Roger, Rafa and Novak still dominant
Since Federer claimed his initial Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, he has won the grass-court tournament a men’s-record eight times. Djokovic owns four trophies at Wimbledon; Nadal has two. They rank 1-2-3 in overall majors for men, with Federer atop the list at 20, Nadal next at 18 and Djokovic third at 15.
“We were happy to win one. Now, if you win one, you’re a loser,” said Pat Cash, the 1987 champion at Wimbledon and twice the runner-up at the Australian Open.
“It’s absolutely mindboggling to see the standard of tennis that these guys are playing at this age. And the motivation. That’s the thing: the motivation. Once I won a Grand Slam, I was (thinking): ‘That’s enough. I’ll go hang out with my family.’ They’re motivated to keep going.”
Federer turns 38 in August, Nadal is 33 and Djokovic 32.
For quite a while now, the questions have been: How long will the Big Three continue to rule the sport? And which younger player will make a move and grab a Grand Slam title?
“You’re looking at, to me, the three greatest players that have ever lived, playing at the same time,” said John McEnroe, an eight-time major champion who is now an ESPN commentator.
“They’re extremely hungry, which is an amazing quality at that age.”
That same dynamic was in play for years in women’s tennis, but with just one player dominating: Serena Williams. She accumulated title after title, only occasionally facing much resistance while raising her count to 23 singles majors, more than anyone in the Open era, which dates to 1968.
That left her one short of equaling Margaret Court’s total , accomplished against amateurs and professionals.
Williams took a break from the tour after winning the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, and not coincidentally, that was the start of the current anyonecan-win stretch, in which Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Caroline Woz n i a c k i , Sloane Stephens a n d Je l e n a Ostapenko each won her first major championship.
It’s not just who is taking home the trophies. Take a look at the French Open.
Nadal, who won there for the 12th time, Federer and Djokovic were all in the men’s semifinals. The women’s final four, meanwhile, featured a pair of unseeded semifinalists for the first time in Paris since the introduction of 32 seeds in 2001. The champion, Barty, hadn’t even been to the fourth round at any Grand Slam until last year’s U.S. Open.
Barty’s subsequent rise to the No. 1 ranking highlighted another way in which men’s and women’s tennis have been different: She was the 17th player to sit atop the WTA since 2005. Only four men — Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray — have led the ATP in those years.