Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal dominated tennis for years, winning the sport’s biggest prizes.
Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal became known as the ‘big three’ as they ruled the ATP Tour for almost 20 years.
The trio remarkably combined for 66 Major titles, battling it out for the Grand Slam record throughout their tennis careers.
It is Djokovic who now leads the way with 24 triumphs at the sport’s four biggest events, ahead of Nadal on 22, and Federer on 20.
Arguments over who is the greatest of all time in men’s tennis persist, as one former American ATP star now makes his pick.
Sam Querrey picks Novak Djokovic as the ‘best tennis player of all time’
Appearing as a guest on the Digital Social Hour podcast, former world number 11 Sam Querrey revealed who he thinks is the greatest of all time.
“I have [Novak] Djokovic as the best tennis player of all time,” he said.
“The most impactful person, [Roger] Federer.
“I think if you went around the world [asking] who do you love watching the most and who made the biggest impact on your life, I think Federer wins that.
“But if I gave you three blind resumes Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal, and said who is the best here, you would be like this guy definitely, it would be Djokovic.”
Querrey played 21 matches against members of the ‘big three’ as he now explains which of the trio were hardest to play against.
“I was able to beat Djokovic, Nadal and [Andy] Murray,” he said.
“Federer I played five times and lost all five and never even had a close set against him.
“I had a couple of sets that were like 6-4 but the way his game matched up to mine, it just didn’t sit right with me.
“He was able to put me in uncomfortable positions.”
The American then outlined what was different about playing Federer that always made him ‘nervous’.
“Federer for whatever reason his name seemed bigger so I was a little bit more nervous,” said Querrey.
“Any time you played Federer it was on a Centre Court at Wimbledon or the French Open or these big events and the crowd loved him.
“He was beloved everywhere, you were always nervous, the crowd always wanted him to win.
“I could never really settle in against him, and never got close to winning a set against him, even when I was playing at my best.”
Sam Querrey beat Novak Djokovic on his way to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2016
The big-serving American was always a threat on the grass and produced one of the biggest wins of his career in 2016 when he took down Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Djokovic was the two-time defending champion but Querrey dashed any hopes of a three-peat, knocking him out with an impressive four-set win, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6.
A win over Nicolas Mahut followed for Querrey before he came up short against Canada’s Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals.
He returned one year later in even better form, taking down the defending champion for a second year running when he beat Murray in the quarter-finals.
- 2017 Wimbledon QF – Sam Querrey beat [1] Andy Murray, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1, 6-1
- 2017 Wimbledon 4R – Sam Querrey beat Kevin Anderson, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
- 2017 Wimbledon 3R – Sam Querrey beat [12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
- 2017 Wimbledon 2R – Sam Querrey beat Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
- 2017 Wimbledon 1R – Sam Querrey beat Thomas Fabbiano, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2
In his only career appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final, Querrey fell to defeat, losing in four sets to Marin Cilic, 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 5-7.
The American retired from tennis in 2022, having scored wins over Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal, collecting ten titles on the ATP Tour.
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