It’s not just the ATP rankings that these tennis giants have left their mark on for 18 years. Obviously, to pocket points, you have to win tournaments. It is especially the Big 3 which has seized it for 18 years, with all the same three Grand Slam tournaments in the hands of Andy Murray. It must be admitted, they left only crumbs for others. The biggest rival of this “big 4”, during its domination, is called Stan Wawrinka, winner of three GCs too.
Since the start of 2004, 72 Grand Slam tournaments have been played: 19 of them have been won by Roger Federer (who won his first GC the previous year at Wimbledon), 21 by Rafael Nadal, 20 by Novak Djokovic and 3 by Andy Murray. A total of 63 out of 72 for the Big Four. The other nine titles went to Stan Wawrinka (3), Gaston Gaudio (1), Dominic Thiem (1), Daniil Medvedev (1), Marat Safin (1), Juan Martin Del Potro (1), Marin Cilic (1) .
It was therefore in February 2004 that Roger Federer became world number one for the first time. By reaching the final of the Australian Open, the Swiss was guaranteed to take the lead in the ATP rankings. A tournament he will win, pocketing all the more points and celebrating his new status as it should.
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