page_title: Djokovic–Federer rivalry
section_title: History at Wimbledon
hierarchical_section_title: Djokovic–Federer rivalry / Analysis / Grass court / History at Wimbledon
caption_attribution_description: Roger Federer (SUI) serving against John Isner (USA) in their London 2012 Men's Singles quarterfinal match
context_page_description: The Djokovic–Federer rivalry is a tennis rivalry between two professional tennis players, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. They have faced each other 50 times with Djokovic leading their matchups 27–23. Djokovic leads 13–6 in all finals and 11–6 in Grand Slam matches. These 17 Grand Slam matches are a record, 5 of which were the finals, plus a record 11 semifinals. To date Djokovic is the only man to have beaten Federer in all four majors, and likewise Federer is the only man to have beaten Djokovic in all four majors. Both players are considered to be among the greatest of all time. From 2006 to 2010 Federer held the lead in their rivalry, at one point 13–6, but by the end of the 2015 season, they were tied at 22–22. Since then Djokovic has been in control of the rivalry.
  Their matches have showcased an unpredictable display of shot-making. In most other rivalries the type of playing surface has had a profound effect on the outcome of matches, but in this rivalry, the type of surface in most cases has not given any considerable advantage to one player over the other.
context_section_description: On grass courts Djokovic leads 3–1; with all four matches coming at Wimbledon: once in the semifinals in 2012, which Federer won in four sets; and again in the finals of 2014, 2015, and 2019, which Djokovic won in five, four, and five sets respectively. The 2019 final was the first men's singles match ever in which a tiebreak was played at 12 all in the final set, following a rule change that year. Federer's first major title came at Wimbledon where he is naturally comfortable playing on the grass. Federer went on to reach seven consecutive Wimbledon finals, from 2003 to 2009 inclusive. Federer appeared in five more finals. In total he has won eight of his twelve finals. Federer is one of the most successful grass court players ever and many tennis analysts consider grass to be his best surface.
  Federer has 19 titles on grass with ten at Halle, eight at Wimbledon and one at Stuttgart. Djokovic has six grass titles thus far, five at Wimbledon and one at Eastbourne. Federer has often played his warm-up tournament in Halle which precedes Wimbledon. Djokovic's quest to win Roland Garros was his main priority for several years, often leaving him too exhausted to partake in a warm-up tournament on grass. He has instead preferred to rest before Wimbledon.
  Both Federer and Djokovic enjoy playing on faster surfaces such as grass, but Djokovic's movement struggled on grass courts early on in his career. On the other hand, Federer's movement on grass was considered to be unparalleled during his prime years. Grass was Djokovic's least successful surface from 2005 to 2010. Since then, Djokovic's movement on grass has immensely improved, a key factor that has enabled him to win Wimbledon five times. He won in 2011 over Rafael Nadal, 2014, 2015, and 2019 over Federer, and in 2018 against Kevin Anderson.
caption: Federer's best surface is considered to be grass, on which he has a win percentage of 87% – the best in the Open Era.
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