Padma Shri and Indian tennis great, Vijay Amritraj said that the 'Big 3' - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic - are 'not chasing history, they are just chasing each other'.
Padma Shri and Indian tennis great, Vijay Amritraj said that the 'Big 3' - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic - are 'not chasing history, they are just chasing each other'.
While in an interview with WION, Amritraj was asked about the rivalry between the three and how they will be looking to bounce back.
Amritraj said, "The big 3 are not even chasing history, they are just chasing each other. Roger Federer is now 38, so every 6-month window makes a huge difference to his career.
"He will certainly be looking to stay ahead of both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in that grand slam race. Nadal would have been the favourite for the French Open in May, he would have tied Federer's tally of 20 majors if he had won the tournament.
"Djokovic is also not far away from these two with 17 majors. If Federer had taken those two match points at Wimbledon last year, he would have built up a considerable lead on the Serb, but now Djokovic is hot on the heels of the Swiss maestro.
"The big 3 are not chasing history or money or fame. These three have made history in their own right and they continue to push each other to greater heights. The only question is how long will they be able to continue doing that.
"As for the chasing pack- Dominic Thiem Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas- these three are losing a year and that might prove to be a blow to them because they have a long way to go in catching up with the big 3.
"The non-elite players are losing momentum and will see this as a missed opportunity. The only thing common for all tennis players on both tours is that none of them has touched a tennis racket during the lockdown".
When asked about who is the GOAT in today's era, Amritraj said that each of them had played in different generations, all three of them could have been considered the 'GOATs'.
"As to who among the men and women has the right to call themselves the greatest of all time, since the Open era, we have been fortunate enough to have witnessed a number of great champions in the sport. I have also been lucky to play against some of them in my career.
"The 2019 Wimbledon was the 50th consecutive year that I was involved with the event in some form. When you look back, Rod Laver is the only player to achieve a Grand Slam (winning all the majors in a year) twice in his career. That record has stood the test of time since 1969. It has been 50 years since anyone has won a calendar slam.
"When you see the big 3 playing, you could argue that all of them have a case for being the greatest of all time. In the women's game as well we have seen legendary players, be it Margaret Court or Billie Jean King, who has 20 Wimbledon titles to her name.
"Steffi Graff is the only player to complete a Golden Slam, which she did in 1988. Serena Williams is on the brink of history with her 23 grand slam single's titles and Martina Navratilova won so many grand slams that she has to be considered as well. We have seen great champions in this sport, but we can never compare different generations".
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 "Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic")
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