For the first time in 22 years none of the “Big Three” won a Grand Slam title
Novak Djokovic’s knocking out in the third round of the US Open means he ends 2024 without a single Grand Slam title. The great Serbian tennis player was knocked out by Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals in Australia and withdrew from Roland Garros due to injury before his quarter-final match versus Casper Ruud.
At Wimbledon, for the second year in a row, Novak Djokovic lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz, to come his early exit in New York, provoked somewhat by the exhausting triumph of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Thus, for the first time since 2002, none of the so-called The “Big Three” won a Grand Slam title. Naturally, the real chance for such an achievement belonged to Novak Djokovic, because Roger Federer ended his career, and Rafael Nadal is unable to fight for the 23rd “Major” trophy.
In 2003, of course, there was no “big three” formed yet, but then Roger Federer won his first “Grand Slam” title at “Wimbledon”. From 2004, he began his dominance in world tennis, and from 2005, Rafael Nadal, with his first triumph at Roland Garros, became an insurmountable factor in the battle for greatness.
Novak Djokovic himself rose to the big stage with the title in Australia in 2008, and in 2023 he surpassed his great opponents in terms of the number of Grand Slam titles with his 24.
Since 2003, there have been only two seasons in which representatives of the “Big Three” won less than three Slam titles – in 2014, Rafael Nadal won Roland Garros, and Novak Djokovic triumphed at Wimbledon. In 2020, Djokovic won in Australia, and Nadal won at Roland Garros, only because of COVID-19, Wimbledon was not held. In 8 seasons from 2003 to 2024, all Slam titles were won by the Big Three.
Especially for Novak Djokovic, this is the first year without a Slam title since 2017, when he was plagued by a right elbow injury, and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer shared the “major” trophies – the Swiss won in Melbourne and London, and the Spaniard in Paris and New York.
