Setting records in tennis is something every player aspires for. Anyways, this is a real challenge taking into consideration the «Big Three». But let’s start from the beginning.
When Pete Sampras outshined Roy Emerson’s 33-year-old record of 12 major singles titles in 2000, the tennis world trascended its level. Two years later, Pistol Pete upped his total to 14 before retirement, the new record was considered in such a strong position, and also very difficult to defeat.
We live in an era where tennis is considered to be in a Golden Age thanks to the «Big 3» we talked about them earlier: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer, my personal favorite, holds the Grand Slam record that once belonged to Sampras. He’s at 20 championships. Nadal now has 20 as well. Djokovic just won his 18th. So what’s the standard for tennis greatness today?
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic win everything. The 39-year-old Federer has won 103 ATP singles titles, 28 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and a record six ATP Finals.
Nadal has a record of 27 Masters plus an Olympic gold medal, he has won 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and reached 51 finals and 74 semifinals. Because of these many accomplishments, as well as his career winning record (60%) against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal is considered by some sports analysts and players to be the greatest male tennis player of all time. At 28, he has 64 titles overall.
And last but certainly not least, Djokovic has won 82 ATP singles titles, five ATP Finals titles, and a record 36 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles.
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, along with being astoundingly talented athletes, simply take their careers more seriously than any previous tennis generation. Even the great Aussie players of the 1950s and ’60s relaxed with beers after matches. Djokovic won’t even let himself take a bite of a chocolate bar to celebrate a Grand Slam championship. This heightened level of commitment that started with Federer has now become the new norm.
References
«How Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak … – OregonLive.com.» 14 jul. 2014, https://www.oregonlive.com/the-spin-of-the-ball/2014/07/how_roger_federer_rafael_nadal.html. Se consultó el 24 feb. 2021.
TP Times 