Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have been the dominant players at Majors since 2004. The fabulous trio has barely lost a couple of the most notable titles over the years, pushing each other to the limits and reaching a magical number of 20 Major crowns.
Roger, Rafa and Novak have earned Major records that will stay for good. The Swiss retired from tennis, while the Spaniard and the Serb are still among the players to beat on the most significant stage. Nadal and Djokovic claimed the opening three Majors in 2022, stopping the clock and passing Roger Federer.
Rafa had the honor to deliver a jaw-dropping 1000th Major victory for the ‘Big 3,’ achieving that in the Roland Garros semi-final. Nadal’s 304th Major triumph came against Alexander Zverev, adding them to Federer’s 369 and Djokovic’s 327 for a massive milestone.
Nadal had to work hard to deliver the milestone triumph, leading 7-6, 6-6 against Zverev after over three hours of a grueling battle on Court Philippe-Chatrier! The German injured his ankle just before the tie break and retired to propel the Spaniard into the final.
Nadal had to dig deep on a slow court against a determined rival, surviving four set points in the opener and coming from behind in the second. Those two sets brought almost 200 points, and Rafa took only four more than Alexander.
Zverev delivered a break in the encounter’s opening game and forged a 4-2 gap.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have scored over 1000 Major wins.
The German barely missed the first serve before his level dropped in game eight to experience a break and bring Nadal back to 4-4.
Rafa took charge and created three set points on the return in game ten. Zverev survived and held for 5-5. Nadal saved two break points in the 11th game, prolonging the set until the tie break and falling 6-2 behind. The Spaniard rattled off five straight points and extended the battle.
Zverev fended off two set points at 6-7 and 7-8 before Nadal cracked a forehand down the line winner in the 18th point to steal the opener in 91 minutes! The second set kicked off with four consecutive breaks, and Nadal lost serve again to find himself 4-2 behind.
Zverev hit a double fault in the seventh game to lose serve before stealing the rival’s serve for the fourth time in a row for a 5-3 advantage. Despite an evident struggle, Nadal pulled a break back at the last moment following Zverev’s costly double fault in game nine.
They both served well in the next three games to set another tie break. It never came, though, as Alexander twisted his right ankle in the 12th game’s last point and retired a couple of minutes later.
