Novak Djokovic must have mixed emotions when it comes to playing in the Italian Open. Having played in the same era as Rafael Nadal, Djokovic lost in as many as 6 finals of the tournament and 4 of them were because of the Spaniard. A total of 6 losses in the finals has hurt the Serb financially, causing him to miss out on nearly $1.3 million in prize money.
The World No.1 has a remarkable distinction of winning the title as many times as losing the finals (which is also the most for any player in the tournament’s history). When it comes to playing Nadal in the finals, those were in 2009, 2012, 2019, and 2021.
For finishing as runner-up, the now World No.1 received $234,827, $245,070, $291,183, and $164,000 in prize money respectively. This sum total of $935,080 is almost 50% less than what Nadal pocketed.
In 2016 and 2017, the story had a slight twist as Novak Djokovic did not have to face Rafael Nadal in both those finals. And yet, the Serb could not add to his titles tally in those years because of losing to Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev respectively.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner took home $1,437,815 in prize money. But since the winners collected a total of $2,773,401, Novak Djokovic missed out on $1,335,586.
In 2009, Novak Djokovic missed out on $234,827, while in 2012, that number rose to $246,346. In the 2016 final vs Murray, Djokovic failed to add $244,616 to his kitty.
In 2017, once again, that number rose astronomically to $258.297. Novak Djokovic suffered from the Rafael Nadal curse again in 2019 and 2021, losing out on another $293,699 and $57,501 respectively. (Figures from Perfect Tennis)
Novak Djokovic on Facing Rafael Nadal in the Italian Open 2021 Finals
Back in 2021, after Novak Djokovic suffered his fourth final loss against Rafael Nadal, he was gracious to praise the Spaniard. After claiming that the Big Three were still the “Next Gen”, the Serb laughed as he spoke about the struggles of facing Rafa in the finals.
“The Next Gen young people? Me, Rafa (Nadal) and Roger (Federer) are reinventing the NextGen. We are the Next Gen,” Novak Djokovic said cheekily.
“Rafa is one of the biggest rivals I have had in my career, every time it is a struggle, today almost three hours,” he added.
Should Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both play in the Italian Open 2024, fans would love to see a match between them which could be in an earlier round as compared to the past. This is because Nadal is set to use his Protected Ranking again. The last time these two played, was at the French Open 2022.
However, when it comes to total career prize money, Rafael Nadal will not overtake Novak Djokovic despite having a better run than him in the Italian Open. Djokovic is already way ahead above $180 million, while Nadal is second in the all-time list, bagging above $134 million.
