Photo courtesy of rainycat Flickr page - Federer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28225297@N02/2646405198/in/photolist-52Rw4Q-fzF6HS-pN9NF8-pNbVjo-oYxvJ3-q5HgUu-q5uEKz-pNibBe-3d7da-dj1Krc-i9xmz-q3tT3Q-i9xmA-3eaJ9S-oge4WN-boLJRd-fzF6Cq-5WXjyo-5WXjFY-q3tTQb-pNibFc-akEtDk-akHp2S-ayd9P9-aydaeb-6YAY1e-fEwXe7-ayatJV-6YAZ9M-8gHocK-dYqjhx-8gLAZs-bwqVnq-8gHnc6-8gLsJC-8gHnD6-8gLC27-8gHhXz-oQViP5-8gLxtS-8gHipV-8gLCkA-8gLtJm-8gHa4k-8gHjQ6-8gLpwd-8gHarg-8gLsVJ-8gHoJa-8gLted
Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Rafael Nadal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5756335239
Photo courtesy of Marianne Bevis's Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mariannebevis/5972100998/in/photolist-a6JzyA-csctLm-cscsEm-csctrw-csct17-f4CWUn-nWz24z-a6Jzhy-a6JzGq-a6JyPu-a6FHJc-9ZEUDd-ohz8qG-ox2Nmj-bPFs5a-5uzT4n-a6FHgX-f52W2j-2KSf8f-f4MHoM-cJrFYL-cJrGqo-f4MDDe-a3t6Ga-cscu3h-f4MESB-f4MJya-bALMj9-a3vX3q-bALMws-a3t6Sv-bPFshK-cJrFKY-nnjmG7-a3t6yv-cJrGd9-vUQeNJ-f4MCVT-cJrFxj-a3vXjs-np5my3-nnjiL7-npmV3n-npmS96-nr8qnZ-bPFr3t-bPFqaF-bPFsDg-f52X2j-bALPWo
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Okay, so, in other news regarding the U.S. Open tennis championship weekend that was - and positive news, at that - Djokovic's win assures that the domination of the "big three" men's players continues, even though all of them are now well into their thirties. Djokovic is 31, Nadal is 32, and Federer is 37, respectively.
Still, these three men have completely dominated the last eight Grand Slams on the men's side. Federer and Nadal took turns, almost literally, winning each of the first six Grand Slams during that period. Federer won the big showdown between him and Nadal at the Australian Open final in 2017. Nadal then won the French Open. Federer won Wimbledon in 2017, then Nadal took the U.S. Open to close out 2017 as the number one ranked man in tennis. Federer won the Australian again earlier this year, and Nadal then won the French Open again. But Djokovic, now recovered from a nagging injury, took this year's Wimbledon title, and followed that up by winning the U.S. Open, erasing any lingering doubts about his recovery, or any suggestions (not that I heard anyone hinting at such a suggestion) that the Wimbledon title was some kind of a fluke or one-time thing.
Before 2017, Federer already had won more Grand Slam titles than any other man in history, and Nadal was tied with Sampras for second on that list, with 14. Now, Federer has won 20 Grand Slam titles, which is still more than any other man in history. Nadal stands alone (at least for now) with 17 Grand Slam titles. Djokovic, with the recent runs at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, now has 14 Grand Slam titles to his name, and tied Sampras for third on the all-time list on the men's side with 14 overall Grand Slam titles.
I think an argument can be made that the three best men's tennis players in history are all playing at the same time, right now. Each of them has achieved things that the other two have not, are allow them to stand on their own. Federer has won more career Grand Slams than the other two, and has also spent more time as the number one ranked man than anyone else in history. He also had one of the most amazing years of any man in history in 2005, compiling an 81-4 record overall. Federer also was the oldest man to ever hold the number one ranking earlier this year. Nadal has dominated one surface, clay, more completely than any man has dominated any surface. He also stands alone among the three as the only one to have won the career Golden Slam (the four Grand Slam titles, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal in single's tennis play). Nadal is the oldest man to ever have finished a year as the number one ranked man, and seems on the verge of clinching a second straight year atop the rankings. Djokovic has a winning record against both of the other two men (at least for now). He enjoyed one of the most dominant years that any man has ever had in 2011, with Sampras suggesting it was the finest year that he had ever seen, and Nadal saying that he had never seen anyone play quite on that level before. Djokovic also managed to hold all four Grand Slams at once, when he won the 2015 Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles, and then followed that up by winning the 2016 Australian and French Open titles.
Combined, these three men have dominated the sport for an incredibly long time, and with a historical level of thoroughness. Think about this: since Federer first broke through with his first ever Grand Slam title in 2003, these three men have won the vast majority of Grand Slam titles during that time. They have won a combined 51 Grand Slams, while all the rest of the men's field during that same time period won a total of 11 Grand Slam titles since then. With a brief period of time when the number one ranking went to Andy Murray (who has traditionally been seen as the other player in the class of the "Big Four"), either Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic has been the number one ranked man since early in 2004. Federer finished as the number one ranked man from 2004-2007, and then ended 2009 as number one. Nadal finished number one in 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2017. And Djokovic has ended number one in 2011-2012, as well as 2014-2015. Other than Murray, no other man has managed to reach the number one ranking during this time, which is soon to span a decade and a half.
Think about that. A decade and a half of dominance.
Simply unreal! And they are all class acts, or at least all seem to be. I think it is a privilege as a tennis fan to be able to witness this era. We should enjoy it while we still have it.
One chart shows how much the Big 3 have dominated men's tennis over the last 15 years Cork Gaines and Shayanne Gal, September 10, 2018:
https://www.businessinsider.com/big-3-dominate-mens-tennis-federer-djokovic-nadal-2018-9
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