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Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, among others, have emerged as strong contenders to take over the mantle from Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The Big 3, as Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are collectively known, have dominated the men’s tennis circuit for over two decades. In the last 18 years, 63 out of 75 men's singles Grand Slams have been won by the trio. They have won 16 of the last 17 Australian Open trophies, 17 of the previous 18 French Open titles, 17 of the last 19 Wimbledon Championships and 12 of the last 18 US Open trophies.
Despite entering the wrong side of their 30s, they have shown no signs of slowing down. Nadal won the first two Majors this year while Djokovic took home his seventh Wimbledon title. Last season, the Serbian won the first three Grand Slams and came incredibly close to taking the US Open title too, before he was stopped in his tracks by Medvedev.
Every generation has a set of players who dominate the circuit and establish a rivalry that is tantalizing to watch. Before the Big 3, there was Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe, Boris Becker vs Stefan Edberg, Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras — to name a handful from the Open Era.
In the current day and age, it’s Medvedev and Tsitsipas who have established a rivalry that’s slowly picking up pace. Both players recently met in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where Tsitsipas emerged victorious with a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3 win and progressed to his second Masters 1000 hardcourt final, after Toronto 2018.
This was the 10th time both players have met on the tour, with World No. 1 Medvedev leading 7-3. Curiously, the head-to-head record stands at 7-3 between Djokovic, Nadal and Federer after the first 10 clashes between any two of the trio. After 10 matches, Federer led Djokovic 7-3 while Nadal was ahead 7-3 against both Djokovic and Federer.
Breaking down the ‘7-3’
Of Federer’s seven wins against the Serb, five came on hardcourts and two on clay, while the latter picked up two wins on hardcourts and one on clay. Of their first 10 meetings, four came in Grand Slams and another four in Masters 1000 events.
Nadal’s first seven victories over Djokovic came on claycourts (4), hardcourts (2) and once on grass, while all three of the Serbian’s came on hardcourts. All 10 of their initial clashes came in either Grand Slams (3) or Masters 1000 (7) events.
The Spaniard also dominated Federer initially, with his seven wins coming on claycourts (5) and hardcourts (2). The Swiss, meanwhile, won twice on hardcourts and once on grass. Nine of their 10 matches took place at either Grand Slams (3) or Masters 1000 tournaments (6). The lone exception was the 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships, where the King of Clay beat Federer in the final.
Between Medvedev and Tsitsipas, six of the former’s seven wins came on hardcourts with one victory recorded on grass. The World No. 7 Greek registered one win on grass and two on hardcourts — the latest coming at the Cincinnati Masters on Saturday. They have met four times each in Masters 1000 events and Grand Slams.
The Medvedev-Tsitsipas rivalry
Medvedev dominated Tsitsipas initially, winning their first five meetings. Since then, the pair have split their next five clashes. They have met twice this year, with their other match coming at the Australian Open in January, which Medvedev won in four sets.
The Russian World No. 1 is well ahead of the Greek on the title front too. The former has won 14 titles in his career, including a Grand Slam (2021 US Open), four ATP Masters 1000 titles and the ATP Finals once (2020). His career win-loss record stands at 253-110.
Tsitsipas has won nine singles titles to date, including two Masters 1000 titles and one ATP Finals (2019). He has registered a 230-110 win-loss record so far.
Tetchy relationship between 2 players with Russian heritage
Medvedev and Tsitsipas both have Russian heritage. The former is Russian and represents Russia, as if well known. Tsitsipas’s mother Julia Apostoli (born Julia Salnikova) is a former Soviet-born professional player who has represented the Soviet Union and Greece in the past. Of her many victories, her win in the final of an Athens ITF tournament in 1994 stands out as it came against Irina Zvereva, the mother of Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev.
Unlike the healthy rivalry between Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, dirty laundry has been aired publicly several times by Medvedev and Tsitsipas. It first began at the 2018 Miami Open, where the Greek player allegedly mouthed ‘Bullshit Russian’ at Medvedev, which started a war of words that forced the umpire to intervene.
“It’s just boring. It’s boring. It’s so boring,” Tsitsipas said of playing Medvedev at a press conference in 2019. “It’s so boring that I hate myself, first of all, for putting myself into that kind of situation where I have to play in his own terms and not on my terms. And that’s reminding me of my childhood years when I was 12 years old playing inside the court.”
Things have cooled down slightly since. Before their French Open match last year, Tsitsipas (who won in straight sets) praised Medvedev for his serve.
“He does serve extremely well, I have to say. He has improved over the years with his serve. This is going to be something that I will have to face,” he said at a press conference.
“I think we respect each other as players but probably not so much on personal level. So, we don’t have any sort of relationship at all, I would say,” Tsitsipas said before that Roland Garros clash.
Respect for each other but not the best of friends, something eerily similar to what Djokovic recently said when speaking about his relationship with Nadal. If Medvedev and Tsitsipas can serve up the same amount of entertainment and excellence as the Serb and the Spaniard, they will add another chapter to the legendary rivalries on the ATP tour.
