'The Big Four' of men's tennis: Comparing the career statistics of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray as we head towards the end of an era

With Roger Federer and Andy Murray having already left the sport, Rafael Nadal announced this week that he will also hang up his racket at the end of the season.

Although there's no signs of Djokovic following the legendary trio into retirement any time soon, the prospect of him extending his lead at the top of the Grand Slam title charts is becoming as hard as it was in the Big Four's heyday.

Indeed, 2024 was the first year in which he failed to win one of the four majors since Federer won the Australian Open and Wimbledon either side of Nadal's triumphs in the French Open and US Open in 2017.

At this week's Shanghai Masters, Djokovic said: "We knew that that moment is coming sooner than later but it’s still a shock when it came officially. Also for Roger a few years ago when he announced retirement and Andy as well this year. I mean it’s a bit overwhelming for me to be honest. I don’t know what to make out of it.

"I still enjoy competing but part of me left with them, a big part of me. So it’s a tough news for tennis world, for sports world. Rafa has been an inspiration - is an inspiration to millions of children around the world so he can be very proud of his career."

This year, a new era continued to blossom as Jannik Sinner picked up his first two Grand Slam crowns in Melbourne and Flushing Meadows, with Carlos Alcaraz beating Djokovic in the Wimbledon final having also landed his maiden French Open title.

Nevertheless it'll obviously be an extremely long time before either of them enter the 'GOAT' debate, so lets instead now compare the stats of the tennis immortals.

The race to become the GOAT

So Djokovic has won more Grand Slam titles than any other male player in tennis history with 24, but does this make him the GOAT?

This debate has become as vociferously heated as any other in world sport over the past few years but if the Serbian star adds a couple more majors to his name then two groups of ardent fans may need to reluctantly fall on their swords.

When Federer racked up his sixth Wimbledon crown back in 2009, the Swiss legend surpassed Pete Sampras as the most successful Grand Slam champion with 15 and cemented his undisputed status as the greatest male player ever at the age of just 27 - and just eight years after he'd famously beaten the American as a teenager at SW19.

Two months earlier he'd become just the third player in the Open Era behind Rod Laver (1969) and Andre Agassi (1999) to complete the career Grand Slam by winning his one and only French Open title - so with history books being written with every passing season and so much time still on his side, it seemed unlikely that anyone would be able to catch him until long into his retirement age. Let alone two while he was still playing.

At this time, Rafael Nadal had six in the bag - four of which on the clay of Roland Garros - and Novak Djokovic just one.

But after winning his 16th at the 2010 Australian Open, Federer's dominance would be broken as the chasing pack, which also included three-time champions Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka - closed the gulf in class emphatically, while injuries would eventually start to take their toll on a body he now had to push to the absolute limits.

Having contested 22 of the 27 possible Grand Slam finals since his maiden success in 2003, he'd reach 'just' four of the next 23 until the end of 2015, with his sole success coming at Wimbledon in 2012 to move onto 17.

During these years, Nadal had remarkably cut the deficit to just three, with the comparatively unpopular Djokovic getting worryingly close on 10 having defeated Federer in both the Wimbledon and US Open finals of 2015 - a year in which he also picked up the Australian Open.

The GOAT discussion was being reawakened, but as long as Djokovic was in third place on Grand Slam titles - the tennis purists would only ever allow it to be about two icons who had completely changed the landscape of the sport for generations to come.

However, as injuries and surgery wrecked Nadal and Federer's chances of adding to their legendary CVs in 2016, the unrelenting machine from Serbia would capitalise with two more titles to strike genuine fear into 'Fedal' fans around the globe. Excuses, caveats, asterisks, other stats and words such as 'nuanced' needed to be found fast. Just in case.

In 2017, Federer’s renaissance and Nadal’s comeback seemingly ended the panic and they’d go on to equally share the next six Grand Slams – including Fed’s emotional eighth and last Wimbledon title - to move well clear again and push their nemesis into the shade.

Djokovic would rally again by winning four of the next five and crucially put the final nail in Federer’s Grand Slam-winning career with a herculean victory in the epic 2019 Wimbledon final that went 13-12 in the deciding set and it was now left to Nadal to keep the reluctant villain at arm’s reach.

The Spaniard moved onto 20 with yet another French Open title in 2020 but Djokovic would match both his rivals by picking up the first three Grand Slams of 2021 before Daniil Medvedev denied him an historic calendar Grand Slam at the US Open – a feat that neither Federer nor Nadal have achieved either.

Missing two Grand Slams in 2022 due to his vaccination status helped Nadal move two clear but a fourth successive Wimbledon coupled with back-to-back Slams at the start of 2023 finally put him at the top of the charts.

Despite a thrilling defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, Djokovic bounced back at the US Open to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slams and surely isn't finished yet despite the emergence of aforementioned younger rivals.

Yet the GOAT debate is no longer about Grand Slam titles. Now it’s become unfairly ‘nuanced’.

Despite all his record and statistics in a phenomenal career – which also includes most Grand Slam finals (35), most total weeks at world number one (428), superior head-to-head records over both Federer and Nadal as well as being the only player to have won each Grand Slam three times or more – he may need at least 30 to end the conversation for good.

And who can rule that out? The disrespect and lack of acceptance he feels from a huge contingent of tennis fans only serves to fire him up to unprecedented levels of dominance.

Only the greatest take on adversity and conquer it. Nobody has done that better than Novak

Comparing the GOAT contenders

Grand Slams titles

• Novak Djokovic - 24
• Rafael Nadal - 22
• Roger Federer - 20

Most Grand Slams finals

• Novak Djokovic - 37
• Roger Federer - 31
• Rafael Nadal - 30

Grand Slam semi-finals

• Novak Djokovic - 49
• Roger Federer - 46
• Rafael Nadal - 38

Grand Slam quarter-finals

• Novak Djokovic - 60
• Roger Federer - 58
• Rafael Nadal - 47

Multiple Grand Slams in one season

• Novak Djokovic - 4 (2011, 2015, 2021, 2023)
• Roger Federer - 3 (2004, 2006, 2007)
• Rafael Nadal - 3 (2010)

Most Australian Open titles

(finals in brackets)

• Novak Djokovic - 10 (10)
• Roger Federer - 6 (7)
• Rafael Nadal - 2 (6) Joint fifth with nine other players

French Open titles

(finals in brackets)

• Rafael Nadal - 14 (14)
• Novak Djokovic - 2 (7)
• Roger Federer - 1 (5) joint 10th with many other champions

Wimbledon titles

(finals in brackets)

• Roger Federer - 8 (12)
• Novak Djokovic - 7 (10)
• Rafael Nadal - 2 (5) joint sixth with six other players

US Open titles

(finals in brackets)

• Roger Federer - 5 (7)
• Novak Djokovic - 4 (10)
• Rafael Nadal - 4 (5)

Most World Tour Finals titles

• Roger Federer - 6
• Novak Djokovic - 6
• * Rafael Nadal - 0

ATP titles

• Roger Federer - 103 *second behind Jimmy Connors 109)
• Novak Djokovic - 99
• Rafael Nadal - 92

Olympic titles

• Rafael Nadal - 1
• Novak Djokovic - 1
• (Andy Murray has most ever with 2)

Hard court titles

• Roger Federer - 71
• Novak Djokovic - 71
• Rafael Nadal - 25 (9th overall)

Clay titles

• Rafael Nadal - 63
• Novak Djokovic - 20 *10th overall
• Roger Federer - 11 *28th overall

Grass titles

• Roger Federer - 19
• Novak Djokovic - 8 * Joint 5th
• Rafael Nadal - 4 *Joint 23rd

Outdoor titles

• Rafael Nadal - 90
• Novak Djokovic - 80
• Roger Federer - 77

Indoor titles

• Roger Federer - 26 *6th overall
• Novak Djokovic - 19 *13th
• Rafael Nadal - 3 *Joint 90th

Match wins ever

• Roger Federer - 1245 * second behind Jimmy Connors (1275)
• Novak Djokovic - 1119
• Rafael Nadal - 1066

Grand Slam match wins

• Novak Djokovic - 377
• Roger Federer - 369
• Rafael Nadal - 314

Australian Open match wins

• Roger Federer - 102
• Novak Djokovic - 94
• Rafael Nadal - 77

French Open match wins

• Rafael Nadal - 112
• Novak Djokovic - 96
• Roger Federer - 73

Wimbledon match wins

• Roger Federer - 105
• Novak Djokovic - 97
• Rafael Nadal - 58

US Open match wins

• Novak Djokovic - 90
• Roger Federer - 89
• Rafael Nadal - 67

Most weeks as world number one

• Novak Djokovic - 428
• Roger Federer - 310
• Pete Sampras - 286
• Ivan Lendl - 270
• Jimmy Connors - 268
• Rafael Nadal - 209

Djokovic v Federer v Nadal: Head to heads

• Djokovic v Nadal: 30-29 overall, 11-7 in Grand Slams, 5-4 in Grand Slam finals
• Djokovic v Federer H2H: 27-23 overall, 11-6 in Grand Slams, 4-1 in Grand Slam finals
• Nadal v Federer H2H: 24-16 overall, 10-4 in Grand Slams, 6-3 in Grand Slam finals