Close but no cigar. That is the recent story for the younger generation that is trying desperately to crack the Big 3 code.
Like Daniil Medvedev against Rafael Nadal at the 2019 U.S. Open, Dominic Thiem came within one set of capturing his first Grand Slam title but ultimately fell short at the hands of Novak Djokovic. A three-hour and 59-minute Australian Open final saw Djokovic overcome Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on on Sunday night.
Coming off difficult matches against Nadal and Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals and semis while also facing an opponent who was 7-0 lifetime in Australian Open finals, Thiem predictably came out flat. The Austrian briefly recovered a break that he donated right away, but it was mostly a straightforward opening set for Djokovic.
However, this was not Thiem’s first rodeo against an all-time great in a slam title match. Surely drawing on experience–albeit losing experience–from two Roland Garros runner-ups against Nadal, the world No. 5 found his footing in sets two and three. That coincided with a bizarre dip in energy for Djokovic, who quickly found himself in a two-sets-to-one hole.
In typical Big 3 fashion, however, Djokovic’s mental toughness helped him to right the ship physically. Resorting to his usual brick-wall defense, the No. 2 seed forced Thiem to play longer rallies and hit more shots. With the biggest title of his career in sight, it was something Thiem could not do. Djokovic got the best a high-quality fourth set and he was off to the races after breaking early in the fifth.
A convincing service hold at 5-3 clinched victory for Djokovic, giving him his 17th Grand Slam title.
The Big 3 of Djokovic, Nadal, and Roger Federer have now won 13 slams in a row. Their longest streak is 18 from the 2005 French Open through 2009 Wimbledon (17 of those 18 won by Federer and Nadal alone). Djokovic has won five of the last seven by himself.
“I am grateful to have an opportunity to win another Australian Open trophy,” Djokovic commented. “Obviously at this stage of my career, Grand Slams are the ones I value the most. They are the ones I prioritize. Before the season starts I try to set my form, shape for these events where I can be at my prime tennis, mental, and physical abilities. There are a lot of stats that obviously I am proud of….I’ve had that privilege to win this big tournament for eight times.”
Those are numbers Thiem, Medvedev, and the rest of the younger generation can’t even comprehend. Heck, they would be happy with just one slam right now.
“These guys brought tennis to a complete new level,” said Thiem, doubling down on his comment during the trophy ceremony that he was glad to play in the Big 3 era of tennis. “They also brought me probably to a much better level.
“Of course, it would be or it was easier for sure in a different era to win big titles; that’s 100 percent. But I’m happy I can compete with these guys on the best level. I really hope also that I win my maiden slam when they’re still around because it just counts more.”
[crowdsignal poll=10499732]
congrats, Novak
Bravo, Ricky. I am pretty sure that by the end of 2021,Novak will surpass Roger and Rafa at GS. This year, he will surpass Roger by weeks at No1.
You funny Marko.
I call it now in February 2020. Djoko doesn’t touch 20 Slams. 19 max by end of his career.
Remember this.I am betting with u, and the one who lose, will honor a beer to the other:) Come to Nis, Serbia, when they finish, to drink w me:)Novak 22, Rafa 21, Roger 20.
So Marko..how many you think Rafa n fed close at ? Would like to hear your view as djoko fan
Eugene ..yours too for fed n rafa
Oh sorry you already gave yoir slams Marko..if that holds true .novak is the goat with highest slams n highest weeks at no 1. Have to grudgingly accept .but winning 5 more is not easy..he struggled to win this .n you saying 5 out of next 7. That’s tough ..n for you to give novak 5 more n rafa 2 more .it means they both take the next 7 ..doubt it will happen
Yeah unlikely when there’s Olympics this year and Djoko has the intention of winning an Olympic gold medal.
I even think that Wimbledon may go to Fed, because Fed by now will learn his lesson and Djoko doesn’t look convincingly good to me.
I feel this year the slams may go to four different persons – Djoko at AO; Rafa at FO; Fed at Wimbledon and Thiem or Medvedev at the USO. Tsitsipas and Sasha may reach a slam final each, at FO and Wimbledon maybe – both can do well on the two surfaces.
Done Marko 😉 I’ll buy you a nice drink if you’re right 😉 Just don’t leave this place in the next years, so we keep updated.
Eugene .I’m keen to know your final tally for big 3 as a fed fan
Congrats to Joker….he was just mentally tougher those last 2 sets. Bravo!
Congrats to Novak Djokovic! Even at less than his best he was able to prevail. However, to me it is clear that Thiem lost a winnable match. Rafa played him better in losing than Djokovic did in winning. The key point, as both players said, was Thiem’s break point at 1-1 in the 4th set, saved by a masterful S&V by Novak. Thiem also made a bad decision in getting broken in the 4th.
Yes, big three dominance continues, but there is no guarantee that it will continue for much longer. It would surprise me if Fed were to win another slam; maybe wimby this year. And even Rafa and Novak are much close to the pack than ever before. Thiem, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, and others are getting closer. Should be a very interesting season!
When all is said and done, I am 99% sure that Djokovic will be considered by most people to be the greatest male tennis player of all-time. Of course anything can happen and things constantly change. Everyone was certain at the beginning of 2014 that Rafa would surely be passing Fed in total majors within a year or two. If someone had said after the 2014 AO semifinals that six years later Rafa would still be 1 title behind Fed, and only 2 ahead of Djoko, most people would have laughed. It just goes to show that we never know what will happen.
As I’ve stated before, because all 3 of them have had such uniquely, insanely great careers, I just don’t like to think of one of them as definitively greater than the other two. But most most people don’t think that way. And it’s hard for me to imagine Novak not eventually being the one that the majority of people say is the greatest. If he ends up with all the records AND the most major titles, it will be hard to argue with them. Novak is just a freakin’ machine. He’s amazing.
I’m a huge Nadal fan but can’t imagine a scenario in which Djokovic doesn’t end as the undisputed GOAT. He should easily pass Nadal and Federer in Slams, will undoubtedly pass Nadal for most Masters 1000 titles, is only one World Tour Finals behind Federer, and has a winning record against both Nadal and Federer. Also easily the best all-court player of the three (I count indoor hard as a fourth surface).
He has such a fluid game and is so ridiculously flexible and agile that I can’t imagine injuries cutting his career short. He eats cleaner and takes better care of his body than any tennis player ever.
My prediction on final slams:
Federer 20
Nadal 22
Djokovic 25
All three will have 20 and will be judged other stats/criteria.
Djoko will not win 8 more..let’s be realistic .he struggled to win this on his fav surface despite having a dirt easy draw till final..he knows it himself too n accepted it that he could have lost the match..
True, but I think 3 more is doable and realistically achievable. I think Rafa too can win three more provided he stays fit and chooses what to play wisely. Fed may win one more at Wimbledon, as I feel he’s still very good on grass.
Fed should just forget about clay and concentrates on winning Wimbledon. I do feel Fed, if he wins Wimbledon this year, may just retire next year. Rafa can still win two more FOs and one more USO (my speculation of course) and I think he may retire one year after Fed.
As for Djoko, he will only retire when he feels he no longer could surpass Fedal; as long as he feels he can do better than them, he will not retire.
@Sanju Novak will win till 2022,and it s 5 out of 11..it s not impossible… 1 AO, 1 RG, 1 W and 2 UOs.. He deserves to have 5 UO, he lost 5 finals there.. Rafa 1 Rg and 1 AO… ONLY PREDICTION😉😊💓💓💓
Ok thanks . Let’s see what future holds for all..i personally think starting 2021 the big 3 won’t win much..max 2 out of 4 will go to them..rest will go to others and from 22 hardly anything to big 3
Curious to know why yoy giving 1 ao to rafa ? Justice for all finals lost there?
Happy for Nole and rc!
Also would have been happy to see Thiem break through.
(Also happy that Nole deliberately neglected to thank the disrespect crowd)
Very proud of him. He handled it well.
https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/02/novak-djokovic-roger-federer-rafael-nadal-grand-slam-title-race/87346/
Online space filled with such articles about how djoko will surely end with highest slams n weeks at no 1, it’s almost sounding as if it’s a foregone conclusion. Some videos even saying novak will take the french esp as there will be a roof this year..
Well novak may win the highest slams, however sad part is just like in this article ,rafa is more a footnote about just being in the mix and it’s all about fed n Novak beating his record .i hope rafa really has a lot to say about it..i surely don’t want to see rafa as third in the slam tally.
Yeah sanju…this past weeks,i stumbled into many articles claiming Novak will have highest slams,winning most masters etc etc…
Mats Wilander even predicted he will bagged 25 slams at the end of his career…while Hewitt says Novak & Thiem has a good chance of beating Rafa at FO this year..
Now…i’m not totally ruled out their prediction…they maybe right someday…BUT….1st of all,we all know that when we prematurely predict something that we really don’t know about,and we say it with such conviction..it usually won’t happen like we wish(and i’m speaking from my own experience!)…i don’t know..but i think when they tempt fate like this,it will happen otherwise…i am very glad Rafa always play down his chances on GOAT & how many slams he will win b4 he hangs his racket…it’s better that way…his humbleness & never talking big is very refreshing to me…Vamos Rafa!!
Wilander is a joke of first order Mira. His statements change at drop of a hat. Ignore him..he and Greg rusedki need to be ignored
Yes Mira..we can only hope rafa stays healthy, does not overplay ,stays injury free, let his racquet do the talking and silently win more slams ..others can have their share of big press about how great they are..
Yes, he is doing very well without them.
Thanks, Hawkie!!
That was the most enjoyable AO, to me. Sonya Kenin v Garbine Muguruza was awesome. No one in our bracket group picked Kenin. She escaped completely under the hype around Coco Gauff, Serena, Amanda Anisimova and stars like Andreescu, Barty, Osaka, and others.
Congrats Sophia Kenin!
Congrats, Novak Djokovic!
Nole pulling through to win his eighth AO and seventeenth GS 😀 Happy for him!! He’s keeping Roger and Rafa records close. I have no predictions for the future. I only hope Dominic wins a GS in the next year or two. He certainly came close.
Two years …let Nole and Rafa retire first.
Close but not enough. To me Thiem lacks the mentality – to dig deep, to be relentless, to sustain the intensity.
Yes he may be tired, but Rafa in 2009 was in a worse position (yes Rafa might be young in 2009 but he had bad knees); Djoko too in 2012 after five sets vs Murray in the SF on Friday and went toe to toe with Rafa for almost six hours in the final and managed to came from behind to win; not to mention Stan in 2014 AO had to battle through Djoko in five sets in the QF, Berdych in four sets in the SF before beating Rafa in the final in four sets (yes Rafa was injured but Stan remained very focused) to win his first slam in his first slam final.
Thiem is very fit physically but he couldn’t dig deep to hang in tough in the fourth set; it’s just one loss of serve and that’s enough to throw Djoko a lifeline. Thiem may be too nice hence not as ruthless as those few champions who won multiple slams.
Thiems not doing too badly , maybe he’s not up to it mentally yet but at least that’s only one excuse. Being mentally weak (eg making wrong tactical decisions in a match) is not unusual even among multi Slam winners.
He’s not ruthless enough imo and that to me is a weakness, not a tactical mistake. Thiem reminds me of Murray, who plays in the big three era when all three of them were still in their heydays, Murray struggled to beat them at the slams, lost four finals (USO2008; AO2010/2011, Wimbledon 2012) before winning his first at USO2012 beating Djoko in the final.
Murray lost a few finals to Djoko, and he used to fall for Djoko’s bag of tricks during their matches – Djoko could look half dead then all of a sudden revived and played unbelievably to beat Murray; that might be Djoko’s tactics during a match, to ride over the rough patches in a match, hung in there and then made a push when he sensed his opponent might be coming down from his high level.
Murray learnt his tough lessons and finally won his USO2012 title by hanging in there with Djoko over five sets to win. Thiem may have to do the same esp when he faces Djoko across the net.
Against Rafa it was relentless high intensity throughout; against Djoko is about hanging in there and grind for as long as required; against Fed he has to be quick and alert to respond to Fed’s quick and continuous attacks.
Djoko will end with the highest slam count in all likleyhood.
Fed: Don’t think he wins another slam, upcoming Wimbledon is the best bet but his body is breaking down more often.
Nadal: Thiem is going to really compete well at the French from now on. I think Nadal gets one maybe 2 more French at best. Don’t think he wins any more on anyother surface.
Djokovic: He has a shot at all the slams for the next 2 years (maybe more) with French being the most unlikely.
It’s going to be a fun next couple of years but my heart and mind are with Djoko.
Excuse me, you think Rafa won’t win at USO but Djoko will? What make you think that, when Rafa has more USO than Djoko has?
Also, Djoko wasn’t convincing at Wimbledon last year, what make you think he still will win at Wimbledon going forward, as if there will be no one to challenge him? Both Fed and Rafa have their chances against Djoko at Wimbledon, he barely edged them in their matches, next time they meet, who says for sure the edge won’t go Fed or Rafa’s way??
Djoko’s safest bet is still the AO, because he’s physically still fresh so he’s able to grind even when not playing well. Among the big three it’s Djoko doing more grinding these days and he’s no longer that young, don’t expect him to continue grinding to win his slams esp against the younger guys. Had Djoko gotten Rafa’s draw and Rafa Djoko’s, I think Rafa would be in the final, and Djoko would struggle to beat Kyrgios, Thiem and Sasha to make the final.
Rafa won 2017 and 2019 because Djoko was not there (2019 Djoko injury midway). I really think Nadal can’t beat Djoko on a hard court in a slam as long as Djoko is fit. But that is purely a Rafa vs Nole dynamic. US Open has historically been the most open slam. And with the next gen gap closing it’s going to be even tougher for Rafa.
WImbledon: Fed I think his age his catching up with him. Nadal: He is susceptible to big servers and hard hitters and I would pick Djoko over Nadal on anything except clay everytime.
Of course there will be people challenging Djoko. It’s getting tougher for him as the young guns are coming closer. That’s what makes the next 2-3 years really interesting.
We can debate about draws all day. Yes Djoko had a favorable draw this AO but that even’s out over time. I would pick Djoko’s fitness over Nadal for the next few years
See, Djoko may not even reach the final at USO because he can be injured too! So your take as if Djoko will win all the slams except the FO is really being unrealistic! I mean in 2018, 2019 when Djoko was younger than he is now, he still couldn’t win three slams in a year, what make you think he’s going to do that going forward? With Thiem, Meddy, Sasha and Tsitsipas all getting better and better and Djoko older and older, you think Djoko can win three slams in a year for the next one to two years??
Also, you think Rafa may not always be fit and yet he keeps winning at the slams – 2 in 2017, 1 in 2018 and 2 in 2019, what make you think he won’t win two slams in a season? He’s looking physically fit now even after playing so much lately. If anything, Rafa is getting to play more aggressive tennis (he won most of the short points against Thiem) hence he’s not grinding, saving his body for the slams.
Djoko may not be so fortunate where the draws are concerned going forward, we’ll see. And, don’t underestimate Fed at Wimbledon, Djoko may not be so fortunate next time they meet, when Fed will be eager not to make the same mistakes again.
Of course nothing is certain. It’s just my view, if I had to pick who will end up with the most slams by the end of all three legends careers, I would pick Djoko. And of course there will be differing opinions. I do hope the crowd starts warming up to him more, he has to fight through that mental battle every time which Nadal and Fed never had to deal with.
Calm down…
No need to get all excited.
Here, if it feels better, I’ll tell you that Nadal will win 40 GS before he retires.
There… this must be soothing 😉
This was addressed to Luckystar, of course.
Strange, I never say anything about how many slams Rafa will end up with, you’re barking at the wrong tree. Go bark at those who are debating how many slams each of the big three will end up with.
Toni Nadal to Rafa just before the AO final 2009 when Rafa was still not recovered from his semi v Verdasco and feeling very pessimistic about his chances in the final: “Bad as you may be feeling right now this is probably the best chance you will ever have to win the Australian Open.” Prophecy? Curse?
Even though I am a fan of N. Djokovic and other players like Federer etc for some reason I wanted D. Thiem to win.
I root for underdogs 😂 he came close but couldn’t do it I feel sorry for him he must have been disappointed with himself.
When Novak was arguing with the umpire I thought now Thiem will calm down and take advantage of Novak’s distraction, honestly Thiem should have won this was winnable and Djokovic wasn’t at his best.
Slam count by retirement:
1. Nole 26
2. Rafa 24
3. Fed 21
If i could hazard a guess , i think both Rafa and Nole have a good chance of surpassing Federer in GS tally ….