Rafael Nadal has been fighting against Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer for his entire career. The Big 3 are pushing each in every possible way and breaking all sorts of records. It’s interesting to notice that from the 1st of January, Rafa will do something that both Novak and Roger didn’t achieve: being the world no.1 in 3 different decades.
Rafa Nadal on January 1, 2020, will become the first ever man in tennis history to be World No.1 in three different decades.
— Reva (@VamoosX) December 29, 2019
The Spanish sensation will kick start the official season in Perth where he will defend the color his country during the ATP Cup after he was decisive in winning the Davis Cup last month.
Will Tsitsipas break the dominance of the Big3?
Even if Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer are the top favorites to win the Australian Open and the rest of the slams during the year, the Spaniard acknowledges that some other upcoming players such as Stefanos Tsitsipas can break this dominance. The Greek aspires at having the same success in his career as he Big3.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently ranked no.1, Nadal played his last match on the 24th of November when he overcame Denis Shapovalov 6-3 7-67 in the Rubber 2 in Davis Cup.
This year Rafael has a 52-7 win-loss record. Rafael 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.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, the Serbian played his last match on the 22nd of November when he overcame Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-3 in the Rubber 2 in Davis Cup.
At present, this year the Serbian has a 54-11 win-loss record. Novak conquered 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. The Serbian was the finalist in Rome.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they squared off, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) on the 19th of May 2019.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, the Swiss played his last match on the 16th of November when he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London.
Presently, this year Roger has a 51-10 win-loss record. The Swiss clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami, in Halle and in Basel. The Swiss was the runner-up in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently ranked no.6, Tsitsipas played his last match on the 17th of November when he overcame Dominic Thiem 6-76 6-2 7-64 in the final in London to win his 4th career title.
In this year Stefanos has a 53-25 win-loss record. Stefanos has won 3 titles in 2019 in Marseille, in Estoril and in London. Tsitsipas was the runner-up in Dubai, in Madrid and in Beijing.
Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas played each other 5 times. The head to head is 3-2 for Federer.
The last time that they locked horns, Stefanos Tsitsipa won 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London (Nitto ATP Finals) on the 16th of November 2019.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
