to clinch his 5th successive title at Monte Carlo. Djokovic gave a scare as he snatched a set and earned break points early in the third set.

But Nadal knew clay courts like the back of his hand, as he won the game with ease. Having become the first man to win five consecutive titles in Monte Carlo, he was aiming for a similar record at the Rome Masters. It was down to these two again in the finals, and the Spaniard lifted the trophy with ease like a leaf from a Tree during fall.

The last win of the streak came in the Madrid Open, and easily the best match of the lot. Djokovic was determined to win against Nadal, but the southpaw was up for the task. Both produced one of the matches in the Open Era, playing for 4 hours and 3 minutes, which was the longest in men’s history at that time. Nadal saved three match points before winning the game.

This was the end of the first half of the rivalry, as Djokovic started winning with a score of 27–15. Notably, it included two seven-match winning streaks in 2011 and 2015-16 seasons, respectively.

Jannik Sinner – 5 Matches (Nov 2023 – Present)

Jannik Sinner‘s stellar performance in the semifinals stopped the fans from seeing Novak Djokovic eat the grass at SW19. The Serbian was struggling with the injury he suffered in the Quarter-final clash, which disturbed his free-flowing movement. Sinner dominated the proceedings with a straight set win and registered his 5th consecutive win against Djokovic.

The streak began with another semifinal clash in 2023 when Italy faced Serbia in the Davis Cup for a place in the final.

Trailing 1-0, Sinner saved three consecutive match points to beat the Serbian, which astonished fans at Martin Carpena Arena in Spain. Sinner went on to beat Djokovic in the doubles encounter later that day, which is not considered in this streak.

The second win came at the Djokovic’s favorite Grand Slam as the Italian became the first man to beat Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open. Sinner induced 54 unforced errors to beat Djokovic and end the 10-time champion’s 33-match winning streak.

The duo faced each other in yet another Outdoor Hard court, this time in the Shanghai Masters, and it was a dominating straight-sets win in the final.

The best of the lot came in the 2025 French Open. Sinner was coming back from a three-month ban having tested positive for Clostebol, a banned substance. Djokovic was vocal about the leniency in the ban, alleging favoritism. With so much heat going into the game, the action came on the court as the Italian was on top of his game to cruise past the 38-year-old.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram