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| Novak Djokovic wins the 2021 Australian Open. © AFP=News1 |
Roger Federer (40, Switzerland), Rafael Nadal (35, Spain) and Novak Djokovic (34, Serbia), aka’Big 3′, have been in fierce competition for a long time for men’s tennis GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) seats. The debate over who is the best out of the three people who have built amazing achievements has started from the past and is still ongoing.
Djokovic stood at the top at the 2021 Australian Open, which ended on the 21st (Korean time). Djokovic, who won the ninth career title in the Australian Open alone, increased the number of winning major tournaments to 18.
The gap with Federer and Nadal, who were tied for the most winning major tournaments in history (20 times), narrowed to just two. Depending on the results of this season, there may be situations where Djokovic will surpass Federer and Nadal.
The first player to stand out among’Big 3’was Federer. Federer reached the top at Wimbledon in 2009 at the age of 27, marking the milestone of winning the 15th major tournament in his career. This was a record that exceeded Pete Sampras’ (USA)’s most recent major competition (14 times). At that time, Nadal won 6 and Djokovic only 1 in the major competitions.
However, Federer later stumbled and the heyday of Nadal and Djokovic came. Nadal gradually narrowed the gap with Federer based on his big success in the French Open. Nadal finally struck shoulders with Federer by winning the French Open at the end of 2020.
Federer is the player who has performed consistently for the longest time based on world rankings. Federer remained at the top of the world rankings for a total of 310 weeks. However, Djokovic’s victory is expected to change the number 1 in this category. Djokovic, currently the number one in the world rankings, is expected to remain at the top for 311 weeks in the world rankings released on March 8. Nadal is 209 weeks, and there is a big gap here with Djokovic and Federer.
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| Rafael Nadal (left) and Roger Federer. © AFP=News1 |
Djokovic is the most advanced in the history of’Big 3′. Djokovic has a 27-23 advantage against Federer and 29-27 against Nadal. Nadal was strong against Federer at 24-16.
The major tournament where the three players were strong was different. Federer won eight times, the largest ever, at Wimbledon, the longest of the major tournaments. Nadal has topped 13 times in the French Open and holds the record of winning the most in certain major competitions. Djokovic’s winning garden is the Australian Open, winning nine times.
Competition for the best among’Big 3’is expected to continue this year. Now, attention is focused on the French Open scheduled to be held at the end of May.
The biggest concern is whether Nadal, the strongest candidate for the championship, will be able to beat Federer and rise to the top of the major championships alone. It is noteworthy whether Djokovic, who won the Australian Open, will reproach his complete defeat in the final last year, or whether Federer, who returned from overcoming a knee injury, will be able to maintain the position of’Tennis Emperor’.