By winning 112 of his 115 total matches at Roland Garros, Nadal’s winning percentage of 97.4% is the highest of any player, at any Grand Slam tournament, in the Open era.

The fact Nadal is a flawless 14-0 in Roland Garros finals – he has never once been extended to a fifth set in a final in Paris – is another record.

No player, apart from Djokovic being 10-0 in AO finals, is undefeated in more than seven finals at the same Grand Slam tournament.

2. Steffi Graf’s Golden Grand Slam

With 2024 being an Olympic year, this achievement will no doubt be celebrated once more.

In 1988, Graf completed the calendar-year Grand Slam – the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US titles in one season – and iced the statistical cake by winning Olympic singles gold in Seoul 1988.

It’s an achievement nobody has matched in the Open era, and the comparative scarcity of opportunities means it may never be replicated.

Djokovic came close in 2021, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles before falling in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. He also reached the US Open final that year.

Of Olympic singles gold medallists, Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are the only players to have won multiple majors in the same season.

Diede De Groot and Dylan Alcott completed the feat in wheelchair tennis in 2021, winning all four Grand Slam singles titles plus Paralympic gold medals in Tokyo.

3. Novak Djokovic’s weeks at world No.1

Djokovic eclipsed another of Graf’s incredible records when he spent his 378th week at world No.1 in late February 2023.

Graf had previously held the record among both men and women for the most cumulative weeks (377) at world No.1. The previous best among men was Roger Federer’s 310 weeks.

Djokovic has since entered his 426th week as world No.1 as Roland Garros approaches.

He needs a deep run there to ensure he maintains his hold on the position, which is being threatened by fast-rising No.2 Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic has finished year-end No.1 in eight different seasons, a record among men and equal with Graf’s eight year-end No.1 finishes in the WTA rankings.

4. Pete Sampras’ six straight year-end No.1 finishes

The most consecutive year-end No.1 finishes Djokovic has attained is two. Federer, Graf and John McEnroe managed it in four consecutive years. Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova did so five years in a row.

But no other player has ever finished six consecutive seasons at world No.1, like Pete Sampras did.

From 1993 to 1998, Sampras ended every year in top spot, a period in which he also won 10 Grand Slam titles.

He would finish his career with 14 major trophies – a men’s record later eclipsed by Federer, then Nadal, then Djokovic.

5. Chris Evert’s 125-match win streak on clay

This astonishing Open-era record is frequently cited at this time of year, given players have been competing on clay for two months now.

Chris Evert went almost six years without a loss on the surface, winning 125 straight clay-court matches between September 1973 and May 1979.

Tracy Austin snapped her unbeaten run in the Rome semifinals, in a third-set tiebreak. Evert responded by going undefeated on clay for another two years, eventually losing to Hana Mandlikova in the 1981 Roland Garros semifinals.