Astonishing joint record from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Rome Open with only three different winners

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated the Rome Open for the past 19 years, winning 16 titles between them, with only three other players managing to lift the trophy since Nadal claimed his first title in 2005 at just 18 years old.

The historical superiority of Djokovic and Nadal on clay for nearly 20 years is reflected in Rome's incredible statistics. The Spaniard won 10 titles between 2005 and 2021, while the Serbian won 6: the first in 2008 and the last in 2022. They also faced each other in six of those finals, with Nadal holding a favorable 4-2 margin.

Since Nadal's first title in 2005, at least one of the two has been in the final for 18 consecutive years until 2022 when neither appeared in the title match, which was contested by Daniil Medvedev against Holger Rune, with the Russian winning 7-5, 7-5.

However, this was not the first time someone other than Nole and Rafa became champion in the last 19 editions. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Djokovic lost consecutive finals, first to Andy Murray (6-3, 6-3) and then to a young Alexander Zverev at the age of 20, by 6-4, 6-3.

Nole has a record of 67-11 (86%) at Foro Italico, with six titles and six other finals. The Serbian reached the final in 8 of his last 9 participations and it is the Masters 1000 where he has achieved the most victories. Even more impressive is Nadal's record of 69-8 (90%), winning the title 10 times and losing in two finals.

The players who have fallen in Rome finals against Djokovic or Nadal include Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer, Fernando Gonzalez, Guillermo Coria, Diego Schwartzman, Alexander Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.