Who is the greatest men’s tennis player of all time? It’s been a hot topic on tour for years now and for good reason. This is and has been the golden era of men’s tennis. The three best players who ever lived have been playing for much of the last two decades. Those players are Novak Djokovic and the recently retired Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But who is the greatest men’s tennis player of all time?

I’m well aware that it’s hard to compare eras. The equipment is different; the money is lucrative; top players travel with physios; nutrition is different, etc. I also know that Rod Laver won a Grand Slam or 2, Pete Sampras won 14 majors, players didn’t really start playing at the Australian Open until the 80’s, etc.

All those arguments have some merit, but to me, it’s a no-brainer: the three greatest tennis players that ever lived are Federer, Nadal and Djokovic-and I don’t even think it’s debatable. So, who is the greatest men’s tennis player of all time?

When you examine these hard numbers you have to put some context to them. Roger Federer, who is now retired, won his first ATP title in 2001; whereas Nadal won his first in 2004; and Djokovic 2006. Federer had his most dominant period from 2004-2007 where he won an absurd 11 grand slam titles. Roger’s greatest strength was his incredible consistency going deep into tournaments. While the now retired Nadal battled injuries throughout his career, he was always incredibly consistent on clay. He won the French Open an incomprehensible 14 times dating back to 2005. But his most dominant period was 2008-2010 where he won 6 majors and completed the career grand slam. Novak Djokovic had his first extended period of dominance from 2011-2016 where he won 11 majors and was in 7 other finals. He not only completed the career grand slam to match Federer and Nadal but he also held all four grand slam titles at the same time. Something nobody had done since Rod Laver won the grand slam in 1969. I was in Paris to witness his 2016 Roland Garros win over Andy Murray! In the end, major titles will be somewhat close no matter what the final numbers are. So what really sets these three greats apart are the head to head matchups, big titles, weeks at #1 and year end #1. Those numbers may surprise you. Djokovic vs Federer Djokovic leads 27-23 overall, 14-6 in all Finals, 5-3 in Masters Finals and 4-1 in Grand Slam Finals. Federer’s only slam final win came in the 2007 US Open Final which was Djokovic’s first Grand Slam Final. Djokovic leads 11-6 in all Grand Slam matches. Plus Djokovic beat Federer three times in the Wimbledon final without losing one. This is significant because Federer is widely considered the greatest grass court player ever. Yet, he only beat Djokovic once at Wimbledon-a 2012 semifinal.

This rivalry has really evolved over time. Federer won the vast majority early on when Djokovic was young and not yet established as a serious threat. But Djokovic dominated in the last decade. He took the head to head lead and more importantly-won the biggest matches, the grand slam finals. While most of their matches over the years were very competitive, none were better than the 2019 Wimbledon final. In my opinion, it’s the greatest match I’ve ever seen. In the end, Djokovic prevailed as he has so often in the biggest matches versus Federer. Advantage Djokovic Djokovic vs Nadal Djokovic leads 31-29 overall, 15-13 in all Finals, they’re tied 3-3 in Masters Finals and Nadal leads 5-4 in Grand Slam Finals. Novak has beaten Nadal in all 4 Grand Slams including Roland Garros twice where Nadal has won 14 titles and only lost 4 matches since 2005. Nadal leads Djokovic 8-2 overall at the French but only 2 men have ever beaten him in Paris. Djokovic also beat Nadal at the Olympics in Paris. Federer never beat Nadal at the French Open in 6 opportunities-4 finals along with two semifinals.

These are perhaps the most entertaining matches in the history of tennis. I’ve been fortunate to witness several in person. The most interesting thing in this rivalry is that Nadal leads on clay 20-8. 8 losses to Djokovic is more on clay than Federer, Murray, Wawrinka and basically everyone else combined. These two guys play a similar style of baseline counter-punching. This has produced some of the greatest matches in tennis history. Their 2012, nearly 6-hour Australian Open final to me is one of the top 2-3 greatest matches ever played-surely the most physical match I’ve ever seen. Every match is a battle. We’ve been lucky to witness such greatness on court together. I hope we get one more matchup before it’s over. Advantage Djokovic  Nadal vs Federer Nadal leads 24-16 overall, 14-10 in all Finals, 7-5 in Masters Finals and 6-3 in Grand Slam Finals. Rafa beat Federer in Finals in Australia, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Federer beat him in Australia and Wimbledon twice. Roger was 0-6 at the French; only 2-7 in all clay Finals; and 2-14 overall on clay.

This is a tough one for any Federer fan to swallow. Nadal owned Federer over the years. Yes Roger won several of the later matches to narrow the gap a bit. However, his inability to beat Rafa on clay; never beating him in Paris; never even taking him to 5 sets at Roland Garros-definitely hurts his case. These two have played some great matches over the years; including 5 sets in the 2007 and 2008 Wimbledon final. The 2008 match is often considered the greatest match ever. Their 2009 and 2017 Australian Open finals were also great. Plus, they’ve had some great Masters matches. The 2006 Rome final was amazing, although in the end, as usual, Nadal won on clay. Advantage Nadal So, who is the greatest of all-time? Based on numbers, statistics and the eye test: I can make an argument for and against each of them for being the greatest of all time. But here are the bottom line arguments.