Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Rafael Nadal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5756335239
Roland Garros/French Open
Image courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr page - Roland Garros 2008: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/2548469251/in/photolist-4Tcz82-6tZnxV-87P6sX-ey7ZS4-4Th8wE-eiptGP-6uaRCZ-87vLZp-86G6Ka-ey9ecr-c7XVQu-nCzATg-eBzLQm-nCAVGe-nWRDSg-nT31do-dGmT28-nCzje4-nCzR2q-nT2Xd5-nV4Xqn-nT2ASf-eZKnLF-6urJ2w-nUM8dD-nCzJ2p-nUWDeU-caonqS-nCzGrQ-nUWRpA-nCzE6t-ewJaxS-ekA48R-nWRBFT-nULZA4-nCAKKF-nUWLLs-9T16gt-nT2zmu-nCALjX-ezweD2-9T15Lr-nULZgB-ewEXSc-nUMjfi-ewJ9fS-6qwFaz-ezzoMd-9LRAp8-ewJ9S1
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Shortly after Nadal won La Coupe des Mousquetaires for an incredible 12th time in the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris last month, I wrote an article about just how amazing it is to see this level of dominance in men's tennis from the top three ranked players currently on the tour. Arguably, they may rank as the top three men's tennis players of all-time.
Certainly, each of these guys has won more Grand Slam titles than anyone else in history on the men's side, and they have each done it at least once at each of the Grand Slam events, and on each of the three different surfaces, a feat which sets them apart from many of the other legendary tennis greats of the past. Björn Borg won every Grand Slam except the U. S. Open. Jimmy Connors won on all three different surfaces, but won his clay court Grand Slam title at Forest Hills, and never won at Roland Garros. Another man who sometimes headed the "greatest of all time" list prior to the dominance of the "Big Three" was probably Pete Sampras, the next guy on the list in terms of numbers of Grand Slam success, but he never won a Grand Slam title on the clay courts. Never even made it to the final there, in fact. Stefan Edberg won multiple titles at three different Grand Slam events, but he lost to Michael Chang in the one French Open final that he qualified for. Boris Becker never won a slam on the clay courts, either. Ivan Lendl won every Grand Slam title except Wimbledon, which is the same for Mats Wilander, although Wilander should get credit along with Nadal as the only two men in history to have won multiple Grand Slams on each of the three different surfaces, as he won on what were then the grass courts of Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne. John McEnroe, one of the greatest men to ever play the game, won multiple titles at two different Grand Slam events, but never won at either the French Open or the Australian Open.
Those are some of the names of legends on the courts who never won all four Grand Slam championships. There are more. But no three men have so completely dominated an era as long as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic have dominated men's tennis in the last decade and a half now. Here is some of what I wrote days after Nadal won that most recent French Open title - again, his 12th in all! - which kind of put the level of dominance by these three men in perspective:
Before, I have stated that it feels like a privilege to watch the "Big Three" of tennis, who are still dominating tennis, and pretty much have ever since Roger Federer's emergence to the number one ranking for the first time very early in 2004, shortly after winning what was then his second career Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
Certainly, each of these guys has won more Grand Slam titles than anyone else in history on the men's side, and they have each done it at least once at each of the Grand Slam events, and on each of the three different surfaces, a feat which sets them apart from many of the other legendary tennis greats of the past. Björn Borg won every Grand Slam except the U. S. Open. Jimmy Connors won on all three different surfaces, but won his clay court Grand Slam title at Forest Hills, and never won at Roland Garros. Another man who sometimes headed the "greatest of all time" list prior to the dominance of the "Big Three" was probably Pete Sampras, the next guy on the list in terms of numbers of Grand Slam success, but he never won a Grand Slam title on the clay courts. Never even made it to the final there, in fact. Stefan Edberg won multiple titles at three different Grand Slam events, but he lost to Michael Chang in the one French Open final that he qualified for. Boris Becker never won a slam on the clay courts, either. Ivan Lendl won every Grand Slam title except Wimbledon, which is the same for Mats Wilander, although Wilander should get credit along with Nadal as the only two men in history to have won multiple Grand Slams on each of the three different surfaces, as he won on what were then the grass courts of Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne. John McEnroe, one of the greatest men to ever play the game, won multiple titles at two different Grand Slam events, but never won at either the French Open or the Australian Open.
Those are some of the names of legends on the courts who never won all four Grand Slam championships. There are more. But no three men have so completely dominated an era as long as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic have dominated men's tennis in the last decade and a half now. Here is some of what I wrote days after Nadal won that most recent French Open title - again, his 12th in all! - which kind of put the level of dominance by these three men in perspective:
Before, I have stated that it feels like a privilege to watch the "Big Three" of tennis, who are still dominating tennis, and pretty much have ever since Roger Federer's emergence to the number one ranking for the first time very early in 2004, shortly after winning what was then his second career Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
Now, one of these three men have won the last 10 Grand Slams, and each of them are now over 30 years old. I believe that this is the first time that this has happened, and it is hard not only to not be impressed, but to be downright awed by this display. For the time being, they still rank as the top three men in men's tennis.
Consider this rather incredible fact: other than Stan Wawrinka and , there is no other active men's tennis player outside of the "Big Three" who actually managed to win multiple Grand Slam titles. Not one. Also, not one active men's tennis player outside of the "Big Three" knows what it feels like to have reached the number one ranking in the world. Other than the recently retired Andy Murray, in fact, not one man outside of the "Big Three" has reached the number one ranking, even briefly, since Federer first took the top spot early in 2004. And that speaks volumes about just how tough these guys made it for everybody else. They have been so dominant, that they have pitched a virtual shutout in these key, very telling categories.
The funny thing is, each of them has remained largely quiet about these incredible accomplishments. They have not been in your face about it, like some athletes in other sports have. Some arrogant stars like Floyd Mayweather, for example, come to mind. Some NBA legends, like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, have suggested that the NBA was much more physical, and thus presumably more difficult, back when they played in the nineties, then it is today. And indeed, that even might be the case. But the fact that they feel the need to mention that in the first place betrays an inability on their part to be humble about their accomplishments.
That is not the case with these three tennis giants, each of whom have remained rather amazingly quiet about what they have managed to accomplish. You hardly ever even hear them talk about it to begin with.
Yet, Nadal uncharacteristically spoke about it recently, following a match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recently. Here is what he said:
Consider this rather incredible fact: other than Stan Wawrinka and , there is no other active men's tennis player outside of the "Big Three" who actually managed to win multiple Grand Slam titles. Not one. Also, not one active men's tennis player outside of the "Big Three" knows what it feels like to have reached the number one ranking in the world. Other than the recently retired Andy Murray, in fact, not one man outside of the "Big Three" has reached the number one ranking, even briefly, since Federer first took the top spot early in 2004. And that speaks volumes about just how tough these guys made it for everybody else. They have been so dominant, that they have pitched a virtual shutout in these key, very telling categories.
The funny thing is, each of them has remained largely quiet about these incredible accomplishments. They have not been in your face about it, like some athletes in other sports have. Some arrogant stars like Floyd Mayweather, for example, come to mind. Some NBA legends, like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, have suggested that the NBA was much more physical, and thus presumably more difficult, back when they played in the nineties, then it is today. And indeed, that even might be the case. But the fact that they feel the need to mention that in the first place betrays an inability on their part to be humble about their accomplishments.
That is not the case with these three tennis giants, each of whom have remained rather amazingly quiet about what they have managed to accomplish. You hardly ever even hear them talk about it to begin with.
Yet, Nadal uncharacteristically spoke about it recently, following a match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recently. Here is what he said:
'“What we achieved in the Grand Slams, in tennis in general, during the last 14, 15 years is something special,. To have three players that achieved that much in the same moment is something difficult to repeat. But here we are. Of course, somebody is going to beat us or we are going to leave because we are not young anymore.”
Remarkable it is. And yet, as he noted, it will not last forever. None of these men are getting any younger. Andy Murray, who was the other man who, alongside these three giants, was regarded as one of the truly elite of this era, already had to hang it up due to injuries. Stan Wawrinka, the only other man to have won multiple Grand Slam titles during the past decade and a half other than the "Big Three" and Murray, is also well past thirty. Federer will be 38 by the time the U. S. Open begins in late August. Nadal just turned 33. Djokovic, the youngest of the three men, is 32. Clearly, however good these men are, we cannot look forward to another decade and a half of dominance from them. They are all already on what most people would assume to be the tail end of their careers.
Still, they are playing extremely well. Again, they fill out the top three spots in the men's world rankings right now, and it feels all too familiar that these three men in particular should be atop the game so. Consider this: no man under the age of 30 has won a Grand Slam title to this point. Has there ever been another period in tennis history in which that can be said?
Nadal spoke after having defeated Tsonga, who not so long ago, also ranked among the top men in the sport, but who has fallen upon some harder times recently, as injuries and aging caught up with him in a way that it simply has not with the "Big Three," at least not to the same extent, obviously.
Here is what the number two ranked Nadal said, specifically, immediately following his win against Tsonga:
"I know I have been serving well. But for my side it's not only about the serve," said Nadal. "At the same time my shots from the baseline, the continuation after the serve, has been [done] very well, playing aggressive, not many mistakes, being very precise."
That seems to sum up Nadal's game, pretty much. If anything, it actually is an understatement. You do not win 18 Grand Slam titles and rank as the number one man in men's tennis four times by playing lousy tennis. Many consider him to be the hardest working tennis player in men's history.
And clearly, the other two guys of the "Big Three" in men's tennis are working quite hard, as well.
What an era! And what a privilege to watch these legendary men in action!
All quotes takes from the following article (see link):
Nadal On Slam Success With Federer & Djokovic: 'It's Something Special' Jul 06 2019 ATP Staff:
https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nadal-wimbledon-2019-saturday-reaction
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