For the last two decades, tennis fans have witnessed an era unlike any other. Three players have dominated the game, won the major trophies, and put up spectacular matches. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have all broken different records in their careers. They are now in a race to see who will finish as the greatest of all time (GOAT).
Grand Slam titles race
Federer leads the way, having won 20 Grand Slams. Nadal and Djokovic are not far behind with 19 and 16 Grand Slams respectively. Both are considerably younger than the 38-year-old Swiss. The Spanish is 33 years old while Djokovic is 32. They continue to play at a high level with both players winning two Grand Slams each this year. The Spaniard won the French Open and the US Open while the current world number one claimed the Australian Open and the Wimbledon title. The Serbian defeated Nadal and Federer in those finals. The race to be the best of all time continues as the players aim to win more titles.
Laver Cup teammates
Currently, though, Djokovic is injured while Nadal and Federer are competing in the Laver Cup. The two will be playing together for Team Europe. As the tournament kicks off this weekend, they have had to deal with questions about the GOAT debate. The two players were asked if they were talking about their battle while preparing for the cup. Both players stated that they were focused on winning the Laver Cup. However, they stated that the topic had not come up in their conversations. Instead, the two tennis players acknowledged each other and said they were looking forward to playing together.
On his part, Federer said that he was only worried about his performances, not his competitors. He said, “These are things you can’t really control other than when you face each other and you try to stop the other guy. The point is trying to win for yourself and your fans, your team, and try to have your best career.”
Nadal agreed with his Laver Cup teammate, adding that he was not losing sleep over the GOAT debate. “I’m not going to bed every night thinking ‘I need to win a number in particular’. I just try to enjoy the tennis. Tennis is not only the Grand Slams. Of course, they are important, but I don’t take it that way.” Team Europe has won the Laver Cup every year since it started in 2017.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Roger played his last match on the 3rd of September when he had to bow to Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 in the quarter in U.S. Open.
This year Roger has a 43-7 win-loss record. Roger clinched 3 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami and in Halle. Roger was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 8th of September when he beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 in the final in U.S. Open to win his 84th career title.
This year Rafael has a 47-6 win-loss record. Nadal has won 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. The Spaniard was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played each other 42 times. The head to head is 26-16 for Nadal.
The last time that they locked horns, Roger Federer won 7-63 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in Wimbledon in 12th July 2019.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal |
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