In the final, Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets to claim a record-winning seventh Australian Open title and increased his major tally to 15. It's nice to see Andy making his move at the Olympics, nice to see Novak having an absolutely ridiculous year last year, and then Rafa and myself still being around. Nadal took hold of the record by winning his 21st major title at the Australian Open in January, breaking his tie with his longtime rivals Djokovic and Roger Federer, who both have won 20.. Wawrinka is certainly nobodies mug having amassed three Grand Slam titles. Federer's presence at Laver Cup 2023 is particularly noteworthy, given his longstanding relationship with the event as a co-founder but also a player. [67] Nadal dominated the US Open series, winning the Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters, and US Open, defeating Djokovic in the final of the latter. As 2013 came to a close, Federer's fall in the rankings prompted many sources to debate whether the dominance of the Big Four had ended. Defeating the Big 3 of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer is what most players on the ATP tour have aspired to do over the last decade and a half. It was the Swiss firstmajortitle and with this win, he became the first man outside theBig Fourto win a major sinceJuan Martn del Potrowon the2009 US Open. Djokovic won the title and his 20th major against Matteo Berrettini, thereby equaling both Federer and Nadal's all-time tally. .mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^ Outright record underlined. At the 2018 US Open, both Djokovic and Nadal made the semifinals, where Nadal retired against Juan Martn del Potro after being two sets down due to a knee injury he sustained during the tournament. Tsongas star has waned in recent years as he became gripped by a knee injury, but his record here really shows what a good player he was at his peak. Likewise, Federer is the only player to have beaten Djokovic at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the US Open, and the French Open. Juan Martn del Potro won his first Grand Slam mens singles title at the 2009 US Open, defeating five-time defending championRoger Federerin a five-set thriller. "Players to beat Federer, Nadal. Djokovic was trying to become the first man sinceRod Laverin 1969 to win all four majors in one season and break a tie withRoger FedererandRafael Nadalfor the most major titles in history (20 each). Federer was unable to compete due to a persistent knee injury while Nadal returned to compete, after a lengthy six-month injury hiatus and a positive COVID-19 result. After withdrawing from Indian Wells due to injury, Nadal initially struggled upon returning for the clay-court season, losing in the semifinals at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. Stan Wawrinka has won three Grand Slam titles in his career. "I have to pay a great tribute to Rafa and Roger. Roger Federer According to a statistic recently popping out on Twitter, the only players to beat each of the Big Three, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic 5 or more times. The GOAT debate has increasingly become centered around Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, as the trio have made themselves a part of tennis history with their continued dominance. [143] Federer has delivered the most bagels against the other two with four, while receiving only one.[144]. [49] Pete Sampras described it as "one of the best achievements in all of sport. In Grand Slams, Djokovic has won 7 times and Federer 3. Those weren't good either? Djokovic and Murray were third and fourth respectively, both reaching one Grand Slam final apiece. Each member of the Big Four reached the 2010 ATP Finals semifinals with Federer defeating Nadal in three sets in the final, leading to them achieving their third successive season in the top four positions. Murray has won three Majors: Wimbledon 2013 and 2016 (respectively against Djokovic and Raonic) and the US Open 2012, against Djokovic. Despite his struggles with form throughout the second half of the year, Djokovic still ended 2016 as world number two. At the Olympics, Federer lost in the quarterfinals to James Blake, while Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal, but went on to win the bronze medal. Federer's early loss in Miami resulted in the loss of the No. ", "Swiss tennis star Roger Federer confident of bouncing back to form", "Get ready for another Big Four-tnight at Wimbledon", "Wawrinka wins drama-charged Australian Open final", "Andy Murray six in world rankings, Stanislas Wawrinka up to three", "Andy Murray six in ATP world rankings, Wawrinka up to three", "Nishikori sees new generation threatening Big Four", "Berdych: Wawrinka showed us it is possible to win", "Novak Djokovic battles from behind to defeat Roger Federer and win BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells", "Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to win Sony Open in Miami", "Djokovic defeats Nadal in three sets to win Rome Masters", "Rafael Nadal wins Madrid Masters after Kei Nishikori retires", "Andy Murray: World ranking drops to 10th lowest since 2008", "Wimbledon 2014: Is the end near for Nadal, Murray, Djokovic & Co? James Blake won his first three matches against the Spaniard before losing the next four. After winning the 2016 French Open, Djokovic came to within 2 titles of Nadal (14 vs. 12), but over the next two years, Nadal and Federer extended their lead over Djokovic again; following the 2018 French Open, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic had 20, 17, and 12 titles, respectively. At the Tour finals, Federer and Djokovic both reached the final, but Federer withdrew citing injury following a semifinal win over Wawrinka. The American's wins came in the 2005-06 period before the Mallorcan grew to be a near-invincible force on the ATP tour. With the victory, Djokovic won his second French Open title and 19th major singles title overall, and became the third man to have won each of the four majors at least twice or more (after Roy Emerson and Rod Laver), and the first to do so in the Open Era. Juan Martin del Potro earned the respect in the sport, even from the Fab 3. [124] Djokovic and Nadal, meanwhile, made the semifinals, where twetlfth-seeded Djokovic defeated world No. The Argentinian has got seven wins against Federer, six against Nadal and four against Djokovic. Murray beat Federer in a five-set semifinal match, meaning all four members of the Big Four had beaten each other at least once at a major, but he lost to Djokovic in the final. [16][17] Roger Federer first played on the ATP Tour aged 17 in 1998,[18] finishing his first full ATP season the following year. His first win against the Spaniard came in the 2015 Indian Wells Open. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all have credible claims to be considered the best. The trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are commonly referred to as The Big Three. By the end of the 2002 season, he was ranked sixth in the world. 1 spot at the end of the year and ending 2016 on a 24-match winning streak, the longest of his career. 10 in the world rankings. Djokovic and Murray both finished with their lowest year-end rankings since 2006, at No. At the US Open, Djokovic retired against Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round due to a shoulder injury, and Federer was upset by Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals. [23] Djokovic, however, began to excel ahead of Murray in 2007, reaching one major final and two semifinals and beginning to regularly challenge Federer and Nadal. However, he emphasized that he is not afraid of the competition, and that he welcomes the challenge of facing . Nadal only dropped one set en route to his fifth US Open final, where he met Daniil Medvedev. Mar 1, 2023. However, Medvedev played calm, patient tennis to become the 3. The French Open itself was postponed to late September, while Wimbledon was cancelled. The 34-year-old Serbian won his first Grand Slam title 13 years ago when he beat Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in four sets at the 2008 Australian Open. Nadal won Monte Carlo for a record ninth time. He then withdrew from the tournament before his semifinal encounter against Nick Kyrgios,[138] the latter of whom then advanced to his first major final. It will be safe to say that Dominic Thiem is the closest tennis player who comes to the Fab 3. However, he still holds a solid record against the Fab 3. If not for his injuries, Juan Martin would have been twice the player he has been in his career till now. Daniil Medvedevtriumphed overNovak Djokovicin the 2021 US Open final, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win the mens singles tennis title. At the Olympics, Djokovic was knocked out of the men's singles in the opening round by Juan Martn del Potro, in a repeat of the bronze medal match from four years earlier. The 2013 season continued similarly, with Djokovic, Federer and Murray occupying three of the four semifinal slots at the Australian Open, with Nadal still suffering from an injury. But then best ever? At 2018 Wimbledon, Federer lost to Kevin Anderson in the quarterfinals despite holding a two-sets-to-love lead and holding a match point in the third set, having suffered a hand injury at the start of the grass season. They did not break it but emerged ahead of the rest of the tour. British tennis player Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka. Having said that, Dominic Thiem has lost some important matches against the Fab 3, as he was beaten by Nadal in two French Open finals and by Djokovic in the Australian Open. Nevertheless, Thiem is an exceptional talent, and he can replace Federer in the Fab 3 with the Swiss legend retired from the game. However, given Murray's injury-ridden exit from the tennis elite after his 2016 triumphs, and the Big Three's continued dominance through year-end 2019, the "Big Four" label has been increasingly confined to the 20082017 period. At the Davis Cup, Nadal helped Spain to win the title in five editions, Djokovic and Federer helped Serbia (2010) and Switzerland (2014) win their first title in the competition, and Murray helped Great Britain win the title in 2015. Nadal and Murray both struggled against the Serb, with Nadal losing all four of his encounters in straight sets, and Murray winning only one of his seven encounters, in Montreal. Relief is probably the word I would use describe how Im feeling just now., He added, Mentally, the last three, four days have been pretty tiring. The Slovak managed to beat Rafael Nadal three times in a row. ", "Wimbledon: Young guns Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov look to progress", "Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer to win Wimbledon title", "Roger Federer beats David Ferrer to claim Cincinnati title", "Rafael Nadal withdraws from 2014 U.S. Open with right wrist injury", "Andy Murray beats Tommy Robredo to win Valencia Open", "Roger Federer out of ATP World Tour final v Novak Djokovic", "Roger Federer finishes the job to clinch Swiss triumph", "Australian Open 2015: What did we learn Down Under? 1: Roger Federer (310 weeks), Novak Djokovic (308), Rafael Nadal (209) and Andy Murray (41). Feliciano Lopez, 41, says he considers himself "lucky" knowing that he had a chance to compete against Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. However, Nadal and Djokovic have him slightly beaten. Nadal won both, with the latter final often described as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. First up was Nadal, who he had never previously faced. I feel that truly. He failed to notch up wins against the Serb in the other two encounters that the two were part of in 2010 and 2011 at the US Open and Miami Masters respectively. 1 ranking. Considering the incredible dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and that a player like Stan Wawrinka - who won three Slams - won only 12 matches against the Big Three (three against Federer, three against Nadal, and six against Djokovic), we can say that Murray, del Potro and Tsonga's goal is very important for this tennis era. The Big Three have been competing to win the most Grand Slam men's singles titles of all time. 1 ranking to Djokovic. . He failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002, losing to Nadal for the fourth time in a French Open final. [106] This was also the first time he had beaten another member of the Big Four in a tour match since Wimbledon 2013, ending a streak of 12 losses against the other members. The answer is Roddick. He beat Nadal for the second time a couple of years later at the Brisbane Open. [108] Djokovic emerged victorious over Murray in a five-set match that was spread over two days[109] but succumbed to Wawrinka in the final in four sets. Djokovic is the only player to defeat Federer at all four majors, and likewise Federer is the only player to defeat Djokovic at each one. Andy Murraydefeated then the defending championNovak Djokovicin the final of the 2012 US Open, 76(1210), 75, 26, 36, 62 to win the mens singles tennis title. Federer was the first to come to prominence after winning Wimbledon in 2003, and became the world No. [174], Murray's three Majors, two Olympic Games victories, ATP Finals, Masters titles and his success in reaching the world no. 2. Lets have a look at these players. 3, Djokovic's 2011", "After putting on 'couch potato' weight in retirement, Pete Sampras is fit again and playing competitively", "Djokovic's 2011 season: the greatest of all time? It was Djokovic's 16th major title, only trailing Federer's 20 and Nadal's 18. The two most important players I ever faced. In team sports, rosters change year by year and the rivalries endure.. Not many in the world can get the better of Federer a total of 6 times. Since 2006, only six men (Del Potro, Murray, Wawrinka, Cilic, Thiem and Medvedev) have won Grand Slams apart from the Big 3 , The GOAT era of tennis pic.twitter.com/a7VEmBspF5, Pointing out this wondrous statistics, a Twitter user shared, Since 2006, only six men (Del Potro, Murray, Wawrinka, Cilic, Thiem and Medvedev) have won Grand Slams apart from the Big 3. On his day, though, Del Potro was feared, even by the big guns. Tennishead >> The World's most popular destination for tennis fans & players who want breaking tennis news, in-depth match analysis, tournament reporting, expert opinion, professional writing, tennis racket & gear reviews, videos, competitions & social media commentary. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal bias underlines Novak Djokovic not being rewarded with the GOAT status, according to a veteran tennis player. Murray did finish at his career-highest year-end ranking of two even if he won fewer titles, reached fewer finals and had less success versus Djokovic when compared with Federer in the number three ranking. These things happen rarely, but it has happened to Federer few times. With Nadal's injuries, Murray and Djokovic improved in the rankings, with Murray reaching world No. He showed promise by reaching the semifinals of Rome, losing to Nadal in two tight sets. Each player has occupied the top position at the end of the year at least five times, with Djokovic holding the ATP record with seven. Tennishead.net is owned by Advantage Publishing (UK) Ltd. Company No: 05734573, Keep up to date with the breaking news & tennis action at our, Check out the latest tennis equipment with our, Read in depth features with stunning photography in, Check out our guide on how to watch tennis on TV, EXCLUSIVE 5% DISCOUNT for all tennishead readers on tennis rackets, balls, clothing, shoes & accessories with All Things Tennis. Creator: Mark Metcalfe | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2022 Getty Images, Dominic Thiem (14 wins against the Fab 3). [157], Since 2010, when the Big Four increasingly began to dominate the tour as a group, many articles and reports have concentrated mainly on the members of the Big Four and their chances in upcoming tournaments, with smaller sections devoted to all other players. The Big Three is a common nickname in tennis for the trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, each considered to be among the greatest players of all time. [123] Nadal's loss to Dominic Thiem in the Madrid quarterfinals returned the No. He and Federer each won three Masters tournaments. [107] Djokovic defeated Federer in the Rome final. The win brought Nadal to 18 major titles, just two behind Federer's record of 20. 1 ranking for a 310th week. [25] He also won two Masters titles and five overall titles during the season, finishing 2007 as the world No. He defeatedNole, 46, 64, 63, 64 to win the mens singles tennis and it was Wawrinkas secondmajortitle. Victories at the 2000 Paris Masters and the 2004 Cincinnati Masters put Hrabty 2-0 ahead in the head-to-head with Federer, who managed to pull one back at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. Djokovic then won his eighth Australian Open title and his 17th major overall by a narrow victory over Thiem in the final.[128]. 909 Almost a decade later, Federer came close to repeating that feat. Alcaraz, 19, is also the youngest player to defeat an ATP World No. Federer, meanwhile, won his tenth title in Halle, making him the only player in the Open Era besides Nadal to win ten titles at the same event. A victory at the Swiss Indoors in Basel and one at the 2016 Cincinnati Open proved that Borna Coric was not intimidated by the Spaniard. The Austrian ended up shocking the top seed with a victory in three sets. In the final, Nadal prevailed over Thiem for a second consecutive year, winning the tournament for a record-extending 12th time. Nadal returned to Wimbledon for the first time in three years; however he incurred an abdominal injury during the tournament. Nonetheless, FedererNadal remained the lead rivalry, as the pair met in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Blake, who is also a best-selling author, went on to lose to Novak Djokovic in the bronze-medal match of the Beijing Olympics. At 2019. He still poses a highly respectable record against the big three though, especially against the current world number one. Djokovic rebounded to win a record 36th Masters title in the Italian Open two weeks later. Indeed, throughout the year, Murray failed to register a single victory against another member of the Big Four in nine meetings. As of September 2020, Novak Djokovic has beaten Roger Federer 27 times. 3 has also won one match against Roger Federer on grass, at the 2016 Halle Open. In 2007 nadal won the French open and pushed Federer to 5 sets in the Wimbledon final. "[50], Djokovic's dominance contributed to overall control by the Big Four. Additionally, on 11 September 2017, Nadal and Federer were ranked No. Each player won a major: Djokovic the Australian Open, Nadal the French Open, Federer Wimbledon and Murray (who hired former world number 1 Ivan Lendl as his head coach earlier in the year[55]) his maiden major title at the US Open. 2, respectively, the first time since 20 March 2011 that they held the top two rankings spots. Winning against them is a very difficult goal, as the young players of the Tour like Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgio are experiencing. The win marked his ninth Australian Open title and 18th major title overall, putting him two titles away from tying Federer and Nadal. In both the 2018 and 2021 ATP Finals, Zverev defeated the Serb and went on to win the tournament. At the Australian Open, Nadal won his first title there in another five-set final, his third consecutive major final victory over Federer, while Murray and Djokovic were eliminated earlier. He was dominant even against his fellow Big Four rivals, going 154 against them throughout the year. 6 has a far better record against Roger Federer, winning four times. Since 2006, only six players have defeated the Big Three to win a Grand Slam title. [5][6][7] They have been a critical part of what has been labelled a new "Golden Era" in tennis.[8][9][10][11]. Nadal won two Majors and five Masters events, and was runner-up at the ATP Finals. Nadal finally got one back by defeating Hrbaty at the 2005 Barcelona Open. It's just different times and definitely more athletic, there's no doubt about that. Additionally, they collectively own the 10 biggest single season payouts ranging from $13.06 million to $21.15 million. [170][171] In 2014, statistician Nate Silver labelled the group the 'Big Three and a Half'. In the end-of-year rankings, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal held the top three spots, with Murray in sixth. Djokovic, on the other hand, defeated Kei Nishikori to make his eighth US Open final, where he beat del Potro for his 14th major title. He dropped to world No. He also beat the Swiss in straight sets in the 2014 Davis Cup Finals, but it wasn't enough to prevent Switzerland from winning the title. One of the three finished the season as the year-end No. Djokovic has completed a non-calendar year Grand Slam, making him the only man in history to hold all four majors at once across three different surfaces. 1, and extended the record to 302. Since 2004, however, only four men have been ranked No. [146] Following the 2010 Australian Open, Federer had 16 titles, Nadal 6, and Djokovic 1, the peak of Federer's lead over Nadal and Djokovic. [39] Nadal continued to dominate in most of the early season. [58] Nadal did not compete due to a knee injury. The Serb has beaten the Swiss 27 times, with 22 defeats (as of April 2020). At the US Open, Djokovic reached the final but was defeated once again by Stan Wawrinka in a Grand Slam singles final. Stan said, I still think that Im dreaming. All four have reached a career-high ranking of world No. Djokovic was then only one title away from tying Federer and Nadal for the most men's singles majors of all time. 3 was his career-best. Lets be realistic; every player had to face at least one of them in their journey before winning a major trophy. [9][153][154][155][156], I think the top four, they are better. 1s in singles . [4], The Big Four was used to describe the larger quartet of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray from about 2008 to 2017, though the term is occasionally still used when referring to the group in that period. The four of us? In the 5-hour 24-minute final, he defeated Daniil Medvedev, after coming back from a two-set deficit, to win his record-breaking 21st major and establish a new all-time record for the most men's majors singles titles. [119] Nadal, Murray and Djokovic all lost before the semifinals. 1 Novak Djokovic is the answer. ", "Men's Tennis: The Big One, Big Two, Big Three or Big Four? Until March of 2021, Roger Federer held the record for being the world number 1 for the longest amount of time. There, Nadal was upset by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals despite taking a two-sets-to-love lead, while Djokovic successfully defended his title by beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. In the 2019 Australian Open, Federer was upset in the fourth round by 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas in a tight four-setter. 1, the Serbian channelled the experience . Soon after, by reaching the semifinals in Rotterdam, Federer overtook returned to world No. The hat-trick of wins began at the Lyon Open in 2003 and continued in the final of the Auckland Open in 2004. Example - Querrey beats Thiem in R1 of Wimbledon 2019, Nadal beats Querrey in QF. Of course I will be in the history of tennis. 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