The dominance of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in tennis is unquestionable. The only discussion that is relevant at the moment is about who is the G.O.A.T.
I would say that all three deserve this status, but I also see the point that just one of them can be the Greatest of all time.
Loading ...To help in this never-ending discussion, we look at the Grand Slam tournaments they won so far in their career. It all started at Wimbledon in 2003 when Roger Federer claimed his first trophy.
Rafael Nadal won his first Grand Slam in May 2005 in Paris (the place does not surprise anyone). Novak Djokovic joined the Federer-Nadal rivalry five years later in Melbourne.
More than 70 Grand Slam tournaments have been played since Wimbledon in 2003 so far. And just 16! was won by players not named Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic.
Just two other players won the Grand Slam more than once during that period. Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray were successful three times.
But it can hardly be compared with the 24 titles of Djokovic, 22 titles of Nadal, and 20 titles of Federer (updated after the US Open 2023).
Someone can say that Djokovic had the slowest start of all. But do not forget that he faced Federer and Nadal at the peak of their careers.
That is the competition Federer did not have in the early stages of his career.
Men Grand Slam Winners from 2003
Check the table below with all Grand Slam winners from Wimbledon 2003 till today.
The number in brackets next to the name of the winner is the count of their Grand Slam tournament wins when they lifted the trophy.
If the picture above is not convincing enough, check the graph below.
The interactive graph shows how players added the Grand Slam Titles from Wimbledon 2003.
When you look at the data above, you can find many interesting facts about the careers of all three players. We picked just a few of them.
We focused on the question of how long it takes to claim the 2nd, 10th, and 20th Grand Slam title after clinching the first one. You will find the answers below.
From the 1st to 2nd Grand Slam Title:
How many Grand Slams tournaments were played between the first and second Grand Slam triumph of the respective player?
Roger Federer: 1 Grand Slam Tournament (6 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: Wimbledon 2003
2nd Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2004
Rafael Nadal: 3 Grand Slam Tournaments (12 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: French Open 2005
2nd Grand Slam Title: French Open 2006
Novak Djokovic: 11 Grand Slam Tournaments (3 years)
1st Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2008
2nd Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2011
Andy Murray: 2 Grand Slam Tournaments (10 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: US Open 2012
2nd Grand Slam Title: Wimbledon 2013
Carlos Alcaraz: 2 Grand Slam Tournaments (10 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: US Open 2022
2nd Grand Slam Title: Wimbledon 2023
Stan Wawrinka: 4 Grand Slam Tournaments (1 year and 4 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2014
2nd Grand Slam Title: French Open 2015
From the 1st to 10th Grand Slam Title:
How many Grand Slam tournaments were played from the first to the tenth Grand Slam triumph of the respective player?
Roger Federer: 13 Grand Slam Tournaments (3 years and 7 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: Wimbledon 2003
10th Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2007
Rafael Nadal: 23 Grand Slam Tournaments (6 years)
1st Grand Slam Title: French Open 2005
10th Grand Slam Title: French Open 2011
Novak Djokovic: 30 Grand Slam Tournaments (7 years and 8 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2008
10th Grand Slam Title: US Open 2015
From the 1st to 20th Grand Slam Title:
How many Grand Slam tournaments were played from the first till the twentieth Grand Slam triumph of the respective player?
Novak Djokovic: 52 Grand Slam Tournaments (13 years and 6 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2008
20th Grand Slam Title: Wimbledon 2021
Roger Federer: 57 Grand Slam Tournaments (14 years and 7 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: Wimbledon 2003
20th Grand Slam Title: Australian Open 2018
Rafael Nadal: 59 Grand Slam Tournaments (15 years and 5 months)
1st Grand Slam Title: French Open 2005
20th Grand Slam Title: French Open 2020
Federer, Nadal, Djokovic – Who is the best?
The question above does not make sense to me. All three are just absolutely great and dominate tennis.
Just look again at this picture, Grand Slam tennis is about them in the last 20 years.
So stop the useless discussion and arguing and enjoy the time we can watch these three great players on the courts.
Your graph incorrectly labels the 2023 Australian Open (Djokovic [22], as the 2022 Australian Open. Yes, we know he would have won it if he’d been allowed to participate!