The GOAT debate has always been very intense and it has been further fed in the last 15 years thanks to the Big 3. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have made history of this sport, Breaking almost all records of men’s tennis and demonstrating a longevity that has very few equals among modern athletes.
Roger Federer© @BarclayCard18 X account
The Swiss has held for many years the all-time record of Grand Slam titles and weeks at the top of the ATP ranking, before being overtaken by the Spanish and especially the Serbian. Rafa reached 22 Majors thanks to the achievements made at the Australian Open and the French Open in 2022, while Nole reached 24 Grand Slam titles by twice touching the Calendar Grand Slam (in 2021 and 2023).
The 37-year-old from Belgrade is also the player who spent the most weeks at the top of the ATP ranking and won the most Masters 1000, prompting many insiders to recognize him as the best ever. The Serbian legend has also fulfilled the last great dream of her career, winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer. The rise of young talents like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has slowed down Djokovic, who hasn’t won a single Major this season for the first time since 2017.
The GOAT debate
The Big 3 have created a great rivalry and played many epic challenges, pushing each other to improve and contributing to the spread of tennis in every corner of the world.
Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and former tennis coach of the Spanish player recently spoke to Euronews. And among the many topics covered during the interview was also present on GOAT or the best player of all time. The debate, as we know, is very heated especially among the many fans of the Big 3 namely Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in order of Slam wins. He leads Djokovic with 24, Nadal is at 22 and Federer has finished his career with 20 Slam wins.
Novak Djokovic, 2024 Paris Olympics© Stream screenshot
Toni Nadal during the interview he reiterated a concept expressed by him a few weeks ago on the best of all time but also added other considerations. Toni said in the interview that in his opinion “the best player of all time is Novak Djokovic. But the one who played best was Roger Federer”. Important words also about his nephew: “I think that without the injuries, my nephew could have been the best”.
“The best – analyzed Toni – is Novak Djokovic, for two reasons: in the duration of his career and because he won more titles than others. I think my nephew could have been the best without injuries but in his career he has often injured himself and therefore the best is Djokovic. But I also want to add one thing: what is seen on the tennis court when played Roger Federer no one has ever done”.
Despite their fierce rivalry, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have always tried to maintain a good relationship on and off the court to be an example for the younger generation. Recently, Rafa opened up on his relationship with Roger and Novak: “My relationship with Roger is very good. The word friends is strong, I have my lifelong friends. But Roger has been a great companion. He is a very familiar person. For Djokovic, a perennial thorn in the side of the great Spaniard, Nadal had a more nuanced reply.
The image he projects is worse than what he really is. He is a good person, with his mistakes. But much better than what he looks like. Novak breaks the racquet but at the next point he is one hundred percent, that’s why he is the one who has achieved the most in the history of our sport. The numbers don’t lie, he is the best in history.”
Future looks bright
Many fans and insiders wonder if Alcaraz and Sinner will be able to reach the peaks touched by the Big 3. The 21-year-old from Murcia has already won four Grand Slam titles and won the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships in the same season. The Italian ace – instead – is playing a sensational 2024 in which he won the Australian Open and the US Open.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal© YouTube screenshot
In the same interview, Nadal also spoke about Carlitos: “He has no weaknesses for his age. At his age I had many more weaknesses. The serve, the volley. He has a great repertoire. He is a very good boy and has things very clear. He has great ambition and At his age I had never set those goals for myself. They have totally different mentalities, he has all the conditions to achieve a great career.”