Djokovic, Federer and now Nadal – the big three chasing a glorious 21st

There is a nice symmetry that when Rafael Nadal faces Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday, it will be the Spaniard’s turn to try to win a record 21st grand slam title. Roger Federer had his chance at Wimbledon in 2019, when he had two match points in the final against Novak Djokovic but lost in a deciding tiebreak. Djokovic had his chance at the US Open last year when, having won all three of the year’s previous majors, he reached the final in New York but was beaten by Medvedev, denying him the calendar year grand slam.

Now it is Nadal’s time, a fitting moment for the trio who have dominated men’s tennis for more than a decade and whose lives and successes have been inspired by and, in terms of numbers at least, adversely affected by the presence of the other two.

The three men have been tied on 20 grand slams since Djokovic triumphed at Wimbledon for the sixth time last year. Nadal reached 20 when he won his 13th Roland Garros title in 2020 and Federer hit 20 when he won the Australian Open for the sixth time in 2018. Between them, they have claimed 60 of the past 73 grand slam titles, dating back to Federer’s first Wimbledon win in 2003. There will surely never be another era like this one.

Though Federer’s future, at 40 and recovering from another knee operation, is uncertain, Nadal, who turns 36 in June, and Djokovic, who will be 35 in May, have time to add to their tallies. By the time they are finished, the men’s record may be out of sight.

That is what most people thought in 2000, though, when Pete Sampras passed Roy Emerson’s record of 12, which had stood since 1967. At the time, Emerson predicted Sampras would win four or five more, but the American was more circumspect. “Time will