They are the dominant three musketeers of the modern game who between them have won a remarkable 59 Grand Slam titles.
Over the past 15 years there has been an epic rivalry of cut and thrust, one of the greatest the sport has ever seen.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are giants of tennis who have demonstrated that even in the rarified atmosphere of professional sport, age can be but a number, and that the passage of time can, it seems, be defied. But for how much longer?
Ahead of the start of the 134th Championships at Wimbledon on Monday, Federer, 39 and Nadal 35, have each won 20 majors, Djokovic, a comparative stripling at 34, is on 19 having won the French Open two weeks ago with an astonishing comeback defeat of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The title was Djokovic’s second at Roland Garros and he now stands alone as the only male player of the modern era to have won every Grand Slam tournament twice. He is half way to a Grand Slam in 2021 having also won the Australian Open in February and heads to the fast grass and manicured lawns of SW19 as defending champion, top seed and world No 1.
No man has achieved the feat since Rod Laver in 1969. Covid-19 put paid to last year’s tournament but in 2019 Djokovic beat Federer in the longest ever Wimbledon final, surviving two match points against him in the process.
That said, Wimbledon and its fans has never quite seem able to taken Djokovic to their hearts in the manner they have Federer and Nadal. Maybe it is because he has that detached air and a demeanour that borders on the inscrutable.
They drool over the effortless grace and elegance of the gentlemanly Swiss, and admire the true grit of the fiery characterful Spaniard, yet the Serb's clinical excellence leaves them slightly cold. Which is unfair given his record of five titles equals that of Bjorn Borg and is second only to Federer. Not that Djokovic seems to care. His single minded determination and his mental strength is such that he has said: “When the crowd is chanting 'Roger', I hear Novak. It sounds silly but it is like that.”
And it would appear that the indomitable Djokovic will ultimately have the last laugh out of the trio and go on to become the player regarded as the greatest of all time.
Many factors come into play when debating the virtues and achievements of each competitor and to a degree an opinion on who is the greatest of all time and their place in the tennis pantheon is subjective. Indeed it may need to be determined finally when they have all retired which in Federer’s case might not be far away.
But if the number of grand slam titles is the ultimate benchmark, then nothing would appear to stand in the way of Djokovic fulfilling a destiny that drives him to create a legacy that is unlikely ever to be surpassed. “Breaking records is a goal that is what motivates me to compete. I have to fight for history,” he said.
“Why should I be frightened?” Djokovic continued. "If you go out on the court thinking positively and thinking I can win against anybody’ I think that’s a right thinking. If you go with the white flag on the court, what are you doing there?”
