Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal for HUGE Grand Slam record this decade

There are very few things that sports fans enjoy more than a well-established and glorious rivalry, but rarely do we have the pleasure of witnessing a rivalry as closely contested as that of the 'Big Three' of tennis. With the decade coming to an end, the question of who will be crowned the ‘GOAT’ of tennis has grown even more contentious. It may well be years before all three men retire and leave us to our statistics and debates. Until then, we take a look back at what they have achieved over the last ten years. 

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Djokovic emerges as the best player of the last decade

Of the 57 Grand Slam title the 'Big Three' own, 35 have come from 2010-2020. With 20 Grand Slam titles each, veterans Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal remain the favourites for the title of the GOAT. However, this interpretation is not an accurate portrayal of a player's prowess, leaving much more to be considered. For starters, this gives no consideration to the high-level tournaments outside the Slams, a mastery of all four surfaces or the head-to-head records between players. 

All this considered, the numbers start to tilt strongly in favour fo the current World No.1 Novak Djokovic. Of the three players, it can be argued that Federer has had the path of least resistance on his way to the top. The Swiss Maestro came into the circuit at a time when there wasn't much elite competition in the draw. The Sampras-Aggasi days were long gone and few left in the field were nowhere near as good as Federer. By the time Djokovic became a real competitor in 2011, Federer had already won 16 of his 20 titles while had Nadal only had 9.

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Djokovic-Nadal edged out Federer; dominated the 2010s

Hence, the real domination in the past decade though has been at the hands of the Djokovic-Nadal duo who have won 30 of the 40 slams from 2010 to 2020. Federer too, added two Wimbledon and Australian Open titles to his collection in the 2010s. This achievement is even greater when you consider the calibre of the newer generation of players like Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic and Andy Murray. 

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All things (Grand Slams, Masters 1000 and ATP Finals) considered then, Djokovic has 58 significant titles to his name, Rafa, 55 and Federer 54. Djokovic is also the only one of the trio to hold all four Slams at one time, and only to do so on three surfaces. According to numbers by ATP journalist Enrico Maria Riva, Djokovic has had an incredible 90.56% win rate at the Slams from 2010 onwards. He is followed by Nadal at 88.04%, Roger Federer at 84.15% and Andy Murray, at 83.13.

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Image Credits: ATP Tour website