[52], By his standards, Federer had a weak season. Roger Federer defeated No. 1-ranked player, following Djokovic's loss in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships, thus ending the Big Four's streak of 921 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings (the streak began on 2 February 2004 when Federer overtook Andy Roddick). 1 spot at the end of the year and ending 2016 on a 24-match winning streak, the longest of his career. However, his overall record really does set him apart as true heir-apparent to the ATP throne. Djokovic rebounded to win a record 36th Masters title in the Italian Open two weeks later. Please logout and login again. Compared to Novak and Fed with 3 each. Current through the 2023 Australian Open. Baghdatis faced off against the Serb eight times with no success. Federer finished the year at world No. Djokovic won the title and his 20th major against Matteo Berrettini, thereby equaling both Federer and Nadal's all-time tally. Nadal went on to win the tournament, defeating Dominic Thiem in the final to claim a record-extending 11th French Open title and his 17th major overall. On all the three occasions he defeated the world No. He then followed this up with victory at the Shanghai Masters. They have each completed a Career Grand Slam by winning all four majors at least once, with Djokovic and Nadal completing it twice for a double Career Grand Slam. However, Wawrinka has reached seven fewer Grand Slam singles finals, has won 13 fewer Masters titles than Murray, and has peaked at only number 3 in the world rankings. Federer rebounded from his early loss at the Australian Open by winning his 100th title in Dubai. Lleyton Hewitt, Tommy Haas and Djokovic are the only players to have beaten Federer more than once with the latter claiming wins at Wimbledon in 2014, 2015 and 2019. Djokovic was then only one title away from tying Federer and Nadal for the most men's singles majors of all time. [37] Federer then defeated Murray in the final to win his fifth consecutive US Open title and his 13th major title overall. Federer returned to the tour for Stuttgart and won the title there, which saw him return to the No. The final lasted 4 hours and 54 minutes in the Arthur Ashe Court. ", "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? ", "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. [92] However, Djokovic defeated Dimitrov and Federer beat Raonic to make it an all-Big Four final, the 24th they had contested. Following the tournament, Murray dropped to 11th in the rankings, his first time outside the top ten since 2008. No one denied them more. Nadal was a happy camper at Roland Garros 2014. [150] Federer retired on 23 September 2022 with 20 Grand Slam titles. 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. Serena Williams Height: Is She Taller Than VenusWilliams? Creator: Mark Metcalfe | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2022 Getty Images, Dominic Thiem (14 wins against the Fab 3). Means a lot to me.. At the ATP Masters tournaments, the trio are also the top-three title leaders; Djokovic leads with a record 38 titles, followed by Nadal with 36, and Federer with 28. Wawrinkadefeated the defending championNovak Djokovicin the final, 67(17), 64, 75, 63 to win the mens singles tennis title at the 2016 US Open. Tonight, Rafael Nadal reached the semifinal of the French Open after beating his opponent Novak Djokovic in four sets, 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(3). Nadal won both, with the latter final often described as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. Nadal and Djokovic have each achieved a Surface Slam by winning majors on hard, clay, and grass courts in a calendar year, making them the only male players in history to do so. 1 by winning the Australian Open, defeating Murray in the final, but his run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals came to an end at the French Open when he lost to Robin Sderling in the fourth round. 1 since Nadal beat Roger Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals on his 19th birthday. 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. 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. He was a serious player who gave Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic a run for their money. Following his back surgery at the end of 2013, Murray struggled to return to form in the first half of the year, reaching only two semifinals and losing to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the quarterfinals while attempting to defend his Wimbledon title, a defeat which saw him fall to No. [60] He did not compete for the rest of the season, but still ended the year as world No. : Fan's Thoughts", "Andy Murray is the 26th men's No1 in tennis but how does he compare? Whereas Djokovic has 21 titles, winning the most recent at the 2022 Wimbledon Open. [107] Djokovic defeated Federer in the Rome final. 1, ending Federer's record 237 consecutive week streak at the top. ", "The Seven Players Who Could Win Their First Grand Slam", "French Open champion Stan Wawrinka can make 'Big Four' the new 'Big Five', says Barry Cowan", "Wawrinka doesn't want Big Four to become Fab Five", "How the Fab Five has dominated men's tennis", "Andy Murray growing in belief after reaching French Open semi-finals", "Membership in Big Four not of huge interest for Wawrinka", "Golden Era of tennis lost on most American fans", "The golden era of tennis is upon us and ain't it grand? [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. Federer is the only player on this list to have played at least three matches against a player and lose all of them, he never defeated Pat Rafter. [111] Djokovic claimed the other spot in the final, to set up a rematch of the previous year's final, and defeated Federer in four sets to win his second major of the year, denying Federer a record eighth Wimbledon title for the second year in a row. Federer subsequently overtook Sampras' all-time record of 286 weeks as the world No. Murray and Djokovic played in the finals of Madrid and Rome and split the titles. This was only Nadal's second defeat at the French Open, seeing him drop to No. On 23 September 2022, Federer retired from professional-level tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup, having struggled with a knee injury for the past couple of years, ending the age of the Big Three. 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. The Argentinian has got seven wins against Federer, six against Nadal and four against Djokovic. 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. In the highly anticipated final, Federer triumphed over Nadal in five sets, winning his 18th Grand Slam title and his first since Wimbledon 2012. It will be safe to say that Dominic Thiem is the closest tennis player who comes to the Fab 3. 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? Andy Murray responds to Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek praise: Lot of respect for them, Rafael Nadal will lose the Top-10 after almost 18 years. The rivalry started in 2006 with Federer winning the first four meetings, but following Djokovic's first win at the 2007 Canadian Open, the rivalry became mostly even through to its conclusion in 2020. [89] Nadal went on to defend his French Open title, defeating Murray in the semifinal and Djokovic in the final. . Djokovic then won his eighth Australian Open title and his 17th major overall by a narrow victory over Thiem in the final.[128]. It was Djokovic's 16th major title, only trailing Federer's 20 and Nadal's 18. [118] Djokovic won Toronto with Murray losing in the finals of Cincinnati. In 2019, the former World No. He became the first Argentine man to win the title sinceGuillermo Vilasin1977. The trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are commonly referred to as The Big Three. At the Tour finals, Federer and Djokovic both reached the final, but Federer withdrew citing injury following a semifinal win over Wawrinka. ", "Nine To Shine: Djokovic Claims Historic Cincy Crown | ATP Tour | Tennis", "2003: Roger Federer Wins First Grand Slam at Wimbledon", "No. He was dominant even against his fellow Big Four rivals, going 154 against them throughout the year. Seppi had just one win to show for his efforts against Federer as well, although it came on one of the biggest stages in tennis -- the Australian Open in 2015. Many young players who rise up the ranks nowadays point to either of . 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 men's doubles, none of them would get past the second round. 2 behind Nadal and overall had his best year since 2007, with his highest number of titles won since that year, winning two majors for the first time since 2009, and ending the year with a winning percentage of 91%, his highest since 2006. The two have played each other 53 times, with Djokovic winning 27 and Federer 16. 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. Nadal won Monte Carlo for a record ninth time. They have been the most successful men's singles players for the last two decades. 1 over the inactive Murray. [58] Nadal did not compete due to a knee injury. He extended the all-time record for the most men's singles titles and became the third man after Mats Wilander (1982 French Open) and Federer (2017 Australian Open) to defeat four Top-10 players en route to a major title. Holding the advantage at 27-23 in over 50 battles, the six-time year-end World No. However, Murray did lead Great Britain to Davis Cup victory in 2015, winning all eight singles rubbers and becoming the final member of the quartet to win the Davis Cup. Federer entered the 2004 Summer Olympics as the heavy favourite, but lost in the second round to Tom Berdych. 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. 3 in the world. Nadal's attempt to win his 23rd major title was thwarted by an upset in the fourth round by Frances Tiafoe. 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. Federer defeated Djokovic in the semifinals, while Murray reached his first major final after upsetting the top-ranked Nadal in four sets. He won titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris. The World No. The Scotsman became the first British man sinceFred Perryin1936to win a major title. At the French Open, Federer withdrew after his third round victory in order not to jeopardize his recovery from a knee injury, while Nadal's bid at winning a record 21st major ended when he lost to Djokovic in an epic semifinal encounter. 1 and remained there until July 2012, when he was overtaken by Federer, who reclaimed the top spot for the first time in two years. [96] Towards the end of the year, Murray managed to return to form, winning three titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia, allowing him to return to the top ten in the rankings[97] and qualify for the Tour Finals, but he bowed out at the group stages following a defeat by Federer, in which he won just a single game. ^ Two walkovers (2014 ATP Finals final and 2019 Indian Wells semifinal) are not included in the table. The only player to clinch the no.1 spot in the Federer-Nadala-Djokovic era. Mar 1, 2023. Alexander Zverev has beaten Nadal and Federer once on clay and grass, and Djokovic thrice on hardcourt Alexander Zverev's sole victory over Rafael Nadal on clay came in the 2021 Madrid. Questions had been asked about 34-year-old Nadal . However, Nadal and Djokovic have him slightly beaten. One of those players is Roger Federer. A 43% win record against a player of Rafael Nadal's caliber is a feat any player can be proud of. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were born a week apart, played each other as juniors,[23] and both made their major debuts in 2005. At the Laver Cup, the Big Four Make Europe a Formidable Group Team World has never won the cup, and now it will face the rare dream team of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and the. Tennishead.net is now the world's most visited tennis news website, Tennishead magazine is the world's favourite tennis publication and the Tennishead CLUB is our ground breaking virtual tennis community. Another player with a winning record against Djokovic is Rafael Nadal. Novak Djokovic also has a winning record against Federer and may well have claims to be hailed as the greatest if he ends his career with the most Grand Slams, yet the Swiss maestro holds a collection of records that few will match. [127], At the 2020 Australian Open, Nadal lost to Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals, while Djokovic defeated Federer in the semifinals. Feliciano Lopez, 41, says he considers himself "lucky" knowing that he had a chance to compete against Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Following the win, Djokovic emerged as a clear world No. Creator: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce Copyright: 2022 Getty Images, Juan Martin del Potro (17 wins against the Fab 3). 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. 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. . Its a strange feeling. Nadal has won a record 14 French Open titles, Djokovic a record 10 Australian Open titles, and Federer a record eight Wimbledon titles. Actually, there are plenty of players who have beaten all of these 3 in the game of tennis. [112] Murray and Federer shared the two North American hard-court Masters titles, at Montreal and Cincinnati respectively, with Djokovic being the losing finalist on both occasions. [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. But the Italian went on to lose their 14 other meetings. Querrey has a top FIVE win, but Nadal beat a much better grass-court player. [119] Nadal, Murray and Djokovic all lost before the semifinals. 1 player at age 29", "Age and era make Murray's ascent to No. Daniil Medvedev won their US Open final in straight sets to leave Djokovic tied with Federer on 20 major triumphs. [104][105] In Madrid, Murray defeated Nadal in straight sets. 2, respectively, the first time since 20 March 2011 that they held the top two rankings spots. Nadal then defeated Kevin Anderson in the US Open final. Between 2005 Wimbledon and 2007 US Open, he captured eight of ten majors with a record of 672 in those tournaments (his only two losses in that stretch were delivered by Nadal at the French Open). He has beaten Federer in all three Wimbledon finals they've played, and has only lost to him at . 1 seed Federer upset by Spanish teenager", "2005: Rafael Nadal Wins Roland Garros, Begins New Era in Clay Court Tennis", "The friendship and rivalry of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic", "Djokovic upsets Federer in straight sets", "BBC SPORT Tennis Brutal Nadal sweeps aside Murray", "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever", "Murray trumps Nadal to reach US Open final", "Rusedski on the 'big four' of men's tennis", "Nadal wins battle for place in history by edging past Federer in Melbourne", "Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon withdrawal leaves door open for Andy Murray", "Roger Federer wins at Roland Garros to enter pantheon of grand slam greats", https://www.cbc.ca/sports/federer-wins-record-15th-grand-slam-1.789887, "Andy Murray beats Juan Martin Del Potro to win Rogers Cup", "Roger Federer enters sixth consecutive US Open final defeating Novak Djokovic", "Juan Martn del Potro crushes Rafael Nadal to meet Roger Federer in final", "Rafael Nadal: Why This Clay Court Season Might Not Be As Easy As the Last One", "The 10 Greatest Men's Seasons: No. At the ATP Cup, Djokovic led Serbia to victory in the inaugural edition in 2020. Schuettler, who was the runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open, failed to beat Novak Djokovic in three matches that took place between 2007 and 2009. [36] At the US Open, all four players reached the semifinals of the same major for the first time. Having suffered from injury-plagued seasons, Nadal and Federer ended the year at number nine and 16 respectively. The victory made him the first man to win the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969, and the second player to win majors on three different surfaces in a calendar year, after Nadal in 2010. He acknowledged that new talents are emerging all the time, and that the sport is constantly evolving. [5][6][7] They have been a critical part of what has been labelled a new "Golden Era" in tennis.[8][9][10][11]. 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. The unseeded Zverev defeated the Swiss, who was the three-time defending champion, in the semifinals. The 20-time Grand Slam winner went on to win a couple more times before losing in straight sets at the 2002 Dubai Open. Federers retirement from the sport might have come as a sign of relief for many players out there. Byron Black (13) d. Australia great Pat Cash took a dig at 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer's inferior head-to-head record against famous opponents Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. 1 and No. 1, the Serbian channelled the experience . Still, the Australian still generally got the job done against them. Nalbandian became the first player to defeat Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in the same tournament, doing so to win his first Masters 1000 title. The American Grand Slam title is Medvedevs only majortitle till date. Following Murray's strong end to 2014 and reaching the final of the 2015 Australian Open, he moved into the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time in over a year, meaning that the Big Four held the top four places in the rankings for the first time since early 2013, slowing the idea of the regression of the quartet. The issue of his vaccination status meant he could not compete at last year's. Djokovic then continued to dominate throughout the remainder of the year, winning in Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and at the ATP Finals. And thats not easy. . The first three on that list have also won 57 . Murray dominated the rest of the year. Federer did not enter the rescheduled French Open, still sidelined by his knee injury. 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 player in the final to win his major titles. Rihanna Disappoints Serena Williams With Her Super Bowl 2023 Half Time Performance, Coco Gauff Made a Shocking Prediction About Rihannas Super Bowl PerformanceWhichCameTrue, Rafael Nadal Does Not Believe He Will Be Able to Beat Novak Djokovicin2023, Serena Williams Nationality and Religion: What Is Serena WilliamsFaith, Serena Williams Weight Transformation: Tennis Legend Shows off IncredibleNewLook. Never expect to be that strong.. One of the three finished the season as the year-end No. Berdych beat Federer and Djokovic at Wimbledon 2010 before losing to Nadal in the final. You look back, a further back, 20 years, and you have the Connors and the Lendls. With Nadal's injuries, Murray and Djokovic improved in the rankings, with Murray reaching world No. The Big Three monopolized the top spot in the ATP singles rankings 897 weeks (equivalent to 17 years). 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. Federer: 9 Nadal: 4 Djokovic: 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (16) 1 in the ATP rankings. 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. They have been ranked as world No. The early 2000s were seen as a time of transition in tennis, with older champions retiring and a few players breaking through at the very top of the game. At the US Open, Federer pulled out of the tournament due to his need for further knee surgery, while Nadal also withdrew due to a nagging foot injury. Soon after, by reaching the semifinals in Rotterdam, Federer overtook returned to world No. The season was described by many experts and former players as one of the best tennis seasons for a singles player seen in history, with Tennis Magazine describing it as the third-best tennis season ever, behind Federer's 2006 season, and Rod Laver's in 1969. Nadal successfully defended his title over Djokovic in a straight-sets final. Federer excelled in the men's doubles event and captured the gold medal, while Djokovic lost in the first round, and Murray and Nadal in the second. With five, Federer has recorded most bagels against all three of his peers, while receiving only one. He competed for Serbia in the 2008. I feel that truly. In team sports, rosters change year by year and the rivalries endure.. Alcaraz, ranked No. Nadal then withdrew from their round-of-32 clash in Auckland the following year to hand Hrbaty his third win against the Spaniard. Stan said, I still think that Im dreaming. These 3 GOATs have amassed the most grand slams in the history of the sport, with Nadal (22) leading the pack with Djokovic (21) second and Federer (20) in the 3rd spot. Match after match I was playing better., MANORCO PVT LTD 2022 | All Rights Reserved. I have new opportunities in the other Grand Slams to win because if I did it here beating Nadal and Federer and other good players, maybe I can do it once more time.. For Nadal, it was his lowest end-of-year ranking since 2004, while Federer's fall in the rankings meant that November 2016 marked his first time outside the top ten since October 2002. 4. 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. Djokovic was unable to compete at the Australian Open for being unvaccinated against COVID-19. [53] However, Federer rallied, winning his three final tournaments, including the ATP Finals, which secured an end-of-season ranking of world No. The first Masters to be held after the resumption of the tour was the Cincinnati Masters, where Djokovic emerged victorious to complete the double Career Golden Masters. Speaking of players who had the hitting power but have been cruelly curtailed by injury, welcome to the party Juan Martin! As of September 2020, Novak Djokovic has beaten Roger Federer 27 times. Djokovic made his ATP Tour debut in 2004, while Murray's was in 2005. But then again we don't play doubles. Nadal withdrew from the ATP Finals to undergo surgery for an ankle injury. Russian man to earn Slam glory, joiningYevgeny Kafelnikov andMarat Safin. Representing their countries, the Big Four have played vital roles in leading their countries to victory at the Davis Cup, ATP Cup, and the Olympics. Overall, Djokovic's 2015 season was one of the greatest in the history of the game, with him winning 11 titles (the most since Federer won 12 in 2006) including, for the second time, three majors. 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. Here, we take a look at nine players who have triumphed against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal but have never managed to get the better of Novak Djokovic. [98] Federer recovered to win the Davis Cup as part of the Switzerland team for his, and the country's, first triumph in the competition, leading many people to say that his tennis career was now complete. Between 2008 and 2010, Djokovic and later Murray attempted to end the duopoly of Federer and Nadal at the summit of tennis. Del Potro said, It was so difficult to keep trying to fight. The win marked his ninth Australian Open title and 18th major title overall, putting him two titles away from tying Federer and Nadal. 1 for an ATP record 378 weeks (as of 27February2023[update]), Federer for 310 weeks, and Nadal for 209 weeks. Nadal made the final at all eight clay-court tournaments he played, winning six; he also made the semifinals at all eight of his hard-court tournaments, winning four titles. ", "Men's Tennis: The Big One, Big Two, Big Three or Big Four? Nevertheless, there are still a handful of players who have defeated the Big 3 on their surface of choice.