Serra discusses what would've happened without Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the great rulers of tennis in the past decade. Although they are all over 30, they have won the last 13 Grand Slam titles and still represent the opponents to beat in the most important tournaments.

The Big Three are the top three players of all-time in terms of Grand Slam titles won, as well as the top three players in terms of Major finals reached. Federer has reached 31 finals, Nadal 27, and Djokovic 26. They are the only three male players in history to win eight or more singles titles at the same Grand Slam: Nadal with 12 French Open titles, Federer with eight Wimbledon titles, and Djokovic with eight Australian Open titles. (On the women's side, Martina Navratilova won nine times at Wimbledon, while Molla Mallory won eight US Championships, a predecessor of the US Open). In the first part of an episode titled "What if the Big 3 had not existed", former World number 36 Florent Serra pondered what would've happened without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Serra on the Big 3

"With 14 titles, Pete Sampras is not so far from the Big 3," Florent Serra said. "Especially with five titles at the ATP Finals, he is in the wheels of Roger Federer (six titles) and Djokovic (five titles) and far ahead of Rafael Nadal who has never won the year-end tournament and has had little success indoors. Without the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the American today would probably still be the record holder of (most) Grand Slam titles with 14 that includes two in Australia, seven at Wimbledon and five at the US Open" - he added. The Frenchman also talked about Nadal: "I regret that Sampras is no longer a reference for certain players and above all, I find that there was unfinished business at Roland Garros where he never managed to reach the final. Note however that Pete Sampras benefited from faster surfaces than those of today. And conversely, this allowed Rafa in particular to impose his game on the grass of Wimbledon or the hard of the US Open." The Big Three have played each other in 145 matches, including 69 finals. Of all the matches, 46 have been played at Grand Slam tournaments, including 22 finals.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3igCzje