Roger Federer Vs Novak Djokovic Vs Rafael Nadal: Who is the best?

When you talk about tennis and you specifically talk about males competition in tennis, these 3 are the first few names that come to your mind. There's no doubt in the fact that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the pioneers of tennis in this day and age. For the past one and a half-decade, they have dominated the game while other players have come and gone. While the other tennis players have barely created a name for themselves, these 3 have continuously worked hard in the game like a freak. They have gone through tough times themselves with injury scares running them out of the competition a lot of times. But they have fought their ways up to be called the legends of the game. It is really tough to pick the best of the lot but here's a try to understand who really is having the best career so far amongst them. Let's move on with the analysis:-

        Roger Federer 

- 20 grand slams 

- 100+ career titles 

- #1 in rankings at the age of 37 (currently #4) 

These records sum it up for who is the most popular face of tennis. Most of the tennis players do not last more than 7-8 years in this sport. It is very difficult to keep yourself moving in the game for so many years. To think that Roger Federer started as a professional way back in 1998 and is still giving tough competition to the best of the bests, you know for a fact that he is respected so much for a reason. It has been more than 2 decades for him in the game and he is the only player in the history of tennis to have won more than 100 career titles. He is still very fit and desires to keep going for a longer span. Roger has given it his all everywhere as he has won all sorts of major championships. He has won French open once, Australian open six times, US Open five times and Wimbledon a record eight times which brings his tally up to 20. In terms of accomplishments and number of years and experience in the game, Roger Federer is ahead of his opponents. In terms of popularity as well, he will sit at the top of the heap. He first arrived into top 10 in the rankings back in 2002 and never fell down from the top 10 until the November of 2016, that's simply an incredible feat on part of this legendary player who deserves to be lauded! 

        Novak Djokovic

- #1 in rankings currently

- Held four major titles at once 

- 17 grand slams 

He is probably the most consistent player in the history of tennis. Novak Djokovic's peak arrived in the early 2010s. Until this period of time, he was considered the 3rd best tennis player behind Nadal & Federer. Once he started winning the major titles, there was no looking back for him. He has won 56 big titles which are more than any of his contemporaries but since grand slams are counted as the biggest accomplishment, he is yet to notch ahead of his rivals. Novak Djokovic first won a grand slam back in 2008 which was at Australian Open. He has won Australian Open for a record eight times, French open once, Wimbledon five times, US open three times which brings his tally to 17. He is in a rich form right now and the next season of tennis might see him surpass the other two legends. But there's always a "might" in place since there are new stars emerging in the scene right now who are ready to become the next big thing in tennis. Novak Djokovic has been the only Serbian player to be the #1 in tennis rankings and he has consistently been the #1 guy for over 7-8 years which is incredible by all means!

         Rafael Nadal

- 19 grand slams

- 59 titles on clay 

- ranked #1 for 209 weeks (#2 currently)

Rafel Nadal is one of those rare gems who dominated the sport in his early 20s itself. He is someone who has always been an eye candy to the female section of the tennis fans. He might have seen a low in his game but his domination on clay has existed for a really long period of time. He is still the best on clay, having won 81 matches continuously on the same turf. He is also referred to as the king of clay. But he has shown his metal everywhere else as well. His rivalry with Djokovic and Federer have always dished out the best of the matches. He has won a record 12 french opens, 1 Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon and 4 US Open. It has record 19 grand slams by his side and considering how far he is looking to go, there is a huge chance that he will take over Roger Federer considering his age. One of the biggest reasons why Nadal has his set of fans is because of the energy he has as he always works on the same pitch throughout the game. It is tough to have the same energy from the start till finish but he has always done that and he will forever be admired for his attitude in the game. 

        Who is the best? 

If we consider head to head contests, Djokovic leads over Nadal with 29-26 and he also leads over Federer with 27-23. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, leads over Federer with 24-16 in head to head. Considering this, Djokovic has been the best guy in big games as he is marginally ahead of Nadal. In terms of longevity, Federer will always have to be lauded the most. It is not easy being so dominating very early in the game and still in a great form after 2 decades, Federer has done that. While if we look at a guy who is inspirational to the youth as he keeps coming and fighting back time and again, Nadal will top the list. There is a reason why Nadal fans have stuck with him through thick and thin, he has always shown a side of him which motivates people to do better. But in terms of consistency and most chances of dominating in the near future, Djokovic will have to be considered marginally better than Federer and Nadal while the latter two should be labelled equally good. But all three of them will be remembered as some of the key players who changed the game completely and added a new dimension to it! 

Who is your favourite tennis player? Who do you consider the best? Let me know in the comments below!