Source: Forbes
Tuesday 9 July 2019 14:46:25
Between them, the "Big Four" of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have won every Wimbledon title since 2003.
That's 16 straight Wimbledons and counting.
Murray is not playing this year in the men's singles draw, but the remaining "Big Three" continue to dominate. They have combined to win the last 10 majors and seem poised for an 11th.
No. 1 seed Djokovic, No. 2 Federer and No. 3 Nadal all steamrolled into the quarterfinals by winning their fourth-round matches in straight sets on Monday. The trio combined to face one break point on the day. One.
"Their consistency is outrageous and I'm not seeing one guy yet that can beat three of these guys to win a Slam, yet alone maybe two of them," ESPN's Brad Gilbert said on air.
The fact that they're all doing it in their 30s is even more impressive. Federer turns 38 next month, Nadal just recently turned 33 and Djokovic is 32
Djokovic, the defending champion and favorite to repeat, cruised past Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, converting 5-of-9 break chances on the way.
Nadal, the 2008 and '10 Wimbledon champ, slaughtered Joao Sousa, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 after Sousa was coming off a five-set epic in the previous round with Britain's Dan Evans.
Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champ, then took care of business against No. 17 Matteo Berrettini, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, in just 1 hour, 14 minutes. The first set lasted just 17 minutes. The match was surprisingly one-sided given that Berrettini is a top-20 player and had lost just once on grass this season.
"Yeah, I'm very happy," Federer told the BBC of winning his 99th Wimbledon match and reaching his sixth straight Wimbledon quarterfinal. "I've really gotten into a great groove now. I think today I was really able to read his serve a little bit, get enough returns back in play and take control from the baseline, so I thought it was a great match, great tournament so far."
Federer (20), Nadal (18) and Djokovic (15) are the all-time men's leaders in Grand Slam titles, and arguably the three greatest men's players of all time.
They have combined to win 53 of the 64 major titles dating to Wimbledon 2003.
Now it seems virtually inevitable that one of them will add another major title to his resume in the coming week.
Djokovic appears to have a relatively clear path back to the final. He will face No. 21 David Goffin in the quarters after Goffin dispatched Fernando Verdasco in four sets. Djokovic is 5-1 all-time against Goffin.
If Djokovic wins, he will get the winner between No. 25 Guido Pella and No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut in the semifinals.
On the bottom half of the draw, Nadal and Federer would meet in the semifinals on Friday for a second straight Slam if they each win one more match.
Nadal will get the big-serving American Sam Querrey, who beat fellow American Tennys Sandgren in four sets. Nadal is 4-1 against Querrey.
Federer, meantime, will face No. 8 Kei Nishikori, who took out Mikhail Kukushkin in four sets. Federer is 7-3 against Nishikori, winning their only match on grass in 2014.
"I'm excited to be in the quarters, of course," Federer said.
Nadal beat Federer in straight sets in the semifinals en route to his 12th French Open title last month. Before that, Federer had won five straight over the Spaniard.
A meeting at Wimbledon would be their first there since their epic 2008 final, won by Nadal in five sets and considered by many to be the greatest men's match of all time.
Gilbert suggested the roof could be closed for such a match on Friday due to rain in the forecast. That would be considered an advantage for Federer, who surely would love another shot at Nadal on grass inside a closed stadium.