Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal Rivalry Set to Eclipse Them All

It was almost exactly nine years ago that these two rivals knocked the red dirt off the soles of their shoes, looked across the net, and locked horns for the first time in their professional careers.

In seemingly fitting fashion, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic initiated their historic rivalry in the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open. 

That would of course be the same round of the same tournament in which they are poised to meet on Wednesday. Nadal led in that encounter by a score of 6-4, 6-4 before Djokovic ultimately retired from the match with a bad back.

Despite the nine years of elapsed time, the stakes for their upcoming meeting at the 2015 French Open remain much the same.

Djokovic is seeking a chance at the final piece in his career Grand Slam puzzle, while Nadal is looking to throw another one on the pile (nine titles and counting).

Beyond individual results, Djokovic and Nadal also continue to push their rivalry to new, record-setting levels. After passing Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe for the most meetings in the Open Era (37), their much anticipated dust-up in France this week will represent a hefty meeting number 44.

The duo already surpassed Nadal's rivalry with Roger Federer for the most encounters in the final round of a tournament at 22 (Federer and Nadal stand at 20). And while Djokovic-Nadal remains one behind Federer-Nadal in terms of meetings in Grand Slam finals (7 versus 8) this quarterfinal will arguably possess the same tension as any of those 15.

Looking deeper into the Djokovic-Nadal rivalry reveals similar historic highlights. 

During the two-year period of 2011-12, the Djokovic-Nadal rivalry made 10 appearances in the final round of a tournament. Unbeknownst to most, that pace was actually faster than the best two-year period of the Federer-Nadal rivalry, which occurred between 2006-07 and included nine finals.

Djokovic and Nadal are also the only pair in men's tennis to meet in the finals of all four Grand Slams (and have done so consecutively). Additionally, they hold the record for the longest Grand Slam final in history, with a time of 5 hours and 53 minutes at the 2012 Australian Open. The pair has also played the most finals (12) against each other in Masters 1000 tournament history. 

History shows that in any sport it's quality, not quantity, that burns a long-lasting impression on the minds of its fans. When brilliant quality is created through the pursuit of history, that quality itself becomes the history. 

The fact that Federer was making so much individual history throughout his competition with Nadal is one possible reason why their rivalry is so often quoted as the best ever.  

It might be for this same reason that so many people claim the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal as the best match in history, as opposed to the match between Djokovic and Nadal during the 2012 Australian Open. The combined number of Slams for the 2008 Wimbledon finalists was 16, whereas the number for the 2012 Australian finalists was 14.  

The quarterfinal in Paris this year features two players with a combined 22 Grand Slam titles between them. 

Oh, what a last-eight meeting this will be! 

While Djokovic has certainly been the much hotter player in 2015, Nadal will still enter Court Philippe Chatrier with plenty of wind in his sails. For one, Nadal is undefeated (6-0) against Djokovic at the French Open. Second, Nadal holds a convincing 18-5 record against Djokovic and Federer in combined Grand Slam play.

Also, the fact that Nadal is 70-1 lifetime on the clay courts of Roland Garros is well known. Less well known is his even stingier record in best-of-five matches on the "terre battue": 93-1. 

The outcome of the match on Wednesday will obviously have lasting implications for the Djokovic-Nadal rivalry going forward. Since the start of 2012 each of the two players has won a total of four Grand Slam titles. 

If Nadal prevails yet again over Djokovic at Roland Garros, then Djokovic's chase for the career Grand Slam will take on even greater gravity in 2016. If Djokovic does overcome Nadal this year and ultimately hands him only his second career defeat in a best-of-five match on clay, then the 2016 French Open will immediately be a measuring stick for Rafa's potential to rebound. 

The two have arguably already handed each other their most stinging defeats.

Nadal's loss to Djokovic in the 2012 Australian Open final has to count near the top of his toughest career defeats. Certainly, the 2013 French Open semifinal in which Nadal came back from down a break to beat Djokovic by a score of 9-7 in the fifth has to stand tall in the Serb's mind as one of his greatest disappointments.

A quarterfinal loss for either of them in 2015 will likely sit with similar discomfort.

With roughly a year separating them, there is little doubt the Djokovic-Nadal rivalry will ultimately stake its claim to the few remaining statistics of importance between any two male rivals in the Open Era.

The only remaining questions are therefore the quality by which those standards are achieved and the context in which they are remembered.

More incremental data in helping to frame an answer to those questions arrives Wednesday.