Novak Djokovic equals Rodger Federer and Rafael Nadal by winning his 20th Grand Slam title on 11th July 2021. Right now Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are the three tennis players in the world with the most number of Grand Slam titles. These three legends are three of the greatest male tennis players of all time. They have left their mark in many prestigious International tournaments. Let's have a look in the achievements and career of them.
Last night Djokovic defeated Matteo Berrettini 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6-4, 6-3, and won his 6th men's singles title at Wimbledon 2021. After this outstanding win, the Serbian player equals his rivals Rodger Federer and Rafael Nadal by being the player with the most Grand Slam titles at men's tennis.
In his tennis career, he has won 5 ATP Finals titles and 85 ATP singles titles. These 85 ATP singles titles include a record 9 Australian Open titles and a joint record of 36 Masters events with Rafael Nadal. He won the first Grand Slam title in the 2008 Australian Open. He started his professional tennis career in 2003 and within 2010 he joined his rivals Nadal and Federer to be in the Big Three. In 2011 he absolutely dominated the world of men's tennis and was ranked the number one after winning three out of four matches and the second record of five Masters events. Not only this, but he also continued his reign and held the position of the no. 1 tennis player for the rest of the entire decade. Novak's presence in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 is uncertain right now. On Sunday he mentioned that he has a 50-50 feeling to compete in the Olympics. Due to the surge in covid-19 cases in Japan, the host country declared that the Olympics will be taking place without any audience or spectators and that is why he is not sure about his participation right now.
Rodger Federer is currently the no. 8 ranked tennis player in the world according to the Association of Tennis Professionals. Rodger Federer won his first Grand Slam title in 2003 at Wimbledon. After claiming his first Grand Slam title in 2003 he lifted the trophy, a record of 8 times at the All England Club. With this, he also became the only male tennis player with the most number of victories at Wimbledon.
Within a span of five years from 2005 to 2010, he made 18 out of 19 major singles finals and also won his fifth consecutive title at both Wimbledon Open and US Open. In his tennis career, he has won 103 ATP singles titles which include 20 Grand Slam singles titles as well. Also, he is the winner of 28 ATP Masters 1000 titles and a record 6 ATP finals. Three of the members of the Big Three entirely dominated the era in men's tennis. Federer started dominating most of the 2010s but then Djokovic and Nadal came into action and overshadowed him with their dominance.
Rafael Nadal is the no. 3 ranked player by the ATP right now. He is one of the members of the Big Three and only the left-handed member. For a straight of 209 weeks, he remained the no. 1 ranked player according to ATP and also finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He has won 20 Grand Slam titles likewise his biggest rivals Djokovic and Federer. Also, he is the winner of 36 Masters 1000 men's singles titles and shared this record with Novak Djokovic. He has also won 26 Masters 1000 titles on clay and an Open Era record 62 titles. From 2005 to 2014 he won at least one Masters 1000 title for 10 years consecutively. He is the only player in tennis history to have this type of record in the Open Era.
Tennis is a sport that has seen many great players throughout the years, but there are a select few who have stood out above the rest when it comes to the most titles in tennis (singles) they've won in the Open Era. The Open Era of tennis began in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) and most other tournaments allowed professional players to compete alongside amateurs. Since then, these players have dominated the sport and have set records that may never be broken.
These players have not only won the most titles in Tennis in the Open Era, but they have also left an indelible mark on the sport of tennis. In this article, we will discuss about those legends whose records and achievements will be remembered for years to come, and they will continue to inspire future generations of players.
Jimmy Connors is the leading player on the list of most titles in Tennis (singles) in open era, with 109 titles to his name. Connors also holds the record of most singles matches played (1,535) and most number of wins (1,256). In addition, he won 8 Grand Slam titles, 5 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, and 1 Australian Open. He also held the No. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks and is considered one of the greatest players of all time.
Connors got the number one ranking in the world in 1974 and remained at the top spot for 160 weeks consecutively till 1977. He won the ATP Player of the Year in 1982 and also won ATP Comeback Player of the Year in 1991. However, he retired at the age of 43 in April 1996. In 1998 he achieved the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
With 20 Grand Slam singles titles, Roger Federer is the most successful male player in the Open Era. He has won 8 Wimbledon titles, 6 Australian Open titles, 5 US Open titles, and 1 French Open title. He has also won 103 ATP Tour titles, the second most in Open Era, and held the No. 1 ranking for a record 310 weeks. The Swiss legend retired in 2022 after having won a record 1251 matches after having played for over two decades. Federer wasn't actively playing since the 2019 season, frequently suffering from injuries, and played his last match at the Laver Cup 2022 playing alongside Nadal and Djokovic.
Ivan Lendl comes in the third position in the list of Most titles in Tennis (singles) in open era with 94 titles to his name. He turned professional in 1978 and won 8 Grand Slam titles, 3 Australian Open, 3 French Open, 1 Wimbledon, and 1 US Open. He also got the No. 1 ranking for 270 weeks.
Ivan Lendl is a retired Czech and American tennis player. He won the boys' singles title at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1978 and was ranked the number one junior player. However, he retired in 1994 and in 2001 he achieved the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2018 he joined Alexander Zverev's team as a coach.
Novak Djokovic has won 94 ATP singles titles, including a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a joint-record 6 ATP Finals titles, and a record 38 ATP Masters titles. The Serbian's win-loss record stands at 1036-206 (83.4 percent). The 35-year-old turned pro in 2003 and won his first grand slam title in 2008 (Australian Open). Moreover, Novak Djokovic holds the record for winning the highest number of Australian Open titles (10).
Rafael Nadal has won 92 ATP singles titles as well, tied with Novak Djokovic for the most in the Open Era. The Spaniard's win-loss record stands at 1068-219 (83 percent). He has won an all-time record 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles. Rafael Nadal is famous as the king of clay for having won 14 French Open titles. Overall Nadal apart from winning 14 French Open titles has also won five US Open titles, and two US Open and Australian Open titles.
Moreover, Nadal is the seventh player in the Open Era to achieve a career Grand Slam (winning all four Grand Slams). And he is the second male player, after Andre Agassi to won a career gold Grand Slam. He currently ranked number two in the male singles world rankings. He turned professional when he was 15 and won his first Grand Slam in 2005, the French Open, at his first attempt.
John McEnroe has won 77 ATP Tour titles, including 7 Grand Slam titles, 3 Wimbledon, and 4 US Open. He also held the No. 1 ranking for 170 weeks. John Mcenroe is considered one of the best players of all time. The American International also won the ATP Player of the Year in 1981, 1983, and 1984. However, in 1994 he decided to play only doubles tournaments and retired from singles tournaments. However, in 2006 he completely left the court by taking retirement from doubles as well. Currently, he works as a commentator in major tournaments.
Rod Laver was an Australian tennis player who is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He has won a total of 11 grand slam titles. In addition, he is the only paper to win a Grand Slam in Open Era and is the only player to do so in the history of the game. Rod Laver has won a total of 198 career titles, out of which 72 are won in the Open Era.
Bjorn Borg has won a total of 66 career titles which included 11 Grand Slam titles. One of the greats of the game of tennis who didn't play for a long time but had a glorious career in his short term was Bjorn Borg. He played professional tennis for a period of 10 years from 1973 to 1983. Bjorn was famous for his rivalry with John McEnroe. The match played between Borg and McEnroe in the finals of Wimbledon 1980 is considered an all-time classic in the history of tennis.
Ilie Nastase was ranked world No. 1 in singles from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974. He was the first man to hold the top position on the computerized ATP rankings. Năstase is one of the 10 players in history who have won over 100 total ATP titles, with 65 in singles and 45 in doubles. His most impressive win was over Arthur Ashe in the 1972 US Open, where it took the Romanian five sets and close to five hours to seal the deal. The versatile Nastase won ATP events on all surfaces, too. He may have possibly been one of the best carpet court players in history. He won practically every carpet tournament he entered during the 1970s.
Pete Sampras has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles. These include 7 Wimbledon titles, 5 US Open titles, and 2 Australian Open titles. He also held the No. 1 ranking for 286 weeks, the most of any player in the ATP Tour Era. He also has won 64 ATP tour titles. Pistol Pete Sampras will always be remembered for his mind-blowing seven Wimbledon singles championships. Sampras had literally no weaknesses in his game and could use any weapon at any time.
In the realm of men's tennis, there have been three iconic figures who have dominated Tennis for over a decade. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer have thrilled fans around the world with their incredible skills, unwavering determination, and intense rivalries. These three giants of the game have amassed an astonishing number of titles between them, and their clashes on the court have become the stuff of legend. Let's delve into the Djokovic va Nadal vs Federer epic tennis title battle.
The race continues for the most grand slam titles in men's tennis, but the battle is now only between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic following Roger Federer's retirement. Image- Firstsportz
Tennis fans will argue for hours debating the following question, which male player is the greatest of all time? Icons such as Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors get a special mention in the "GOAT" discussion, but for many people, it's a choice of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer.
After winning the French Open 2023, Djokovic surpassed Nadal's record of 22 Grand Slam titles. While Following his retirement in September 2022, Federer finished his career with 20 majors. This remarkable feat underscores the incredible competitiveness and talent of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. Now with 23 grand slam titles, 36-year-old Djokovic has also returned to the No.1 spot on the ATP world rankings.
Novak Djokovic: 23 Rafael Nadal: 22 Roger Federer: 20
Djokovic vs Nadal vs Federer: ATP Finals, ATP Masters 1000, Olympics
In terms of big titles – a trophy at a grand slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament or an Olympic singles gold medal – Djokovic leads the way at the 2023 French Open.
Novak Djokovic:
Nitto ATP Finals: 6
ATP Masters 1000: 38
Olympics: 0
Rafael Nadal:
Nitto ATP Finals: 0
ATP Masters 1000: 36
Olympics: 1
Roger Federer:
Nitto ATP Finals: 6
ATP Masters 1000: 28
Olympics: 0
Djokovic vs Nadal vs Federer: Overall Titles
In terms of overall titles won throughout their careers, the numbers are as follows:
The rivalry between these three tennis giants extends beyond Grand Slam victories. Their head-to-head battles have produced some of the most captivating and fiercely contested matches in tennis history. Here's a glimpse into their head-to-head records as of my knowledge cutoff
With 59 previous matches, Nadal and Djokovic have battled more times in their rivalry than any players in history. The duo have faced each other 18 times at a grand slam: three times at Wimbledon, three times at the US Open, twice at the Australian Open and ten times at the French Open. Djokovic leads the overall head-to-head 30-29, but Nadal has an 11-7 lead in grand slam matches against his rival.
Both former world no.1s Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have met each other 50 times with Djokovic currently leading the head-to-head of 27–23. Initially, in the rivalry, Federer was leading 13–6 by the end of 2010. Later in 2018, Djokovic took the line leading Federer.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played against each other 40 times on the ATP Tour, with Nadal leading the overall record 24-16. The Spaniard has had the upper hand in Grand Slam matches, winning 10 matches to Federer's four and also leads the head-to-head in Grand Slam finals, winning six to Federer's three.
Novak Djokovic has always kept Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the benchmark for his inspiration. On another Sunday final in Paris, his seventh, Djokovic finally surpassed his great rivals in the most significant category of all as he defeated Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 in the French Open 2023 Final to clinch his 23rd grand slam title. This historic victory means that Djokovic is now the men's sole grand slam record-holder alongside countless other records.
Novak Djokovic also now has three titles in Paris. No other man has ever won each grand slam tournament twice, but Djokovic is now the first to do so three times. He will also return to No 1 for a record-extending 388th week as the best player in the world.
Djokovic is now the oldest Roland Garros singles champion in history at 36 years and 20 days. He has also won the last three grand slam tournaments he has contested. Few people gave Ruud, the fourth seed, much of a realistic chance against the third seed Djokovic, but one helpful factor in his favour was the experience of contesting the French and US Open finals last season against Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, with the Norwegian offering himself chances in the latter.
French Open 2023: What happened in the Men's singles Final?
Ruud started the match utterly vaporising his forehand, which sounded like a cannon in the acoustics of Court Philippe Chatrier. Ruud also mixed in smart drop shots and he confidently closed down the net. Djokovic started the match poorly as Ruud quickly took an early 3-0 lead.
Djokovic dug in and he relied on his legs as he soaked up a series of stinging Ruud forehands before drawing out an overhead error from Ruud to retrieve the break. Ruud kept his head up. The decisive moment of the match came while he led 5-4 with Djokovic serving. At 5-4, 30-30, Ruud gifted a forehand error on an easy second serve return. Sensing Ruud's nerves, Djokovic pounced. He held serve, he forced a tiebreak and then he picked Ruud's weak backhand apart to take the set.
Djokovic continued to methodically break down Ruud's backhand as he neutralised the Norwegian's serve. Djokovic controlled the contest until the end, patiently waiting for his moment to clinch the decisive break late in the third set before closing out one of the greatest successes of his career.
After most of Djokovic's grand slam wins, an old interview from his youth goes viral. Asked about his goals in the sport, a six-year-old Djokovic stated that his goal is to be the No 1 in the world. While ranking and grand slam titles used to be the ultimate goal, that fading, special era with Djokovic, Serena Williams, Nadal, and Federer has completely changed how people view success in the sport.
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Roland Garros. The 14-time champion announced on Thursday at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar. Nadal will not play in the season's second major for the first time since his tournament debut in 2005. The 22-time major winner also added that 2024 might be the end of his professional career.
Rafael Nadal has not competed since January at the Australian Open. He suffered an injury to the iliopsoas muscle in his left leg. Nadal and his team were expecting a recovery period of six to eight weeks, but the lefty has not returned to action.
Rafael Nadal withdraws from Roland Garros
"I was even working as much as possible every single day for the last four months. It has been very difficult months because we were not able to find the solution to the problem that I had in Australia," Nadal said. "Today I'm still in a position that I am not able to feel myself ready to compete at the standards that I need to be to play a Roland Garros. I am not the guy that is going to be at Roland Garros and just try to be there and put myself in a position that I don't like to be in."
The Spaniard was happy with his on-court results, like when last year he won the Australian Open and Roland Garros. But he was struggling to enjoy his daily work because of his physical problems.
"I don't know, I am not the guy who likes to predict a lot the future, so I'm just following my personal feelings and just following what I really believe is the right thing to do for my body and for my personal happiness now."
"2023 is probably going to be my last year in the professional Tour," Rafael Nadal
"Since after the pandemic, my body was not able to hold the practices and to hold the daily work in a good way. So I was not able to enjoy the practices and the competition because too many problems, too many times having to stop for physical issues and too many days of going here practicing but with too much pain," Nadal said. "So after I said that I need to stop. I need to stop for a while. So my decision is to stop. I don't know when I'm going to be able to come back to the practice court, but I'm going to stop for a while. Maybe two months, maybe one month and a half, maybe three months, maybe four months."
Nadal also said that he wants to enjoy 2023 as a regular person. It might be the end of his professional tennis career.
"I can't say 100 percent that it is going to be like this because you never know what can happen. But my idea and my motivation is to try to enjoy and try to say goodbye all the tournaments that have been important for me in my tennis career during next year and just try to enjoy that, being competitive and enjoying being on the court," Nadal said. "That is something that today is not possible. I really believe that if I keep going now, I will not be able to make that happen. I don't know if I stop if I will be able to make that happen, but I think the chances are much higher if I stop."
Rafael Nadal's records:
Nadal defeated Casper Ruud in a three-set championship match to win a record-breaking 22nd Grand Slam singles title last year in Paris. Novak Djokovic has equaled the record.
Rafael Nadal owns a 112-3 record across 18 career appearances at the major (one mid-tournament withdrawal). His 112 match wins and his 97.4 percent win rate both stand alone as records, as does his perfect 14-0 mark in finals. To be more specific about his records, he also owns 14 trophies at Roland Garros.
"The tournament is going to keep being the best event in the world of clay and there is going to be one Roland Garros champion. It's not going to be me, there is going to be another one and that's life."
Novak Djokovic has beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Finals of the Australian Open 2023. He equals the record with Rafael Nadal of winning Most Grand Slam Titles. This is his 10th AO Grand Slam Title. With this, he also returned to No.1 in ATP World Rankings.
Novak Djokovic defeated Tommy Paul in straight sets (7-5, 6-1, 6-2) to qualify for the Final on Friday. everything was going according to plan for him. He proved once again his greatness in the Final by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets (6-3, 7-6, 7-6) to equal the title tally with Nadal.
The Spanish Superstar Rafael Nadal Parera is one of the Greatest Players in Men's Tennis History. Nadal has won a record-tying 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles. He has won 92 ATP singles titles, including 36 Masters titles, with 63 of these on clay courts. Nadal is one of only two men to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles. By the age of 24 years, 3 months, and 10 days, Nadal had won all four majors in singles (Career Grand Slam) and the Olympic singles gold medal (Career Golden Slam) in his career and is the youngest player to achieve both feats in the Open Era.
2. Novak Djokovic | 22 Grand Slam Titles
Novak Djokovic Image - Australian Open
Novak Djokovic returned to No.1 in ATP World Rankings by winning his 22nd Gran Slam Title. He has won a record 10 Australian Open titles. Overall, he has won 93 ATP singles titles, which include a record 66 Big Titles and a record 38 Masters titles. He is the second male player in history after Federer to win 3 Grand Slam titles in three different seasons (2011, 2015, and 2021). He is the first man in the Open Era to achieve a double Career Grand Slam in singles and the only player to complete the Career Golden Masters in singles on the ATP Tour, which he has done twice.
Swiss great Roger Federer is one of the most decorated men's tennis stars. Federer won his first-ever grand slam title in 2003 & became the first men's singles player to reach the milestone of 20 grand slam titles and also eclipsed the record of 14 grand slams held by Pete Sampras during this quest. He has won 6 AO Open, 1 french Open, 8 Wimbledon & 5 U.S Open Titles. Federer won his last Grand Slam Title in 2018. He announced his retirement in 2022.
4. Pete Sampras | 14 Grand Slam Titles
Pete Sampras Image - Hindustan Times
Sampras won 14 major singles titles during his career, which was an all-time record at the time of his retirement: a then-record seven Wimbledon titles, two Australian Opens, and a joint Open Era record of five US Open titles. He won 64 singles titles in total. He was the first to reach world No 1.
Roy Emerson was a Champion whose career bridged the amateur and Open eras. The Aussie great won his 12th Grand Slam singles title at the French Open Championship against countryman Tony Roche. His haul of 28 Grand Slam titles (12 singles, 16 doubles) is a record for men's tennis. Emerson is also the only man to win singles and doubles titles in all four majors.
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