Can Novak Djokovic End Tennis’ ‘Big Four’ Era Forever?
From short shorts-wearing chip-and-chargers to heavy spin-producing court sliders, one thing has always been present in men’s tennis — rivalries. Distinctive contrast between the games of John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg created audience-captivating tilts. The same goes for the battles between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. You can argue, though, that no adversaries belong in the same discussion as arguably the two best players ever, who still make fans’ head’s turn back and forth today.
Starting at the 2004 Australian Open, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal won a combined 17 of the next 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles. They sat atop the world rankings for 387 consecutive weeks. One champion shed his man bun while the other added short sleeves to his wardrobe, but a constant through the years has been their jaw-dropping play. Their two-player reign over the tennis world gave birth to a rivalry that has produced arguably the greatest match of all time, in the 2008 Wimbledon final, and some of the highest-quality tennis the sport has ever seen. Federer and Nadal forced each other to evolve, bringing tennis’ level of competition to a whole new stratosphere. In a sport that needed a star, the world got two superheroes wielding tennis rackets. Call them the “Big Two.”
But at the 2008 Australian Open, the tug-of-war for control of tennis’ throne was interrupted. At the only major that Federer and Nadal failed to win that year, Novak Djokovic became the first man from Serbia to win a Grand Slam crown. It was his first audible knock at the castle door. After the victory, a reporter asked Djokovic in his press conference about the feeling of lifting the winner’s trophy.
“I didn’t feel anything at that moment,” he said. “I didn’t make difference about heavy or light or whatever. You know, I just looked at it and looked all those names on it and I thought to myself, ‘Jesus, my name is going to be in that trophy.’ ”
It was as if Djokovic was in disbelief that his name belonged. The 20-year-old cracked open a door that Federer and Nadal had, for the most part, kept slammed shut for years. Later on in 2008, a 21-year-old Andy Murray reached his first major final at the US Open. Both the Scot and Djokovic had stuck a foot into what was Federer and Nadal’s realm, previously untouched. A classic rivalry became that much more enthralling with two players who could push the best of the best to be even better.
Their competition led to dominion over the men’s tour. The four players have made up 53 of the 64 Grand Slam finalists since 2008 and have won 42 combined majors since the start of 2004. Together, they have become widely recognized as the “Big Four.” Year after year each has taken a turn in the spotlight — dating back to 2008, any time one captured multiple majors in a season, they did not the following campaign – but none of them truly broke away to be alone as clearly, without a doubt, the best.