While women’s tennis has lived a time with multiple champions and newcomers triumphing in the biggest stages, in the last 13 years men’s tennis has been dominated by Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Especially when it comes to Grand Slams.
While Federer, 41, hasn’t played much in the last two years, Djokovic and Nadal haven’t slowed down in the race for becoming the greatest player of all time. The Spaniard, for now, is the one with the most majors, 22, after he won his 14th Roland Garros in June.
However, Novak Djokovic has the chance to get close to him if he wins his seventh title in Wimbledon on Sunday’s final against Nick Kyrgios. On the other hand, the Australian has the opportunity to join a select group of players who have been able to win a major in the “Big Three” era. Here, check out who those players are.
Players that have won a major during the “Big Three” era
Between the Big Three, they have 62 Grand Slams. Federer won his first Grand Slam at 21 years old at 2003 Wimbledon, while Rafael Nadal won his first major (Roland Garros) in 2005 when he was 19 years old. Novak Djokovic joined the party when he lifted the 2008 Australian Open title, at 20 years old.
Since Federer won his first title, Andy Roddick (2003 US Open), Gaston Claudio (2004 French Open) and Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open) won majors. However, since Nadal and Djokovic won their first Grand Slam title, only six players have managed to win a Grand Slam. Here’s the list since 2008:
| Year | Player | Tournament | Beat in the final |
| 2009 | Juan Martin Del Potro | US Open | Roger Federer |
| 2012 | Andy Murray | US Open | Novak Djokovic |
| 2013 | Andy Murray | Wimbledon | Novak Djokovic |
| 2014 | Stan Wawrinka | Australian Open | Rafael Nadal |
| 2014 | Marin Cilic | US Open | Kei Nishikori |
| 2015 | Stan Wawrinka | French Open | Novak Djokovic |
| 2016 | Stan Wawrinka | US Open | Novak Djokovic |
| 2020 | Dominic Thiem | US Open | Alexander Zverev |
| 2021 | Daniil Medvedev | US Open | Novak Djokovic |
Of these players, only Del Potro and Wawrinka have been able to beat at least two of the Big Three. Del Potro beat Rafael Nadal in semis of the US Open, while Wawrinka defeatedtop-seed Nadal and second-seed Novak Djokovic at 2014 Australian Open, becoming the first man to do so sinceSergi Bruguera at the 1993 French Open.