Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have been the benchmarks of men’s tennis for the past decade and a half. The Big 3 currently share the all-time Slam record, having won 20 each. The number 1 in the world has just returned from an amazing 2021, which allowed him to close the gap that separated him from his eternal rivals.
Being the youngest of the three, Nole is the one who has the greatest chance of increasing their wall. Suffice it to say that the 34-year-old Serbian finished the year at the top of the ATP rankings for the seventh time in his career.
Federer and Nadal have had to deal with a series of physical problems, which have limited their performance in recent months. King Roger will not return to the field until summer 2022, while Rafa tested positive for Coronavirus after having played in the Abu Dhabi exhibition.
The 35-year-old Majorcan played the misery of seven official tournaments this year due to a chronic foot injury. In a long interview granted to ‘MARCA’, Alex Corretja analyzed the future of men’s tennis after the withdrawal of the Big 3.
Corretja on the Big 3
“Because he has set the bar so high that it is going to be impossible to find someone who does everything that he has done. I’m not afraid of the post Rafael Nadal’s era in terms of tennis players coming out, both in the men’s and women’s circuits, but I do think there will be a void because it has us all very badly accustomed to it,” the Spanish coach claimed.
“The important thing will be not to compare those who come behind with Rafa, because whoever you compare with him is going to lose. I think they [Djokovic, Nadal and Federer] are going to be missed because they are myths, but other stars always end up arriving that one way or another make you vibrate [excited] again”.
Recently, former Grand Slam champion and former coach of Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker spoke highly of the World No. 1 player. He felt that if Federer, Djokovic and Nadal retired today, the Serbian would be the greatest of all time for him.
Taking note of this topic, the 54-year-old former player said, “They have played against each other for the past 15 years. They didn’t win more Grand Slams because the other one won them. Numbers just don’t lie.
As a tennis player, the number of weeks at No 1 is very important. Novak is simply way ahead there. If all three of them stopped playing tennis today, I would see Novak at No 1”.