Nadal then defeated Kevin Anderson in the US Open final. [39] Nadal continued to dominate in most of the early season. Federer is seen by pundits as the greatest male player to have stepped on a tennis court, having won more Majors than the rest. [205] Nadal stopped Djokovic from completing a non-calendar year Grand Slam at the 2012 French Open and has delivered eight of Djokovic's defeats at the tournament, while Djokovic has delivered two of Nadal's three losses at Roland Garros and outlasted him in the longest major final in history at the 2012 Australian Open. In the previous year he lost the US Open final to he Scotsman. [63] However, Djokovic ended Nadal's record eight-year winning streak at the Monte-Carlo Masters. 1 after the Big Three reached it,[173] though he had by that time spent 76 weeks as No. However, he emphasized that he is not afraid of the competition, and that he welcomes the challenge of facing . His breakthrough came in 2003 when he won his first major title at Wimbledon,[19] won the year-end championships, and finished the year as the world No. Wawrinka is the only active player outside the Big Four to have won multiple Slam titles with three (the same number as Murray), defeating Djokovic and Nadal on the way to the 2014 Australian Open title, Federer and Djokovic to win the 2015 French Open, and Djokovic to win the 2016 US Open. We don't play mixed. 1 over the inactive Murray. It was his thirdGrand Slamtitle. Novak Djokovic has only lost once to Nadal, in the 2017 Wimbledon final, and Roger Federer has lost twice to Nadal. Djokovic entered the season as the world No. In fact, the likeable Swiss is just one Wimbledon title away from completing the career slam. They made me realise what I had to do to improve. 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. 4 in November, the first time he had been ranked outside the top three since 2002. Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have been dominating the game for about two decades and their influence has become unparalleled. Federer's early loss in Miami resulted in the loss of the No. [107] Djokovic defeated Federer in the Rome final. Fish failed to find the winning touch against Novak Djokovic, losing to the Serb seven times in total. Federer finished the season having reached all four major finals for the third time in his career following 2006 and 2007. The defeat saw Nadal slip to seventh in the rankings, his first time outside the top five in more than a decade. 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. This also prompted the first uses of the term 'Big Four' to refer to the players,[38] although results saw Nadal and Federer generally remain clear leaders ahead of Djokovic and Murray, who in turn were regarded as ahead of the rest of the tour. Thats how good he is, and hopefully well see it again. It was an incredibly tough match. The former World No. He became the second player after Andre Agassi to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, ATP Finals, Olympic and Masters titles, and the first to do so in the same calendar year. 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). With the win, Nadal became the first player to win majors on three different surfaces in a single calendar year, known as the Surface Slam. The Italian triumphed just once against Nadal in nine attempts, at the 2008 Rotterdam Open. Blake, who is also a best-selling author, went on to lose to Novak Djokovic in the bronze-medal match of the Beijing Olympics. [95] The US Open 2014 saw the Big Four's collective grip on the major titles slip still further, however, as Kei Nishikori and Marin ili beat Djokovic and Federer in the semifinals respectively to contest the first Slam final featuring none of the Big Four since the 2005 Australian Open, and the first time since 2003 that multiple first-time Grand Slam tournament winners have been crowned in a single season. [24] They both reached the world's top 100 in 2005, and the top 20 in 2006. . But then again we don't play doubles. Actually, there are plenty of players who have beaten all of these 3 in the game of tennis. . "I have to pay a great tribute to Rafa and Roger. This is a tremendous record against arguably the greatest man to have ever held a racquet. There, Djokovic defeated Federer in the longest Wimbledon men's final in history. Debating When Roger Federer Will Fade From the Big Three Conversation. At this time they are better than the other players. Taking nothing from Australia, Hewitt did have a bit of an upper hand against the young Federer and Nadal. Match after match I was playing better., MANORCO PVT LTD 2022 | All Rights Reserved. Its quite strange when I tell myself that I have a gold medal, a Davis Cup, and I have two Grand Slam. This was the fourth time that Nadal and Federer had won all four majors in the same year, following their sweeps in 2006, 2007, and 2010. Murray ended the year with two Masters titles for the fourth consecutive year, and five titles in total.[54]. This was the only time that he beat the Spaniard in nine matches. Nadal achieved his 36th Masters victory by defeating Djokovic in the Italian Open final. [2][3] The trio have dominated men's singles tennis for nearly two decades, collectively winning 64 major singles tournaments; Nadal and Djokovic with 22 titles, and Federer with 20. 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. ", "Nadal, Djokovic and Federer built a golden era of men's tennis", "John McEnroe on tennis' golden era and best of all time", "Simply the best: The golden era of men's tennis", "Adjusted for inflation, the ATP's current elite are the best paid ever", "Djokovic Snatches Monumental Victory from Federer", "Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in US Open semis", "French Open: Roger Federer ends Novak Djokovic run to reach final", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Three_(tennis)&oldid=1141902301, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from June 2022, Articles with dead external links from July 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2022, Articles containing potentially dated statements from February 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016, Articles containing potentially dated statements from January 2023, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from June 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 13:01. [57][175][176] His rise to reach the world No. 3. Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer. In both the 2018 and 2021 ATP Finals, Zverev defeated the Serb and went on to win the tournament. Federer won his final title at age 36, Nadal won his most recent title at 36, and Djokovic at 35. see also ITF team competitions: Olympics, Davis Cup, Hopman Cup and In the 2014 Australia Open final, Stan WawrinkadefeatedRafael Nadal, 63, 62, 36, 63 to win the mens singles tennis title. [13] Djokovic has been a dominant player since the beginning of 2011, gradually approaching or surpassing Federer and Nadal's career achievements. [104][105] In Madrid, Murray defeated Nadal in straight sets. But the crowd and the fans helped me a lot until the last point., He added, I just want to live this moment. Djokovic's 2016 Australian Open victory was especially impressive, as he came back from a two-set . Murray, meanwhile, made the semifinals of all four majors, with including a runner-up finish in the Australian Open final to Djokovic. With a combined total of 149 matches played, the Big Three have played many notable matches against each other. [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. Nadal withdrew from the ATP Finals to undergo surgery for an ankle injury. Seven current or former world number ones have winning records over members of the Big 4: Pat Rafter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kurten, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic . Please logout and login again. [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. [199][200][201][202] Djokovic saved double match points against Federer at the 2010 and 2011 US Open semifinals and the 2019 Wimbledon final,[203][204] whereas Federer ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak in the 2011 French Open semifinals. 1 ranking, all since 2012, saw him listed more comfortably alongside the other three members during the mid-2010s. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has defeated the Big Three 16 times. Not many in the world can get the better of Federer a total of 6 times. I mean, I don't know. 2 in the rankings, overtaking Nadal, whose season had been curtailed by a wrist injury. He was a serious player who gave Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic a run for their money. Nadal returned in Montreal where he defended his title. [56][57] Federer would get the silver at the Olympics while Djokovic would lose the bronze medal match to Juan Martn del Potro of Argentina. However, he lost in the semifinals of Tokyo Olympics to Alexander Zverev, despite being up a set and a break,[133] and subsequently lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreo Busta.[134]. [30] Djokovic went on to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who had eliminated Nadal in the semifinals) to win his first major. Dominic Thiem has met Roger Federer only once on grass so far -- in the semifinals of the 2016 Stuttgart Open. He defeatedNole, 46, 64, 63, 64 to win the mens singles tennis and it was Wawrinkas secondmajortitle. [143] Federer has delivered the most bagels against the other two with four, while receiving only one.[144]. Stan said, I still think that Im dreaming. Raonic, a one-time Wimbledon finalist, has a 3-11 record against Roger Federer after having registered wins at the 2014 Paris Masters, the 2016 Brisbane International and the 2016 Wimbledon semifinals. Murray won 19 matches against his three great rivals: 11 times against Federer and Djokovic, seven times against Nadal. [82][83][84][85] However, the first two Masters titles of the year in Indian Wells and Miami only had Big Four finalists, with Djokovic winning his third and fourth consecutive Masters titles with victories over Federer and Nadal respectively. 1 for 18 years or was in the top 2 for nearly 16 years. With five, Federer has recorded most bagels against all three of his peers, while receiving only one. At the French Open, Federer returned to play at the tournament for the first time since 2015, reaching the semifinals where he was defeated by Nadal in straight sets. Federer subsequently overtook Sampras' all-time record of 286 weeks as the world No. Murray has won three Majors: Wimbledon 2013 and 2016 (respectively against Djokovic and Raonic) and the US Open 2012, against Djokovic. Djokovic . I always try to watch the finals of Grand Slams because thats where the best players are playing., He added, Before today, for me it wasnt a dream. They held the top-two spots continuously from 25 July 2005 to 14 March 2021, as well as the top ranking from 2 February 2004 to 28 February 2022, meaning that no player outside the Big Four were ranked world No. Questions had been asked about 34-year-old Nadal . One of those players is Roger Federer. The "nearly great if not for Federer" Andy Roddick had enough overlap between eras and lodged career wins over all of the. Nadal and Federer, meanwhile, both progressed to the final after each won five-set semifinals. Murrays record against Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic is why, for a time, there was a big four. [90] This, and Nadal's loss to Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round, his third consecutive early-round loss at Wimbledon, led former players and experts, including Jimmy Connors, to express the opinion that the "aura" around the Big Four had faded. Federer announced that he would again skip the entire clay-court season. He reached just one major semifinal at the Australian Open, failed to win a single Masters crown, and finished the year sixth in the rankings with one title to his name; he also suffered from a recurring back injury throughout the season.[70]. Thiem has a solid record against Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic. It was Djokovic's 16th major title, only trailing Federer's 20 and Nadal's 18. 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. Defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael . Following the tournament, Murray entered the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time. 2016 marked the first year since 2003 that neither Federer, Nadal or Djokovic finished the year as world number 1. After winning the title Daniil said, You never know if youre going to achieve [winning a major] in your career. Against Djokovic, however, the Canadian has a poor record, losing all 12 matches that the two have been a part of. I never had a goal to win a Grand Slam but I am trying as best I can. 1 player in the final to win his major titles. He competed for Serbia in the 2008. Something quite amazing. Roger Federer had better luck against Rainer Schuettler, winning his first match against the German back in 1999. 2005 was Nadal's breakthrough year, in which he won 24 consecutive matches on clay, including his first French Open title, beating Federer in the semifinals,[22] and he finished the year as the world No. Nadal breezed through to the French Open title, defeating Wawrinka in the final and not dropping a set at the tournament for the third time in his career. Hewitt has a fine record against them, although it is perhaps a little loaded since he was at the top when Federer and Nadal were just starting out. The respective rivalries between the Big Three are considered to be some of the greatest tennis rivalries of all time,[139][140][141][142] and are the three most prolific men's rivalries of the Open Era. Head to head records for players in men's professional tennis. It's very interesting at the top right now, and the depth I think has never been greater than right now. ", "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? You look back, a further back, 20 years, and you have the Connors and the Lendls. 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. Nadal won his first Grand Slam title at age 19, Djokovic at 20, and Federer at 21. Full list of Roger Federer's defeats on grass: 1. Example - Querrey beats Thiem in R1 of Wimbledon 2019, Nadal beats Querrey in QF. A lot of the tennis stars such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Pete Sampras among the others have held the number 1 rank. Federer did not compete in the 2021 Australian Open in order to recover from surgery. They are legends of our sport. Feliciano Lopez, 41, says he considers himself "lucky" knowing that he had a chance to compete against Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Roger Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, announces his retirement Answer: By twice in a row, I guess you are reffering to two back to back tournaments (for example when Federer defeated Nadal in Indian Wells and Miami 2017). Nadal suffered his worst European clay-court season in a decade, failing to win a single title and appearing in just one final, whereas Djokovic and Murray entered the second Grand Slam event of the year unbeaten on clay. They are the only three men in history to win eight or more singles titles at a single Grand Slam tournament: Nadal with 14 French Open titles, Djokovic with 10 Australian Open titles, and Federer with 8 Wimbledon titles. 1 in the semifinals of the 2020 edition. Nadal only dropped one set en route to his fifth US Open final, where he met Daniil Medvedev. Holding the advantage at 27-23 in over 50 battles, the six-time year-end World No. [32] He also won his first two Masters titles. [129] Djokovic was disqualified from the tournament during his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreo-Busta after inadvertently striking a ball at a line judge after conceding a break. Djokovic then won his eighth Australian Open title and his 17th major overall by a narrow victory over Thiem in the final.[128]. He then lost to Tom Berdych at Wimbledon, ending his run of seven consecutive Wimbledon finals. Another interesting statistic pointed out by Nick Nemeroff is that only 2 players have beaten Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic for 5 or more times. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal bias underlines Novak Djokovic not being rewarded with the GOAT status, according to a veteran tennis player. After defeating Djokovic in an ATP 500 event, he became the first player outside of the "Big 4," that being Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, to defeat the Serbian superstar at a . Creator: Mark Metcalfe | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2022 Getty Images, Dominic Thiem (14 wins against the Fab 3). 1 spot at the end of the year and ending 2016 on a 24-match winning streak, the longest of his career. 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. [49] Pete Sampras described it as "one of the best achievements in all of sport. [99] Collectively, the Big Four won 19 titles in 2014, but two Slam titles and two Masters titles went to other players. 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. He entered the French Open as the favourite, but was defeated in a massive upset by Robin Sderling in the fourth round. [25] He also won two Masters titles and five overall titles during the season, finishing 2007 as the world No. Djokovic made his ATP Tour debut in 2004, while Murray's was in 2005. The Big Four regularly held the top four places in the year-end rankings between 2008 and 2013 and were ranked year-end world top four from 2008 to 2012, the longest span of dominance for any quartet of players in tennis history. British tennis player Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka. In the 16 Grand Slam meetings, Nadal has won 10 to Djokovic's six, and in the eight times they've played at the French Open, Nadal has lost just once. Thiem has lost the crucial matches against them, being bested in two French Open finals by Nadal and an Australian Open final against Djokovic. Nadal is dominant on clay, particularly at the French Open, where he has won all six matches against Federer and eight of ten against Djokovic. Seppi remained winless against Novak Djokovic in 12 encounters that spanned a decade between 2006 and 2016. Currently, Djokovic leads his head-to-head record against both Federer and Nadal. I cried a little bit on the court. However, he still holds a solid record against the Fab 3. Lets have a look at these players. A third loss, to Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters, was the first time Nadal had lost more than two matches on clay in a season for a decade. Here's a look at who they are: Andy Murray has scored two victories over Rafael Nadal on clay, both of which came at the Madrid Masters. The former World No. He became the first British man to win the English Grand Slam singles title sinceFred Perryin1936, ending a 77-year drought. [118] Murray ultimately won the final in four sets, becoming the first male player to win the singles gold medal twice. [citation needed], Federer did not participate at the French Open. With Nadal's injuries, Murray and Djokovic improved in the rankings, with Murray reaching world No. The Argentinian has got seven wins against Federer, six against Nadal and four against Djokovic. At the start of 2018, Murray underwent hip surgery for the injury that had sidelined him since the previous summer. What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? I'm not making something up. [51] They all reached the semifinals at two of the year's Grand Slam events, and between them won every Masters tournament. If not for his injuries, Juan Martin would have been twice the player he has been in his career till now. [125] In the 2019 Davis Cup, Spain won its sixth title (its first since 2011), defeating Canada in the final 20. Novak Djokovic: Probably no Serbia Open in 2024, Ion Tiriac wants his licence back, ATP Acapulco: Taro Daniel scores first top-10 win despite beating Novak Djokovic, ATP Dubai: Lorenzo Sonego keeps Rafael Nadal in top-10, Novak Djokovic passes Rafael Nadal, matches Roger Federer. Djokovic was then only one title away from tying Federer and Nadal for the most men's singles majors of all time. The match equalled the record of US Openfinal duration in theOpen Era. [130] The title was won by Dominic Thiem, who became the first player outside the Big Three to win a major since Stan Wawrinka in 2016. The term Golden Era has also been applied to other famous eras in tennis history including the mid-1970s to 1980s,[194][195][196] and the 1920s to the 1930s.