'I cannot wait to see Roger Federer return to action', says legend

In the h2h, Novak Djokovic has the better of both Roger Federer (27 wins against 23 losses) and Rafael Nadal (29 wins against 27 losses). If we restrict the challenge to Grand Slam matches, however, Novak beats Roger, 11-6, but Rafa beats Novak, 10-6. Then comes longevity in command: the number of weeks as number one in the world ranking, seen as another key indicator to determine who is the strongest of all time. In this area, Federer has been in the lead so far with 310 weeks, but next month he will be overtaken by Djokovic, thanks to the victory at the Australian Open, with 311. More distant Nadal at 209, and ahead of him there are also Sampras (287 ), Ivan Lendl (270) and Jimmy Connors (268). Of course, the three greats of our era, like their illustrious predecessors, don't just play for the four Grand Slam titles. In the calculation of victories in all ATP tournaments (the tour of the Association of Tennis Professionals), Roger is in the lead in comparison with Rafa and Novak: Federer has won 102 (better than him Connors did with 109), Nadal is at 86, Djokovic at 82. And Federer also has the advantage as the highest number of wins in the ATP Tour Finals, the tournament that closes the season, to which the eight strongest players in the world are invited every year, judged a sort of fifth Grand Slam: the Swiss has won it six times, the Serbian five, while the Spaniard, curiously, never made it (but has missed four of the last nine finals due to injury). Former Grand Slam champion and Novak Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic is in awe of how the ‘Big Three’ continue to lord over men’s tennis in spite of the emergence of the next lot of superstars.

Ivanisevic says the Big 3 are a step ahead of young guns

Goran Ivanisevic said that he cannot wait to see Roger Federer return to action as “it’s going to be more interesting to see what is going to happen at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.” However, he stuck to his earlier claim saying that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will eventually go past Federer’s Grand Slam haul and set their individual benchmarks. “I said a couple of years ago that Rafa and Novak are both going to overtake Roger. I still believe that,” said Ivanisevic, who is remembered as one of the biggest servers in the game. The former champion said that the ‘Big Three’ are still a step ahead of the “young guns” when it comes to the finals of marquee events. “The young guns are coming, they’re here but these guys are better, one step better in the finals. I don’t know where is the end…,” Ivanisevic said.

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