It’s very rare to see a supernova with the naked eye in the galaxy. However, in the tennis world, we have been witnessing one this season. Similar to a bright shinig Supernova, the tennis world saw the 20 year legacy of men’s tennis coming close to an end. Together, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic won 66 Grand Slams! However, none of those three won a grand slam this year for the first time since 2002! Remembering their glory days, four former American tennis stars sat together to speak about the legacy of the ‘Big 3’ at the US Open.
Mats Wilander once stated that the healthiest shift of power in sports is when the young guys are taking out the best of all time. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz won two Grand Slam titles each in this season. It seems the big 3 have just passed on the torch to these two. With Federer retired in 2022, and Nadal struggling with injuries, Djokovic was the only hope for the old guard at the 2024 US Open. However, the Serb unfortunately got eliminated in the R3. Is it time for the new rise of another iconic trio? Time will tell, but who stands tall among these three according to these former ATP pros?
During a recent episode of ‘Nothing Major,’ John Isner, Jack Sock, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson spoke about the legacy of the ‘Big Three’ at the US Open. They declared the ‘Swiss Maestro’ as the GOAT among the ‘Big 3’ but there is a bit of twist here!
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Sock said, “I got to go Roger Federer. Night matches were always just iconic.” Querrey added, “Federer’s legacy is like way beyond Novak and Rafa at the US Open. He always played at night. The crowd loved him. He’s got like that iconic tweener shot against Novak.” John Isner then asked, “You remember he brought out the Darth Federer kit?” Sam Querrey gave a nod.
Johsnon added, “When you have like a collaboration with Michael Jordan and you debut them at night US Open with him in your box. As a tennis player that’s incredible.” Johnson further said, “That goes beyond tennis.” Isner replied, “I‘m going to go Federer by just a bit slightly over the other two,” charmed by Federer’s night matches. Querrey concluded the conversation by saying, “For me talking about like being iconic, age is irrelevant. The fact that Roger won it 5 times in a row is the most important stat when we’re talking about who’s the most iconic at the US Open.”
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Roger Federer won the US Open five times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), Rafael Nadal won it four times (2010,2013,2017,2019) and Novak Djokovic also won it four times (2011, 2015, 2018, 2023). Who among these three was the easiest to face though? Let’s check out what these former ATP pros have to say on this.
Federer over Nadal and Djokovic—Is it time to settle the GOAT debate once and for all?
Former ATP pro names Novak Djokovic as the easiest to play if compared with Roger Federer and Rafael NadalSteve Johnson has faced Novak Djokovic only once in his career, at the 2018 Cincinnati Masters. Djokovic defeated him by 6-4,7-6(4) in that match. He couldn’t win any of his matches against the other two of the ‘Big Three‘ as well. However, when he was asked what it felt like playing against these three, he said, “Roger, Rafa, Novak, this is obviously a crazy statement but, like Novak, he’s the easiest to play of the three because he lets you play tennis.”
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The reason he gave was that he felt Federer comes forward and just suffocates his opponent. In comparison, Rafael Nadal tries to bully his opponents around the court. However, according to Johnson, Novak Djokovic is someone who forces his opponents to miss and then makes their targets become incredibly small.
“It’s damn near impossible,” said the 34-year-old. However, Jack Sock revealed that he has never seen any player putting away Isner’s fiery serves like Novak Djokovic. Sam Querrey also spoke about his experience playing against these superstars of the tennis world.
Source : EssentiallySports