Big Four (tennis): Difference between revisions

The Big Four

Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic

Andy Murray

The Big Four

Singles
Career record	2464-592 (80.6%)
Career titles	200
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (2004F, 2006F, 2007F, 2008D, 2009N, 2010F, 2011D, 2012D, 2013D)
French Open	W (2005N, 2006N, 2007N, 2008N, 2009F, 2010N, 2011N, 2012N, 2013N)
Wimbledon	W (2003F, 2004F, 2005F, 2006F, 2007F, 2008N, 2009F, 2010N, 2011D, 2012F, 2013M)
US Open	W (2004F, 2005F, 2006F, 2007F, 2008F, 2010N, 2011D, 2012M)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (2003F, 2004F, 2006F, 2007F, 2008D, 2010F, 2011F, 2012D)
Olympic Games	Gold Medal (2008N, 2012M)
Last updated on: 11 August 2013.

Olympic medal record
Men's Tennis
	2012 London	SinglesM
	2008 Beijing	SinglesN
	2008 Beijing	DoublesF
	2012 London	SinglesF
	2012 London	Mixed DoublesM
	2008 Beijing	SinglesD

In tennis, the Big Four currently refers to the quartet of players Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. These players are considered dominant in terms of ranking and tournament victories, including Grand Slam tournaments and ATP Masters 1000 events, as well as the ATP World Tour Finals and Olympic Games. Federer was the first to come to prominence after winning Wimbledon in 2003 and established himself as the World No 1 by the end of 2004. Nadal followed in 2005, and they occupied the top two places in the ATP rankings for 211 consecutive weeks from July 2005 to August 2009. After 2009 Djokovic and later Murray increasingly challenged Federer's and Nadal's dominance: Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slams in 2011, and in 2012 the quartet won one Grand Slam apiece. In 2011 Nadal declared that his and Federer's period of joint dominance had been replaced by a "Big Four".

Since this time the term "Big Four", whilst used previously, became popular with the media and in tennis literature. The Big Four are a critical part of what is often labelled a new "Golden Era", since 2010, though that term is also applied to the mid-1970s to 1980s, and the 1920s to the 1930s. Between them, they have won 33 of the last 34 Grand Slam men's singles titles, from the 2005 French Open through the 2013 Wimbledon, and occupied the top four places in the year-end rankings since 2008. Of the four, Federer leads with a record 17 Grand Slam titles followed by Nadal (12), Djokovic (6) and Murray (2). Federer and Nadal have completed a career Grand Slam by winning each of the four Grand Slams at least once, with Nadal also winning Gold Medal at 2008 Summer Olympics for a career Golden Slam. Thus far Djokovic has not won the French Open and Murray has not won either the French Open or the Australian Open but won Gold Medal at 2012 Summer Olympics.

History

Before 2008

Federer and Nadal

The early 2000s were seen as a time of transition in tennis, with older players retiring and a few players breaking through at the very top of the game. Roger Federer had first played on the ATP Tour aged 17 in 1998, finishing his first full ATP season the following year before finishing 2002 ranked sixth in the world, his first year-end ranking in the top 8. His breakthrough came in 2003 when he won his first Grand Slam tournament, and finished the year as world number 2 behind Andy Roddick. The following two years he had almost complete solo dominance, winning five of eight Grand Slams and losing just ten matches in 2004 and 2005.

As Federer dominated, however, his major rival Rafael Nadal was beginning to rise. Nadal had won his first ATP Tour match aged 15 years and 10 months in April 2002, and he defeated Federer in their first meeting in 2004 at Miami. 2005 was Nadal's breakthrough year, in which he won 24 consecutive matches on clay, including his first French Open beating Federer en route in the semi finals, and he finished as world number 2 whilst Federer remained number 1 for a second straight year.

The period between 2005 and 2008 was subsequently dominated by the Federer-Nadal rivalry. They won 11 consecutive Grand Slams, meeting in every French Open and Wimbledon final from 2006–2008. The 2008 Wimbledon final—which Nadal won—has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. From 2005–2010 they ended every year as the world's top two players.

Djokovic and Murray

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were born a week apart, played each other as juniors and made their Grand Slam debuts in 2005. Djokovic made his ATP tour debut in 2004, while Murray was in 2005, a time when many bright youngsters joined the ATP tour. They both reached the world top 100 in 2005, and the world top 10 in 2007. Djokovic, however, began to excel ahead of Murray, reaching one Grand Slam final and two semi-finals in 2007 and starting to challenge Federer and Nadal regularly. He also won two Masters tournament titles and 5 titles in total, finishing the year ranked number 3 in world. Murray, who was forced out of the French Open and Wimbledon by injury, ended 2007 ranked 11th, winning two ATP tournaments.

2008–2010: 'Emergence of the Big Four'

Main articles: 2008 in tennis, 2009 in tennis, and 2010 in tennis

At the 2008 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the semi-finals, reaching his first Australian Open final and ending Federer's streak of ten consecutive Major finals, continuing his fine form at the end of the 2007 season which saw him reach his first Grand Slam final. Djokovic went on to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who had eliminated Nadal in the semi-final) to win his first Grand Slam. Following his Australian Open win, Djokovic emerged as a clear world number three during the year, holding the ranking throughout 2008. Meanwhile, Andy Murray continued to rise in the rankings, reaching his first Major quarter-final at Wimbledon, losing to Rafael Nadal. He also won his first two Masters titles.

While Djokovic and Murray were rising, Federer and Nadal remained the lead rivalry, and the pair met in the final of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Nadal won both, with the latter described as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. In August 2008, Nadal passed Federer to become World No. 1, after Federer had been at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Overall, Nadal beat Federer in three out of four Grand Slam finals from the 2008 French Open through to the 2009 Australian Open.

The year's final Major, the US Open, saw all four players reach the semi-finals of the same Major for the first time. Federer defeated Djokovic in the semi-finals, whilst Murray won through to his first Grand Slam final after upsetting the top-ranked Nadal in four sets. Federer then defeated Murray in the final to win his fifth consecutive US Open title, and win his 13th Major title overall. Following the US Open, Murray entered the ATP top four rankings for the first time and all four players qualified for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup, which Djokovic won. Despite having to withdraw from this event through injury, Nadal ended the year ranked World No. 1, ahead of Federer, Djokovic and Murray.

In 2009, the 'Big Four' held the top four places in the rankings for a whole calendar year for the first time. This also prompted the first uses of the term 'Big Four' to refer to the players, although results saw Nadal and Federer generally remain clear leaders ahead of Djokovic and Murray who they themselves were still regarded ahead of the rest of the tour. At the Australian Open, Nadal won his first Australian Open title, obtaining a third consecutive Grand Slam final victory over Federer, while Murray and Djokovic were eliminated earlier on. Nadal continued to dominate early in the season, but suffered from injury in June, allowing Federer to take the upper hand for the rest of the season. Federer subsequently passed the record for most Grand Slam wins, taking his 14th and 15th grand slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon respectively. Federer finished the season having reached all four Grand Slam finals for the third time in his career following 2006 and 2007.

Following Nadal's injuries, Murray and Djokovic made up further grounds in the rankings, although neither of them were able to make a Major final in 2009. In particular, their consistency at Masters level tournaments kept them in the top four of the rankings, with Murray reaching World No. 2 in August, and ending the 211-week reign of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the top two players of the world in the process. His reign as the World No. 2 would not last long, as he was upset in the fourth round of the US Open by Croat Marin Čilić. There, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semi-final of 2009, losing in straight sets to Federer whilst Nadal was defeated by eventual winner Juan Martín del Potro in the semi-final. At the end of 2009 Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray finished as the ATP's top four players for the second year in a row, with only Nadal and Federer changing positions from the 2008 final rankings list.

During the 2010 season, Big Four began to dominate the Tour as a group for the first time. The Big Four provided six of 2010's eight Grand Slam finalists, and won 14 tournaments combined in the season (compared to 6 for the other four competitors at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals). At the start of the year, Federer continued his dominance as world number one by winning the Australian Open, defeating Murray in the final, however Federer's dominance would prove to be at an end. Returning from injury, Nadal dominated the clay-court season, winning all three clay-court Masters events and the French Open. Nadal also won at Wimbledon, although in both of these Grand Slams the other members of the 'Big Four' were eliminated in either the quarter-final or semi-final.

At the US Open, Djokovic beat Federer to reach his third Major final, although Nadal won once again to complete his career Grand Slam. In November, Robin Söderling (who has reached the French Open final) briefly passed Murray to reach fourth place in the ATP rankings, threatening to break the Big Four's run of filling the end-of-year rankings. However, all of the Big Four reached the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals semi-finals with Federer defeating Nadal in 3 sets in the final, leading to them achieving their third successive season in the top 4 positions. Again Djokovic and Murray were 3rd and 4th but this season they both reached a grand slam final showing their progression.

2011 to present: Dominance

The 2011 season was dominated by Novak Djokovic. Djokovic won 10 titles in total, including three Grand Slam titles (only the fifth man in the open era to do so) and five ATP Masters 1000 titles (a record), enjoyed a 41 match winning streak (ended by Federer in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open), amassed a record $12,619,803 in prize money, and ascended to number 1 in the world for the first time, on 4 July. The season was described by many experts and former players as one of the best tennis seasons for a single player seen in history, with Tennis Magazine describing it as the third best tennis season ever, behind Roger Federer's 2006 season, and Rod Laver's in 1969. Pete Sampras described it as "one of the best achievements in all of sport."

Djokovic's dominance contributed to an overall control by the Big Four. They all reached the semi-finals at two of the year's Grand Slams, and between them won every Masters tournament. Nadal was a clear second place behind Djokovic, winning the French Open. But his season was marred by a 0-6 losing record against Djokovic: every match they played was a championship final.

By his standards, Roger Federer had a weak season: he failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002, losing to Nadal for the fourth time in a French Open final, and the sixth time overall in Grand Slam finals. He dropped to world number 4 in November, the first time he had been ranked outside the top 3 since 2002. Federer's drop was caused by Murray's remarkable run of form in Asia in October, winning three successive titles. However, Federer rallied, winning his three final tournaments, including the World Tour Finals, which was enough to secure an end-of-season ranking of number 3.

Murray, meanwhile, was making significant improvements to his game, and after hiring former world number 1 Ivan Lendl as his head coach Murray made the semi-finals of all Grand Slam tournaments, with his best result a defeat in the Australian Open final by Djokovic. He ended the year with two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles for the fourth year in a row, and five titles in total.

The dominance of the Big Four continued in 2012. Each player won one Grand Slam tournament: Djokovic won in Australia, Nadal in France, Federer at Wimbledon and Murray with his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. This win 'cemented' Murray - who also won gold in the Olympic Games - in the Big Four: his end of season ranking of 3rd was his best yet.

Djokovic entered the season as world number 1, and remained there until July 2012, when he was overtaken by Federer, who reclaimed the top spot for the first time since June 2010. Federer subsequently overtook Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the top, and ultimately extended the record to 302 weeks. Federer relinquished his number 1 ranking on 5 November, Djokovic reclaiming the top spot and ending the year at the top of the rankings for the second year in a row. Djokovic was the only player to make at least the semi-finals in all four Grand Slams, and was the losing finalist at the French and US Opens. Both he and Federer won three Masters tournaments, seeing them dominate the season as a whole. Federer was also the silver medalist at the Olympics, where Djokovic finished fourth.

While a few commentators had still expressed doubt about Murray's position in the 'Big Four', his run to the final of Wimbledon, alongside his US and Olympics victories, firmly placed him alongside the others. Nadal, meanwhile, had his season cut short by an injury. Having won two clay court Masters tournaments and the French Open, he was eliminated in the second round at Wimbledon - his first defeat at such an early stage in a Grand Slam since 2005. He later revealed that he had been injured going into the tournament, and he did not compete for the rest of the season, ending the year as world number 4.

Overall dominance

Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympics

Andy Murray won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2012, defeating Roger Federer in the final.

Since the 2005 Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam tournament of the 2005 ATP Tour, the Big Four have won all but one Major, all but two Tennis Masters Cups/ATP World Tour Finals (2005 and 2009) as well as both Olympic Games singles tournaments.

The dominance does not just consist of winning the events either, with all four members regularly make it to the latter stages of the tournament. Since 2008 they have occupied all four semifinal spots on four occasions, at the 2008 US Open, 2011 French Open, 2011 US Open & 2012 Australian Open, as well as taking three of the four spaces on nine other separate occasions. In 2011 they occupied 14 out of a possible 16 Grand Slam semifinal slots, in the same period, only twice have two or more not made the semifinal stage (2009 & 2010 French Open), while in 2012 they took 13 out 16 Grand Slam semifinal slots. At the Olympics, members of the Big Four took two of the three available Singles medals in 2008 and 2012, and including doubles have a total of three golds, two silvers and a bronze from these games. Federer and Murray are the only members of the Big Four to have two Olympic Medals, and Murray is the only one to have won two Medals at the same tournament, taking both the singles' Gold medal and the mixed doubles' Silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Djokovic is the only member to not have won a gold medal in any event so far, having only taken the singles' bronze medal in 2008.

The Big Four, along with Rod Laver, Tony Roche and Ivan Lendl, are the only men in Open Era history to reach the semifinals at all 4 Majors in a single calendar year, Federer has achieved this a record 5 times in his career so far and Djokovic twice. However, this feat has been accomplished many more times in the pre-Open Era.

Combined Grand Slam tournament singles performance timeline (best result)

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	SR
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	Q1	3RF	3RF	4RF	4RF	WF	SFF	WF	WF	WD	WN	WF	WD	WD	WD	9 / 14
French Open	1RF	4RF	QFF	1RF	1RF	3RF	WN	WN	WN	WN	WF	WN	WN	WN	WN	9 / 15
Wimbledon	1RF	1RF	QFF	1RF	WF	WF	WF	WF	WF	WN	WF	WN	WD	WF	WM	11 / 15
US Open	Q2	3RF	4RF	4RF	4RF	WF	WF	WF	WF	WF	FF	WN	WD	WM		8 / 13

Combined Olympic Games singles performance timeline (best result)

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	SR
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics	NH	SFF	Not Held			2RF	Not Held			GN	Not Held			GM	NH	2 / 4

ATP Masters tournaments

Similarly, ATP Masters/ATP Masters 1000 events have been dominated by the Big Four. Nadal leads with a record 25 Masters titles followed by Federer (21), Djokovic (14), and Murray (9). Since 2005, spanning seventy-seven events, they have won sixty-four, since 2007 of the fifty-nine they've won fifty, and since 2009 of the forty-one events that have taken place, they've won thirty-six. This includes all 9 in 2011. Moreover, between the 2010 Paris Masters and 2012 Paris Masters, they won 17 consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events. As of the 2013 Rome Masters, they have won 109 titles from 121 finals at all levels of the ATP Tour since the start of the 2008 season.

Of these ATP Masters events, excluding the Paris Masters (where the Big Four have had little success) they have won:

• All but one Indian Wells Masters events since (and including) 2004.
• All but two Miami Masters events since (and including) 2005.
• Every Monte-Carlo Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• Every Rome Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Madrid Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• Every Canada Masters event since (and including) 2004.
• All but one Cincinnati Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Shanghai Masters event since its introduction in 2009.
• All but one Hamburg Masters event between 2004–08 before it was downgraded to an ATP 500 tournament.^[a]

^a Of the seven they failed to win, they've occupied the runner-up spots on three occasions.

Combined Masters performance timeline (best result)

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	SR
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	Q1	1RF	3RF	2RF	WF	WF	WF	WN	WD	WN	SFN	WD	WF	WN	9 / 13
Miami Masters	1RF	2RF	QFF	FF	QFF	4RN	WF	WF	WD	FN	WM	SFN	WD	WD	WM	7 / 15
Monte-Carlo Masters	1RF	1RF	QFF	2RF	3RN	A	WN	WN	WN	WN	WN	WN	WN	WN	WD	9 / 14
Madrid Masters1	A	1RF	1RF	WF	3RNF	WF	WF	2RMD	WF	WN	WF	WN	WD	WF	WN	10 / 14
Rome Masters	A	1RF	3RF	1RF	FF	2RF	WN	WN	WN	WD	WN	WN	WD	WN	WN	9 / 14
Canada Masters	A	1RF	A	1RF	SFF	WF	WN	WF	WD	WN	WM	WM	WD	WD	WN	10 / 13
Cincinnati Masters	A	1RF	A	1RF	2RF	1RFN	WF	QFNM	WF	WM	WF	WF	WM	WF		7 / 12
Shanghai Masters2	A	2RF	2RF	QFF	SFF	2RN	WN	WF	FF	WM	FN	WM	WM	WD		6 / 13
Paris Masters	A	1RF	2RF	QFF	QFF	A	3RD	3RM	FN	QFNF	WD	SFF	WF	3RM		2 / 12
ATP World Tour Finals	Did Not Qualify			SFF	WF	WF	FF	WF	WF	WD	SFF	WF	WF	WD		8 / 11

¹Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009–present.
²Held as Stuttgart Masters till 2001, Madrid Masters (hardcourt) from 2002–08, and Shanghai Masters 2009–present.

The Big Four vs the rest of the field

To date the Big Four have collectively won 37 Grand Slam titles (with Federer a record 17, Nadal 12, Djokovic 6, and Murray 2). The only other active players who have a Grand Slam to their name are Lleyton Hewitt (2001 US Open, 2002 Wimbledon) and Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open). Starting with the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, their combined record at Grand Slam tournaments against everyone else is 551-46. Moreover, only four times has a player outside the group beaten two of them in the same tournament (Safin at the 2005 Australian Open, Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open, del Potro at the 2009 US Open, and Berdych at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships).

The Big Four have played in 80 tournaments where all four have competed. Collectively they have won 70 of these 80 tournaments (88%). Of the 10 tournaments they failed to win, they were runner-up in 4 of them, and 5 of these 10 tournaments occurred prior to them first being seeded as the Top 4 players (post-US Open 2008). Since this time in 2008, the Big Four have won 41 of 46 tournaments (89%). And starting with the 2010 Rome Masters, they have won the last 29 tournaments in a row where all four have been present.

Only six players have managed to win a tournament where all four of the Big Four have competed:

• Andy Roddick (2006 Cincinnati Masters, 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships, 2010 Miami Masters)
• David Nalbandian (2007 Madrid Masters, 2007 Paris Masters)
• Nikolay Davydenko (2008 Miami Masters, 2009 ATP World Tour Finals)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008 Paris Masters)
• Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open)
• Ivan Ljubičić (2010 Indian Wells Masters)

The Big Four's dominance ratio is even higher when only three of the Big Four have competed in the same tournament. Of the 33 events where this has occurred, they have won 30 of them (91%). Since 2008, they have won 19 of 21 tournaments (90%).

Only three players have managed to win a tournament where three of the Big Four have competed:

• Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open)
• Sam Querrey (2010 Queen's Club Championships)
• Robin Söderling (2010 Paris Masters)

The Big Four's dominance record diminishes when only two of them have competed in an event, but overall they still have a 66% success rate, winning 35 of the 53 tournaments in this category, and a success rate of 77%, winning 17 of 22 tournaments, since 2008.

As for tournaments where only one of the Big Four has competed, this is the only category where the rest of the field has a positive ratio, winning 176 of the 241 tournaments (73%) played overall. However, it must be noted that this includes many tournaments played early on in each of the Big Four's careers when they were still unseeded or seeded in triple or double digits. Since their debut as the Top 4 seeds in late 2008, the Big Four have won 20 of the 40 tournaments (50%) where just one of them has competed.

Only 12 players have recorded at least one victory over each member of the Big Four.^[hth] Of these players, seven have recorded ten or more victories in total, one has a positive record against two members (both are 2–1 win-loss records), and none have a positive record against all four combined.

Tournament titles 2008–present

	Grand Slam Tournaments	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	ATP World Tour Finals	Olympic Games	ATP World Tour 500 series	ATP World Tour 250 series	Total
Rafael Nadal	9 / 20	16 / 44	0 / 3	1 / 1	7 / 12	2 / 12	35 / 92 = 38%
Novak Djokovic	6 / 23	12 / 48	2 / 5	0 / 2	8 / 13	2 / 11	30 / 102 = 29%
Roger Federer	5 / 23	7 / 42	2 / 5	0 / 2	4 / 11	6 / 13	24 / 96 = 25%
Andy Murray	2 / 22	9 / 49	0 / 5	1 / 2	3 / 14	10 / 14	25 / 106 = 24%
Total	22 / 23[a]	44 / 51[b]	4 / 5[c]	2 / 2[d]	22 / 31[e][f]	20 / 38[f]	114 / 150 = 76%

^a del Potro won the 2009 US Open.

^b Davydenko won the 2008 Miami Masters & 2009 Shanghai Masters, Tsonga won the 2008 Paris Masters, Ljubičić won the 2010 Indian Wells, Roddick won the 2010 Miami Masters, Söderling won the 2010 Paris Masters, and Ferrer won the 2012 Paris Masters.

^c Davydenko won the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals.

^d Djokovic won bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Federer won silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics

^e Llodra won the 2008 Rotterdam Open, Roddick won the 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships, Söderling won the 2010 & 2011 Rotterdam Open, Ferrer won the 2010 Valencia Open, Nishikori won the 2012 Japan Open, Tokyo, del Potro won the 2012 Swiss Indoors, Basel & 2013 Rotterdam Open, and Fognini won the 2013 German Open, Hamburg.

^f Represents ATP 500/250 Series tournaments the Big Four have competed in only, as opposed to every ATP 500/250 on the ATP World Tour in general.

Tournament titles overall

	Grand Slam Tournaments	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	ATP World Tour Finals	Olympic Games	ATP World Tour 500 series	ATP World Tour 250 series	Total
Rafael Nadal	12 / 35	25 / 74	0 / 5	1 / 1	14 / 24	6 / 40	58 / 179 = 32%
Roger Federer	17 / 57	21 / 103	6 / 11	0 / 4	12 / 33	21 / 67	77 / 275 = 28%
Novak Djokovic	6 / 35	14 / 66	2 / 6	0 / 2	9 / 19	6 / 27	37 / 155 = 24%
Andy Murray	2 / 30	9 / 67	0 / 5	1 / 2	3 / 19	13 / 34	28 / 157 = 18%
Total	37 / 57	69 / 120	8 / 11	2 / 4	38 / 68	46 / 147	200 / 407 = 49%

Grand Slam tournament performance comparison

Before 2005, Murray and Djokovic had not competed in a Grand Slam tournament. Nadal had made four appearances during 2003 and 2004, reaching the third round at 2003 Wimbledon and 2004 Australian Open. Federer had been competing in Grand Slam tournaments since 1999, and had won Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004, as well as the 2004 Australian Open and 2004 US Open.

2005–2010

	2005				2006				2007				2008				2009				2010
Tournament	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US
Roger Federer	SF	SFN	W	W	W	FN	WN	W	WD	FN	WN	WD	SFD	FN	FN	WDM	FN	W	W	FD	WM	QF	QF	SFD
Rafael Nadal	4R	WF	2R	3R	A	WDF	FF	QF	QFM	WDF	FDF	4R	SF	WDF	WF	SFM	WF	4R	A	SF	QFM	W	WM	WD
Novak Djokovic	1R	2R	3R	3R	1R	QFN	4R	3R	4RF	SFN	SFN	FF	WF	SFN	2R	SFF	QF	3R	QF	SFF	QF	QF	SF	FFN
Andy Murray	A	A	3R	2R	1R	1R	4R	4R	4RN	A	A	3R	1R	3R	QFN	FNF	4R	QF	SF	4R	FNF	4R	SFN	3R

2011–present

	2011				2012				2013
Tournament	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US
Roger Federer	SFD	FDN	QF	SFD	SFN	SFD	WDM	QF	SFM	QF	2R
Rafael Nadal	QF	WMF	FMD	FMD	FFD	WD	2R	A	A	WD	1R
Novak Djokovic	WFM	SFF	WN	WFN	WMN	FFN	SFF	FM	WM	SFN	FM
Andy Murray	FD	SFN	SFN	SFN	SFD	QF	FF	WD	FFD	A	WD

^D indicates the player met Novak Djokovic at that tournament.
^F indicates the player met Roger Federer at that tournament.
^M indicates the player met Andy Murray at that tournament.
^N indicates the player met Rafael Nadal at that tournament.

Rankings

Main article: ATP Rankings

Between September 8, 2008 and May 13, 2013, the top four positions in the ATP Rankings have been occupied by all members of the Big Four for all but 30 weeks. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have been consistently in the top four for this period of time, and only three other players have entered the top four in this period: Juan Martín del Potro (3 weeks), Robin Söderling (13 weeks) and David Ferrer (14 weeks).

In this same period, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have all occupied the number one spot, with Murray reaching a career high of world no. 2 between August 17–31 in 2009. Federer first achieved the feat in 2004 after winning his first Australian Open, whereas Nadal did in 2008 following his Olympics vistory after three straight years of ending the year ranked world no. 2, behind Federer. Similarly, Djokovic achieved world no. 1 status following his Wimbledon victory in 2011, after four consecutive years at no. 3, in a season which is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport. He held his spot at the top of the rankings for exactly a year before being surpassed by Roger Federer in June 2012 after he won his 7th Wimbledon title, and by doing so, equalled Pete Sampras's record of 7 Wimbledon titles and also surpassed his record of total weeks at world no. 1, extending his stay to a total of 302 weeks before Djokovic retained his ranking at the season's end after winning the 2012 ATP World Tour Finals and then solidified his position by retaining his Australian Open title, winning it for a record-tying fourth time.

As of May 13, 2013, between them, they have held:

• The first two places in the ATP Rankings continuously since July 25, 2005 (exclusively by Federer and Nadal from July 2005 to August 2010).
• The first three places in the ATP Rankings continuously since August 13, 2007 (exclusively by Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic from August 2007 to May 2009 and from April 2010 to October 2011).
• The top four places in the ATP Rankings for all but 30 weeks since September 8, 2008.

Year-end ranking timeline

Year End Ranking	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Roger Federer	2	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	3	2
Rafael Nadal	49	51	2	2	2	1	2	1	2	4
Novak Djokovic	679	186	78	16	3	3	3	3	1	1
Andy Murray	540	411	63	17	11	4	4	4	4	3

Current rankings

As of August 12, 2013.

ATP Rankings (last 52 weeks)				Race to London Year-End Finals (YTD)
#	Player	Points		#	Player	Points
1	Novak Djokovic	11,400		1	Rafael Nadal	8,010
2	Andy Murray	8,610		2	Novak Djokovic	6,590
3	Rafael Nadal	7,860		3	Andy Murray	5,250
4	David Ferrer	7,130		4	David Ferrer	4,450
5	Roger Federer	5,515		5	Juan Martín del Potro	2,960
6	Tomáš Berdych	4,865		6	Tomáš Berdych	2,865
7	Juan Martín del Potro	4,740		7	Roger Federer	2,695
8	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	3,470		8	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	2,455

Status

Murray's position

Some tennis commentators have spoken of a 'Big Three' or 'Trivalry', with Murray behind the other three players, including Murray himself. Between September 2008 and January 2013, Murray was the only one of the Big Four to have dropped outside of the top four rankings on the ATP Tour. Murray is also the only one in the "Big Four" to never have been ranked world number one. However, Murray's nine Masters titles in 2008–2013, five consecutive Major semifinals in 2011–2012, four consecutive Major finals in 2012–13, and victories at the 2012 Olympic Games (defeating Federer in the final), 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon (defeating Djokovic in both finals), as well as being ranked no. 2 in the world behind Djokovic have led to him being reported as definitively part of the 'Big Four'.

Recognition

Fellow top players, including David Ferrer, Tomáš Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Roddick have all spoken about the dominance of the Big Four and the challenge they face in matching them. David Ferrer commented:

I think the top four, they are better. It's my opinion. But I am trying to win every match. The results, are there, no? I'm not making something up. It's very difficult for me to win a Grand Slam because there are the top four. At this time they are better than the other players.

Many former top professionals have also spoken about the topic, including Björn Borg, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanišević. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, 11-time Major champion Björn Borg was quoted as saying:

I don’t think it has been so exciting, with four great players, for so many years. People always talk about one or two great players, and now we’ve got four. I cannot see anyone winning Wimbledon apart from those four guys. There's such a big gap between the top four and everyone else.

Golden Era

Many believe the presence of the Big Four has coincided with that of a "Golden Era" in men's tennis, since 2010, where the depth, athleticism and quality of men's tennis has never been better, including Steffi Graf and John McEnroe. The era has been compared to that of Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Whilst Novak Djokovic himself recognises it as a golden era, Roger Federer remains sceptical:

I'd say no, but I don't know. Just because you look back maybe 15 years, then you have Sampras, Edberg, Becker, and Agassi, I don't know who else. Those guys weren't good or what? You look back, a further back, 20 years, and you have the Connors and the Lendls. Those weren't good either? I mean, I don't know. So for me I think that's respectful.

It's just different times and definitely more athletic, there's no doubt about that. But then again we don't play doubles. We don't play mixed. Maybe we play less matches today because it's more taxing, but we do play less best of five set tennis than they used to play.

You can't compare really, but we have somewhat of a golden era right now. I feel that truly. It's nice to see Andy making his move at the Olympics, nice to see Novak having an absolutely ridiculous year last year, and then Rafa and myself still being around. It's definitely good times. Past that you still have great champions as well. It's very interesting at the top right now, and the depth I think has never been greater than right now. But then best ever? The four of us? That's a really difficult call.

A comparison of the total Top-Level titles won by the Big Four and these two aforementioned foursomes of Borg/Connors/McEnroe/Lendl and Edberg/Becker/Agassi/Sampras, helps to put things in proper perspective. As the table below shows, the Big Four have already surpassed both previous groups' completed career tallies of Grand Slam titles, and are quickly closing in on equaling and surpassing the top tallies in the other yearly Top-Level tournament categories (Masters Series and Tour Finals), common to all three foursomes.

	Grand Slam Tournaments	Grand Prix / Masters Series	Year End Tour Finals	Total
Borg + Connors + McEnroe + Lendl	34	73	11	118
Federer + Nadal + Djokovic + Murray	37	69	8	114
Edberg + Becker + Agassi + Sampras	34	46	10	90

Rivalries

See also: List of tennis rivalries

The respective rivalries between the Big Four are considered to be some of the greatest of all time. Between the four of them they have played 152 matches against each other, 48 of which were at Grand Slam events. This includes 21 Grand Slam finals, as well as 22 Grand Slam semifinal meetings, more than any other group of four players.

Head-to-head records

	Nadal	Djokovic	Federer	Murray	Overall	Win %	YTD
Rafael Nadal		21–15	21–10	13–5	55–30	65%	5–1
Novak Djokovic	15–21		13–16	11–8	39–45	46%	2–3
Roger Federer	10–21	16–13		9–11	35–45	44%	0–4
Andy Murray	5–13	8–11	11–9		24–33	42%	2–1

Head-to-head records at Grand Slams

	Nadal	Federer	Djokovic	Murray	Overall	Win %	YTD
Rafael Nadal		8–2	7–3	6–2	21–7	75%	1–0
Roger Federer	2–8		6–5	3–1	11–14	44%	0–1
Novak Djokovic	3–7	5–6		3–2	11–15	42%	1–2
Andy Murray	2–6	1–3	2–3		5–12	29%	2–1

Federer vs. Nadal

Main article: Federer–Nadal rivalry

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer during the 2006 Wimbledon Championships final

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004 and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.

They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World no. 3 (Andy Murray became the new no. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked no. 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to no. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 21–10. Fifteen of their 31 matches have been on clay which is statistically Nadal's best surface.) Nadal has a winning record on outdoor hard courts (7–2) and clay (13–2), while Federer leads on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0). Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 20 of their matches have been in tournament finals which have included an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final. They then met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledon finals. Three of these finals were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), with the 2008 Wimbledon final being lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. 11 of their 31 meetings have reached a deciding set. They have also played in a record 10 Masters Series finals (tied with Nadal-Djokovic finals), including their lone five-hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.

Djokovic vs. Federer

Main article: Djokovic–Federer rivalry

Djokovic and Federer have played each other 29 times, with Federer leading 16–13. The Federer–Djokovic rivalry is the largest rivalry in Grand Slam tournament history with 11 matches played against each other. Federer leads on hard courts (both indoor and outdoor) and grass courts, and they are tied on clay courts. In terms of number of matches played, it ranks as the seventh largest rivalry in the Open Era. They have played a record of nine semifinals in Grand Slam tournaments, and have met at all four Slams. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open), and the only player besides Nadal and Murray who has double-figure career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Major (2008 Australian Open, 2011 Australian Open, 2012 French Open) and the only player to do it three times. 11 of their 29 meetings have reached a deciding set.

Djokovic vs. Nadal

Main article: Djokovic–Nadal rivalry

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal during the 2011 US Open final

Djokovic and Nadal have met 36 times (the fifth-most head-to-head meetings in the Open Era) with Nadal having a 21–15 advantage. Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 13–3, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 11–6. This rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the last decade by ATPworldtour.com and is considered by many to be the emerging rivalry. Djokovic is the first player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively. The two share the record for the longest Australian Open and Grand Slam final match ever played (5 hours and 53 minutes), which was the 2012 Australian Open final. In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets, which was his first victory over Nadal in a Major. By doing so, he became the only person other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament final. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final to capture his third major title of the year and fourth overall. By beating Nadal, Djokovic became the second player to defeat Nadal in more than one Grand Slam final (the other being Federer), and the only player to beat Nadal in a Slam final on a surface other than grass. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final which made Nadal the first player to lose in three consecutive Grand Slam finals. At the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, Nadal finally beat Djokovic for the first time since November 2010. They had met in seven finals from January 2011 to January 2012, all of which Djokovic won. In the final at Monte Carlo, an in-form Nadal crushed Djokovic. Nadal again defeated Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters tournament. At the 2012 French Open, Djokovic faced Nadal in the final. For the second time in tennis history, two opposing tennis players played four consecutive Major finals against each other. They also became the only players in history, except for Venus and Serena Williams, to have faced the same opponent in the finals of each of the four different Grand Slam events. Nadal eventually won in four sets after multiple rain delays that forced the final to be concluded on the following Monday afternoon. At the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Djokovic ended Nadal's 47-match winning run and eight-year winning streak at the event by defeating him in straight sets in the final. At the 2013 French Open, Nadal and Djokovic faced off in the semifinals. In a repeat of the previous year's final, Nadal once again emerged victorious bringing their head-to-head tally to 5-0 at the event.

Djokovic vs. Murray

Main article: Djokovic–Murray rivalry

Djokovic and Andy Murray have met 19 times with Djokovic leading 11–8. Djokovic leads 2–0 on clay, 9–6 on hard courts, and Murray leads 2–0 on grass. The two are almost exactly the same age, with Murray being only a week older than Djokovic. They went to training camp together, and Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. The pair have met 9 times in finals, with the series led 5–4 by Murray. Five of the finals were ATP Masters 1000 finals, with Murray winning the first three in straight sets, but Djokovic defeated Murray in the most recent 2 finals: first in straight sets, second in three sets. They have met in four Major Finals: The 2011 Australian Open, the 2012 US Open, 2013 Australian Open and 2013 Wimbledon. Djokovic has won in Australia twice, and Murray emerged as the victor at the US Open, and most recently at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. They also played a nearly five-hour long semifinal match in the 2012 Australian Open, which Djokovic won 7–5 in the fifth set after Murray led 2 sets to 1. Murray and Djokovic met again in 2012 at the London 2012 Olympic Games, with Murray winning in straight sets. Djokovic won their three most recent meetings, including a three set thriller at the final of the Shanghai Masters, in which Murray held five match point opportunities in the second set, however Djokovic saved each of them, forcing a deciding set. He eventually prevailed to win his first Shanghai Masters title, ending Murray's 12–0 winning streak at the event. The three set thrillers they played in Rome and Shanghai in 2011 and 2012 respectively were voted the ATP World Tour Match of the Year for each respective season. Many see this as the emerging rivalry, as the two are both entering their prime years, and are both likely to be playing for at least another 5 years. As of May 2013, they are currently ranked nos. 1 & 2 in the world respectively.

Murray (left) and Federer (right) in the 2010 Rogers Cup final.

Federer vs. Murray

Federer and Murray have met 20 times, with the series led 11–9 by Murray. Murray leads 10–8 on hard courts, they are tied 1–1 on grass, and have never met on clay. Federer won the first professional match they played, however since 2006, Federer has failed to regain the lead over Murray. Federer leads 5–3 in finals, having won each of their Grand Slam Final meetings at the 2008 US Open and 2010 Australian Open, both of which Federer won in straight sets, and the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, where Murray took the first set, but ended up losing in 4 sets. Murray leads 6–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments and 2–0 in finals. They have met four times at the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008 and Federer coming out victorious in London in 2009, 2010 and in 2012. In August 2012, Murray beat Federer in the final of the London 2012 Olympics to win the gold medal, denying Federer a Career Golden Slam. In 2013 Murray beat Federer for the first time in a Major in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, prevailing in five sets. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head-to-head record against Federer. He is also one of only three players to have recorded 10 or more victories against Federer, the other two being Nadal and Djokovic.

Murray vs. Nadal

Murray and Nadal have met on 18 occasions since 2007, with Nadal leading 13–5. Nadal leads 4–0 on clay, 3–0 on grass and 6–5 on hard courts. The pair regularly meet at Grand Slam level, with eight out of their eighteen meetings coming in slams, with Nadal leading 6–2 (3–0 at Wimbledon, 1–0 at the French Open, 1–1 at the Australian Open & 1–1 at the US Open). Seven of these eight appearances have been at quarterfinal and semifinal level, making the rivalry an important part of both men's careers. They have never met in a Slam final, however, Murray leads 2–1 in ATP finals, with Nadal winning at Indian Wells in 2009 and Murray winning in Rotterdam the same year and Tokyo in 2011. Murray lost three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals to Nadal in 2011 from the French Open to the US Open.

Amazingly, between the 2008 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon Championships, they were drawn in the same half of the draw 16 out of a possible 19 times. The pair last met in the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in 2011, with Murray coming out victorious. They did not meet in 2012, having been scheduled to meet in the semifinal of the Miami Masters before Nadal withdrew with injury.

Head-to-head records vs other players

As of August 12, 2013, a total of 85 different players have played against each member of the Big Four at least once. The following table presents the Big Four's Head-to-head records against the only 12 players that have posted at least 1 victory against each of them,^hth as well as their records against the only 2 players who have posted at least 1 victory over 3 of them and have also won over 10 matches overall.

Active players are in boldface.

Player (highest ranking)	Federer	Nadal	Djokovic	Murray	Overall	Win %
David Nalbandian (3)	8–11	2–5	1–4	2–5	13–25	34%
Arnaud Clément (10)	3–8	1–3	1–3	2–1	7–15	32%
Lleyton Hewitt (1)	8–18	4–6	1–6	0–1	13–31	30%
Mario Ančić (7)	1–6	1–4	1–3	3–2	6–15	29%
Nikolay Davydenko (3)	2–19	6–5	2–6	4–6	14–36	28%
Fernando González (5)	1–12	3–7	2–1	2–1	8–21	28%
Tomáš Berdych (6)	6–11	3–14	2–14	5–4	16–43	27%
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5)	4–9	3–8	5–10	1–8	13–35	27%
Andy Roddick (1)	3–21	3–7	5–4	3–8	14–40	26%
Juan Martín del Potro (4)	4–13	3–8	3–9	2–5	12–35	26%
Ivan Ljubičić (3)	3–13	2–7	2–7	3–4	10–31	24%
David Ferrer (3)	0–14	4–20	5–10	5–7	14–51	22%
Robin Söderling (4)	1–16	2–6	1–6	2–3	6–31	16%
Gilles Simon (6)	2–4	1–5	1–6	1–11	5–26	16%

Notable matches

With a combined total of 150 matches played, the Big Four have played many notable matches. The 2008 Wimbledon final is considered one of the greatest match of all time, whereas the 2012 Australian Open final was the longest Major final of all time. Novak Djokovic saved match points against Roger Federer at the 2010 and 2011 US Open semifinals, whereas Federer ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak in the 2011 French Open semifinals. The 4 hour 50 minute 2012 Australian Open semifinal between Murray and Djokovic is said to have given Murray the belief he needed to match the other members of the Big Four. Moreover, every Grand Slam final of 2012 – all played between the Big Four – holds some historical significance. The 2012 Australian Open final was the longest Grand Slam final in terms of time played, the 2012 French Open saw Rafael Nadal break the record for the most number of titles at the French Open, whereas Djokovic was attempting to become the first man to hold all four Majors since Rod Laver in 1969. The 2012 Wimbledon final saw Federer equal the record for most Wimbledon titles when he came out victorious against Murray, who become the first British man since 1938 to appear in the final. The 2012 US Open final was the equal longest final in US Open history, and Murray became the first British man since 1938 to win a Major title, and the only British man to do so in the Open Era. He also became the only man to win Olympic Singles Gold and the US Open back-to-back.

2007 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2007 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. It pitted World No. 1 Roger Federer against World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a Major final for the fourth time. This was a rematch of the Wimbledon final from the year before and would become the defining match of the Federer–Nadal rivalry up to that point. This was a historic match as Federer was trying to equal Björn Borg's record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles, while Nadal was attempting to be the first man since Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back (this achievement is colloquially known as the "Channel Slam").

Federer defeated Nadal in five compelling sets in three hours and forty-five minutes, for a fifth consecutive Wimbledon championship (equalling the feat achieved by Björn Borg). Borg himself returned to Wimbledon for the first time since losing the final in 1981, saying "I just feel that this is the right time for me to come back, to hopefully watch Roger winning his fifth title in a row to match my record." This match marked only the third time in the new century that a Major final had gone to five sets, and was the first time the technology Hawk-Eye was ever used in a Wimbledon final.

2008 Wimbledon Championships final

Main article: 2008 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles final

The 2008 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. A part of the storied rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, it pitted the two players, then ranked World No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, against each other in a Grand Slam final for the sixth time (out of eight). After 4 hours and 48 minutes, Nadal defeated Federer in five sets in failing light.

This was the longest Wimbledon men's singles final in history, clocking in at four hours and forty-eight minutes. The match also featured numerous rain delays which meant the match finished in near darkness, at 21:15 BST, almost seven hours since the match started at 14:35 BST. It was to be the last Wimbledon final to be significantly affected by rain, as a retractable roof was being installed at Centre Court and would be in place by the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.

2009 Australian Open final

The 2009 Australian Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2009 Australian Open. It was contested between the world's top two players for much of the previous four years, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer then world number's 1 and 2 respectively. It was their seventh (out of eight) Grand Slam final meeting and it was the same final match up as had been previously at both the 2008 Wimbledon Men's Singles final and 2008 French Men's Singles final, both of which Nadal won. However this was Rafael Nadal's first Grand Slam hardcourt final while it was Roger Federer's ninth and was yet to lose in a Grand Slam hardcourt final.

Nadal defeated Federer in 5 sets in 4 hours and 19 minutes, with the match finishing after midnight, to become the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open. The match was lauded as one of the greatest ever at the Australian Open and it was yet another high quality match between two of the greatest players of all time, only 6 months since their epic 2008 Wimbledon final. It was a match of huge significance as had Federer won the match he would have equalled the all-time Grand Slam record of 14 by Pete Sampras and the open-era record for most Australian Open titles of 4 with Andre Agassi (he would go on to achieve these in the near future). However as a result of Nadal winning he set his own records, holding 3 of the 4 slams at the same time for the first time in his career. Not only that but he became the first man in the open-era to hold 3 Grand Slam titles on 3 different surfaces at the same time. This victory over Federer many believed brought about a change in the tennis standings as Nadal was now clearly the number 1 player after Federer had that title for over 4 and a half years consecutively with Nadal deemed the second best for nearly 3 years of that. The defeat brought Federer to tears as he came to terms with his loss.

The match statistics followed a similar pattern to those at the 2008 Wimbledon Final, with Federer having a lower first serve percentage against Nadal (51% vs 64%) and he again couldn't be as clincical on break point opportunities with only 31% break points converted for Federer whereas Nadal converted 43% of his break points. However the total points by each player proved even closer that that at that Wimbledon final, as Federer won 1 more point than Nadal (174 vs 173) yet still lost this final.

2010 US Open final

The 2010 US Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2010 US Open. It pitted then-World No. 1 Rafael Nadal against then-World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in a Major final for the first time, having previously met four times at this level (one quarter-final and three semi-finals, all won by Nadal). This was the first US Open final reached by Nadal, having previously fallen in the semi-finals in the previous two years, whilst for Djokovic, this was the first Major final he reached since winning his then-only Major title at the 2008 Australian Open. To reach the final, both players had to beat their semi-final opponents in contrasting circumstances: Nadal easily defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, whilst Djokovic saved several match points in the fifth set to overcome Roger Federer in five sets, thus denying what would have been the first ever Federer–Nadal final at Flushing Meadows.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in four sets in three hours and forty-three minutes, to win his first US Open title, and thus complete the Career Golden Slam (equalling the feat achieved by Andre Agassi). He also became the first Spaniard since Manuel Orantes in 1975 to win at Flushing Meadows, became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win Major titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open simultaneously and became only the second man after Laver to hold two Major titles on each surface (hard, clay and grass). The second set which Djokovic won was the only set Nadal lost in the entire championships. This would prove to become the main rivalry in tennis over the next 18 months.

2011 French Open semifinal

The 2011 French Open Men's Singles semifinal between world no. 2 Novak Djokovic and world no. 3 Roger Federer was a historic encounter that brought about the end of the longest winning streak in almost 30 years. Djokovic entered the match undefeated for the first five months of the year having gone 41–0 with a total winning streak of 43 matches (his last loss had come against Federer at the World Tour Finals). It was the first Grand Slam tournament in which Djokovic had ever been seeded higher than Federer. Djokovic had defeated Federer in their three previous meetings in 2011, however, Federer shocked many by taking the first two sets. Djokovic won the third set and as the fourth set went on the light began to fade and it was clear that if the match went to a fifth set it would have to be continued the next day. Djokovic served for the fourth set at 5–4 but was broken and Federer closed out the match in a tiebreaker.

Federer then played Nadal in the final, which was their record eighth encounter in a Grand Slam final. Nadal defeated Federer for the fifth time at Roland Garros and tied Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles.

2012 Australian Open final

Main article: 2012 Australian Open – Men's Singles final

The 2012 Australian Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 Australian Open. It pitted the world's top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, against each other in a Grand Slam final for the fourth time (out of five) and third time in a row. Djokovic defeated Nadal in five sets to win the match. It was the Major final match with the longest duration in history, clocking in at five hours and fifty-three minutes. At the end of the match, both Nadal and Djokovic were so tired they could not stand for the post-match ceremony.

It was lauded as the greatest match ever by former players, legends, and analysts of the sport. John McEnroe claimed it surpassed the 2008 Wimbledon final as the best tennis match of all time, while legends Pete Sampras, Mats Wilander, and Bjorn Borg said it was the best match they saw in their lifetime. During the trophy presentation, the players could not stand anymore because of their tiredness and were given chairs on the court.

2012 French Open final

See also: 2012 French Open – Men's Singles final

The 2012 French Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 French Open. It pitted the world's top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, against each other in a Grand Slam final for the fifth time overall and fourth time in a row. This match had historical proportions as Djokovic would have become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Majors simultaneously, whereas Nadal was looking to break Björn Borg's record of six French Open titles and equal Chris Evert's record of seven French Open titles held by a man or woman.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in a two-day final in four sets, to ultimately achieve his seventh French Open title and deny Djokovic a Career Grand Slam. With Nadal leading by two sets to one, and Djokovic leading 2–1 on serve in the fourth set, the match was suspended due to rain; it was initially thought that Djokovic had gained the momentum, having won eight games in a row prior to the suspension of the match, however, Nadal was able to regroup and take the fourth set, and ultimately the match, after Djokovic double-faulted on championship point down.

2012 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Gentlemen's Singles tournament at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. It pitted World No. 3 Roger Federer against World No. 4 Andy Murray in a Major final for a third time. This final snapped a streak of four consecutive Major finals reached by Djokovic and Nadal. Nadal was ousted in the second round while Federer defeated Djokovic in the semi-finals. In what was the most historic Major final of the year, Federer sought to win a record shattering seventeenth Major title and a record-tying seventh Wimbledon to match his idol Pete Sampras. Both of these records are amongst the most prestigious in all of tennis. Murray on the other hand had become the first British man since Bunny Austin in 1938 to reach the Wimbledon final, and was attempting to become the first Briton to win any Major title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Federer defeated Murray in four riveting sets in three hours and forty-four minutes, to capture a record equalling seventh Wimbledon championship, and a record breaking seventeenth Major title. The victory was also historic as it caused Federer to depose Djokovic as World No. 1 and break Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the summit of men's tennis (Federer had been just one week short when he lost the number one ranking in June 2010). At the beginning of the third set play was halted by rain and the roof which had been installed in 2009 was closed for the first time during the Wimbledon final.

2012 US Open final

Main article: 2012 US Open – Men's Singles final

The 2012 US Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 US Open. It pitted then-World No. 3 Andy Murray against World No. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam final for the second time. Murray defeated Djokovic in five sets to win the match. It was the equal-longest US Open men's final in history, lasting four hours and fifty-four minutes (equalling the 1988 US Open final played by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander), and the equal second-longest men's final in the Open era, only behind the aforementioned 2012 Australian Open final. By winning the 2012 US Open, Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title, and the first British man in the Open Era to do so. This was the most famous match in the rivalry between the two players. It also marked a milestone for Murray, as it was his 100th match win at a grand slam tournament.

This match featured the longest ever first set (and the longest ever tiebreak) in a men's championship match; the 87-minute first set, won by Murray, included four breaks of serve in the first four games of the match, a 54-shot rally in the sixth game, and the 24-minute tiebreak which lasted up until 12–10; additionally, the tiebreak included two 30-shot rallies. Murray required six set points to win the first set, and required five sets to win the match. Murray said that a toilet break at the end of the fourth set helped him to restore his concentration after Djokovic took the third and fourth sets.

2013 French Open semifinal

This was a rematch of the prior year's final between Nadal and Djokovic. Just weeks after that victory, Nadal went on a lengthy injury hiatus of over 7 months before his highly successful return, reaching the final of all 8 tournaments he entered and winning 6 titles. But one of those losses was to Djokovic in Monte Carlo, ending Nadal's record streak of 8 consecutive titles there. Djokovic was very motivated to win this match, having said winning his first French Open title was his highest priority of 2013, plus his desire to dedicate the title in honor of his recently-deceased childhood tennis coach.

The match was a see-saw five setter with Nadal prevailing 9-7 in the fifth after 4 hours and 37 minutes. Analyst Steve Tignor summed it up: "This epic was a mirror image of their last one, in the 2012 Australian Open final. That day it had been Nadal who had survived a near-death experience in the fourth set, won it in a tiebreaker, and taken a 4-2 lead in the fifth before watching Djokovic storm back for the title. Today it was Nole who broke Rafa at 3-4 in the fourth and again at 5-6, grabbed that set in a tiebreaker, and led 4-2 in the fifth before watching Nadal take it all away. In each of those matches, the loser was haunted by a stunning, crucial lapse. In Australia, with a chance to go up 5-2 in the fifth, Nadal had missed the easiest of backhand passing shots. In Paris, serving at 4-3 in the final set, Djokovic gave away a point when he ran into the net after hitting what would have been a winning overhead."

2013 Wimbledon Championships final

Main article: 2013 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles final

The 2013 Wimbledon Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. It pitted the top two players in the world Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray against each other for the fourth time in a Grand Slam final. After three hours and nine minutes, second seeded Murray defeated World No. 1 Djokovic 6–4, 7–5, 6–4 to win the match. By winning the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the Wimbledon title, the first Scottish man since Harold Mahony in 1896 to win the title, and the first British man in the Open Era to do so.

See also

• List of tennis rivalries
• ATP World Tour records
• ATP World Tour Awards
• Tennis records of the Open Era – Men's Singles
• List of Grand Slam men's singles champions
• List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players
• List of career achievements by Roger Federer
• List of career achievements by Rafael Nadal