The 'Big 3' - Greatest generation of all time?

The 'Big 3' have been dominating Majors for a number of years now
The 'Big 3' have been dominating Majors for a number of years now

At the 2008 Wimbledon finals, the tennis world witnessed what was then the greatest match ever played. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer enthralled the tennis world with a once in a lifetime display of tennis.

At the end of five hours of scintillating tennis, Nadal came on top to claim his first Wimbledon title and become the then-third player ever to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, after Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg. Fans believed that the Federer-Nadal rivalry had reached its pinnacle and that one would never witness anything close to it.

Who knew that there was more to come? Come 2012, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played the longest grand slam final ever at the Australian Open. The match lasted close to six hours and the players could barely stand during the presentation ceremony as Djokovic lifted the trophy and capped off a year of rarely witnessed domination of the game.

Fast forward to the present year of 2019 and yet again the 'Big 3' were featuring in the semi-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon. After another display of clay court domination followed by another scintillating five-set encounter at the Wimbledon final, Nadal and Djokovic eventually go on to lift the title at Roland Garros and the All England Tennis Club respectively.

It is simply amazing how the three of them have dominated the game of tennis for so long and at such high levels of performance. Historically, the men’s game has had eras where we have seen great rivalries like Laver-Rosewall, Borg-McEnroe-Connors, Lendl-Wilander, Edberg-Becker and more recently Sampras-Agassi.

However, in all these rivalries there was always someone who was stronger and could be proclaimed as the best of that time. In the current scenario not only do all three have the claim to the title of the greatest of this era, they also have the claim to the title of the Greatest of All Time (GOAT). There seems to be no clear winner amongst the three.

The domination shown by the three has been unparalleled and does not seem to stop. Of the 60 Grand Slams played in the last 15 years, these three have won 51. Of the 12 played in the last three years, they have won 11.

The rivalry between the three and the want to be proclaimed as the best seems to be driving them beyond anything we have seen in the past. When Pete Sampras had overtaken Roy Emerson’s long standing record of 12 Grand Slams, one wondered whether anyone would ever be able to go past him. Not only have these three gone past him, they have left everyone far behind and are well placed to end up with more than 20 Grand Slams each.

All three have pushed barriers, physically and mentally, to reach these heights. Federer, aged 38, is showing no signs of slowing down at an age when most people retire. Nadal has made multiple comebacks from serious wrist and knee injuries. And Djokovic is known for his disciplined diet and focuses on yoga and meditation to help him stay strong.

Every year before every slam, there is talk of the ‘next generation’ of tennis stars and how they will take over from the ‘Big 3’, which once used to be the 'Big 4' with Andy Murray around. Yet, every year, the next generation fails to usurp these greats.

So much so that a complete generation of tennis stars have been passed over without being given much of a chance. The likes of Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov have shown glimpses of some good tennis but have never challenged the Big 3. In fact, the only players to pose any sort of challenge to them have been from their own generation, namely Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin Del Potro.

Now we have a new generation of stars attempting to end this domination. Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas have been proclaimed as the favorites to dethrone the top three. But given the last two years, even they must have started wondering whether they have what it takes to do so.

All three have had some success in ATP tournaments but when it comes to Grand Slams, the Big 3 somehow manage to raise their game. It won’t be surprising if, in a couple of years, we are still talking about these three greats and how the new ‘next generation’, comprising of the Canadian duo of Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime are also struggling to end their era of supremacy.

Only time will tell when this rare domination will end and who - if anyone - is proclaimed as the greatest but until then, fans of the Big 3 should count themselves as incredibly lucky to have witnessed the greatest generation of all time.

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