Novak Djokovic is the last man standing from the Big Three, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal having both retired.
Nadal retired from tennis in late 2024 after the Davis Cup, while Federer called time on his career after the 2022 Laver Cup.
But Djokovic is still chasing success on the ATP Tour, even with the Serbian veteran leading the all-time men’s Grand Slam titles list.
His 24 victories are ahead of the 22 of Nadal and 20 of Federer, but level with female icon Margaret Court.
Novak Djokovic delighted after beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the same event
Djokovic remains in pursuit of the all-time record, but he did very impressively manage another all the way back in 2007.
After claiming the title at the Rogers Cup in Canada, the champion was introduced to the press as the first player ever to beat Federer and Nadal in the same tournament.
“Wow,” Djokovic replied, before adding: “That was pretty impressing, you know, just to hear that. Well, where to start?
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“It’s been an amazing week for me, amazing tournament. Probably next to Miami, the best tournament of my career.
“I can say that this was an even bigger success because I managed to beat the first three players of the world in the last three rounds.
“I can’t describe the feeling I have right now. It’s like a dream come true, especially against Federer in the finals, to win those tiebreakers was just incredible.
“I managed to win these tiebreaks against a player who probably has the best score in tiebreakers, who is the strongest player mentally in the world right now.”
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It was a truly stunning tournament from the Serbian, who also became the first player since Boris Becker in Stockholm in 1994 to beat the world’s top three.
Djokovic first overcame Andy Roddick 7-6(7-4), 6-4 in the quarterfinals, before a 7-5, 6-3 semifinal win over Nadal.
Top seed and defending champion Federer was next up, but the underdog triumphed 7-6(7-2), 2-6, 7-6(7-2) to lift the trophy.
When asked what he learned from the world number one, the champion replied: “Well, it’s still a long way to the first place of the world for me, even though I’m third in the world.
“I can’t exactly say that I’m thinking about becoming a number one next year, in two years. You know, just try to keep my focus and do what I did until now, just stay on the right way.
“Yes, I learn every time I play against Roger or Rafa. I learn from those matches always something new, try to improve on some things which I need to improve.
“Obviously, from the past matches we had since then I improved and am really happy for it. That’s my lifetime goal, to be the number one player of the world. But, again, I have a lot of time.”
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He didn’t need to wait too long to achieve that goal, with Djokovic becoming world number one for the first time in 2011.
And he’s managed to go above and beyond Federer and Nadal in that regard, boasting the most total weeks at number one.
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