Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are set to see their record streak end in 2023 after not meeting in competition this year.

Tennis legends Nadal and Djokovic have met at least once each year on the ATP Tour for nearly twenty years. However, due to injury, Nadal has not played in 2023 since the Australian Open where he lost in the second round to Mackenzie McDonald.

This was also the last time that Djokovic and Nadal played in the same tournament, but the Spaniard's early exit meant that there was no opportunity for a match between the two. Meanwhile, Djokovic went on the take the title.

The pair of former world No. 1's first faced each other in the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open, where Nadal took the victory after Djokovic retired with an injury in the third set.

They would go on to face each other a total of 59 times, including all of the four major finals. Overall, Djokovic narrowly leads the rivalry 30-29, and is the only player to have beaten Nadal across all four majors.

However, Nadal has a commanding lead of 8-2 in the rivalry when it comes to the French Open, the slam in which he was the clear dominant force for many years.

The duo only faced each other once in 2022, perhaps poetically ending their streak similarly to how it began in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Roland Garros. Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, before going on to win his fourteenth title at the tournament.

More recently, whilst Nadal has been out with injury, Djokovic has continued a highly successful run. He won this year's French Open, seeing him equal the record for most Grand Slam wins, something which Nadal praised him for on social media.

He then reached the final at Wimbledon earlier this month, where he was the clear favorite to take his fifth title in a row at the grasscourt major. However, he was ultimately defeated by current world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

Many are taking Nadal's long absence as a sign that his career is coming to an end. A further indication of this is the fact that he is also set to go his first season since 2004 without winning at least one tournament.

Whilst there have been some hints that he could return for one more season, whether or not the two men face each other again remains to be seen.