‘Slightly ahead but in a weird way,’ John McEnroe believes Novak Djokovic has slight edge in Big Three race over Nadal and Federer
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal
The Big Three race involving Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is one of the most debated topics in the tennis world. The debate is very subjective, as each fan base has a valid claim in regards to choosing their GOAT.
John McEnroe, American tennis legend gave his two cents on the debate. The American believes that the debate depends on the surface we are talking about. Rafael Nadal is the undisputed king of clay courts, having won 13 French Open titles.
On the other hand, Novak Djokovic is the best hard court player of all time, claiming a record 9 Australian Open titles, and 3 US Open titles. McEnroe believes that on grass courts, Federer is overall the better play but Djokovic has still defeated him on three occasions at Wimbledon.
“It depends on the day, who are you talking to, what surface. To me Rafa is the greatest clay court player, Novak is the greatest hard court, and I would call Roger the overall grass player. But then Novak has beaten him three times at Wimbledon,” said McEnroe.
McEnroe picks Novak Djokovic as the leader in the Big Three race
John McEnroe stated that if he is to pick one player, then he would choose Novak Djokovic since he has a superior head to head record over Nadal and Federer. The Serbian dominated the entire decade, claiming 16 Grandslam titles.
“Novak also has a winning record against those two. He is slightly ahead but in a weird way,” said McEnroe.
The Big Three players are tied on 20 Grandslam titles each, as Novak Djokovic dominated 2021 with three additions to his total tally. John McEnroe believes that it is only fitting if all three players win the same number of major titles, which will leave no room for debate in the next 10 years.
“I hope they all end up on the same number so we can have this discussion in 10 years and it will just be a matter of opinion and nobody would be wrong,” he added.
Speaking about the current status of the Big Three race, it is very difficult for Roger Federer to win another Grandslam after undergoing third knee surgery in a span of just 18 months. Novak Djokovic’s vaccination status means he may never get to play a major again. In this situation, Rafael Nadal is in the best position to end up with most majors.
Nirmit Mehta
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