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In tennis, the term Big Four refers to the quartet of men's singles players comprising Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. These players are considered dominant in terms of ranking and tournament victories, including Grand Slam tournaments and ATP Masters 1000 events, as well as the ATP World Tour Finals and Olympic Games, having dominated the sport amongst them from 2004 onwards. Never before in the history of the sport there has been a group of players which was as dominant as this four.

Federer was the first to come to prominence after winning Wimbledon in 2003 and established himself as the world No. 1 by the beginning of 2004. Nadal followed in 2005 after a French Open triumph including a win over Federer, and they occupied the top two places in the ATP rankings for 211 consecutive weeks from July 2005 to August 2009. Djokovic, from 2007, and later Murray, from 2009, increasingly challenged Federer's and Nadal's dominance with seasonal consistency. Djokovic captured three of the four major tournaments in 2011, and in 2012 the quartet won one Major tournament apiece. In 2011, Nadal declared that his and Federer's period of joint dominance had ended, owing to the ascent of other players, notably Djokovic and later Murray.

They regularly occupied the top four places in the year-end rankings between 2008 and 2013, and they continue to own the top 2 spots since 2005 (no player outside the Big Four has ranked World No.1 or No.2 for the past 12 years). All four have reached a career high No. 1. Federer was world No. 1 for a record 302 weeks, Djokovic was ranked No. 1 for 223 weeks (fifth since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973), Nadal was No. 1 for 141 weeks (7th since 1973), and Murray, who is the current No. 1, for 36 weeks. Federer leads among them with 5 year-end No.1, followed by Djokovic with 4, Nadal with 3 and Murray with 1. They were ranked year-end world top 4 for five times (2008-2012). The last man, who was No. 1 and none of the Big Four, was Andy Roddick on the 1st of February in 2004. So they four have been No. 1 for over 702 weeks which means over 13.5 years.

Since this time the term "Big Four", while used previously, became popular with the media and in tennis literature. The Big Four have been a critical part of what has, since 2006, often been labelled a new "Golden Era" in tennis; that term is also applied to the mid-1970s to 1980s, and the 1920s to the 1930s.

Amongst them, they have won 45 of the last 50 men's major singles titles, from the 2005 French Open through to the 2017 Wimbledon. They have also won 12 of the last 14 World Tour Finals (previously Tennis Masters Cup), with Federer winning six and Djokovic winning five, with a record 4 consecutive from 2012 to 2015, and Murray winning one. Of the four, Federer leads with a record 19 Grand Slam tournament titles followed by Nadal (15), Djokovic (12) and Murray (3). Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have completed a Career Grand Slam by winning each of the four Majors at least once, with Nadal also winning a gold medal at 2008 Summer Olympics for a Career Golden Slam. Murray has won neither the French Open nor the Australian Open, despite reaching the final five times in Melbourne and once in Paris, but has also won two Olympic gold medals (one each at the 2012 Summer Olympics and at the 2016 Summer Olympics), becoming the first tennis player in history to win two singles gold medals, and the most successful male Olympic tennis player in the modern era with two gold medals and a silver medal. In the three Olympic Games between 2008 and 2016, the four won 5 gold medals (Murray 2, Nadal 2, Federer 1), 2 silver medals (Murray and Federer) and a bronze medal (Djokovic).

Furthermore, at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, they are all in the top-10 list (since 1970). Djokovic and Nadal lead with a record 30 titles each, followed by Federer (26) and Murray (14). All four players have also played key roles in leading their countries to success in the Davis Cup, including in Djokovic's and Federer's case with Serbia (2010) and Switzerland (2014) winning the competition for the first time, while Nadal has racked up four Davis Cup titles, and in Murray's case, ending a drought of 79 years for Great Britain in 2015.

Many have contested the inclusion of Murray with the exclusion of Stan Wawrinka, who has also won three Grand Slams in the same time period. Wawrinka himself has refuted this, citing his own lack of consistency compared to the big four.

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History

2004-2007: Federer dominance

Big two: Federer and Nadal

The early 2000s were seen as a time of transition in tennis, with older players retiring and a few players breaking through at the very top of the game. Roger Federer had first played on the ATP Tour aged 17 in 1998, finishing his first full ATP season the following year before finishing 2002 ranked sixth in the world, his first year-end ranking in the top 8. His breakthrough came in 2003 when he won his first Grand Slam tournament, and finished the year as world number 2 behind Andy Roddick. The following two years he had almost complete solo dominance, winning five of eight majors and losing just ten matches in 2004 and 2005. Between Wimbledon 2005 and US Open 2007 Federer captured 8 of 10 majors with a staggering record of 67-2 in those tournaments.

Nadal had won his first ATP Tour match aged 15 years and 10 months in April 2002, and he defeated Federer in their first meeting in 2004 at Miami. 2005 was Nadal's breakthrough year, in which he won 24 consecutive matches on clay, including his first French Open beating Federer en route in the semifinals, and he finished as world number 2 while Federer remained number 1 for a second straight year.

The period between 2005 and 2007 was subsequently dominated by the Federer-Nadal rivalry. They won 11 consecutive majors, meeting in every French Open and Wimbledon final from 2006-2008. Federer won 2 Grand Slams in 2005, and 3 out of 4 Slams in 2006 and 2007, reaching 10 consecutive finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through to the 2007 US Open Final. During this period Nadal won 3 consecutive Roland Garros Championships.

From 2005-2010 they ended every year as the world's top two players.

Djokovic and Murray

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were born a week apart, played each other as juniors and made their Grand Slam tournament debuts in 2005. Djokovic made his ATP tour debut in 2004, while Murray's was in 2005, a time when many bright youngsters joined the ATP tour. They both reached the world top 100 in 2005, and the world top 20 in 2006. Djokovic, however, began to excel ahead of Murray, reaching one major final and two semifinals in 2007 and began to challenge Federer and Nadal regularly. He also won two Masters tournament titles and 5 titles in total, finishing the year ranked number 3 in world. Murray, who was forced out of the French Open and Wimbledon by injury, ended 2007 ranked 11th, winning two ATP tournaments.

2008-2010: Emergence of the Big Four

Between 2008 and 2010, Novak Djokovic and later Andy Murray attempted to end the duopoly of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the summit of tennis. They did not break it but emerged ahead of the rest of the tour. At the 2008 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the semifinals, reaching his first Australian Open final and ending Federer's streak of ten consecutive Major finals, continuing his fine form at the end of the 2007 season which saw him reach his first major final. Djokovic went on to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who had eliminated Nadal in the semifinal) to win his first Major. Following his Australian Open win, Djokovic emerged as a clear world number three during the year, holding the ranking throughout 2008. Meanwhile, Andy Murray continued to rise in the rankings, reaching his first Major quarterfinal at Wimbledon, losing to Nadal. He also won his first two Masters titles.

Federer and Nadal remained the lead rivalry, and the pair met in the final of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Nadal won both, with the latter described as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. In August 2008, after winning the 2008 Summer Olympics gold medal, Nadal passed Federer to become world No. 1, after Federer had been at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks.

The year's final Major, the US Open, saw all four players reach the semifinals of the same Major for the first time. Federer defeated Djokovic in the semifinals, while Murray won through to his first Grand Slam tournament final after upsetting the top-ranked Nadal in four sets. Federer then defeated Murray in the final to win his fifth consecutive US Open title, and win his 13th Major title overall. Following the US Open, Murray entered the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time and all four players qualified for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup, which Djokovic won. Despite having to withdraw from this event through injury, Nadal ended the year ranked world No. 1, ahead of Federer and Djokovic with Murray respectively finishing fourth due to his run at the US Open.

In 2009, the Big Four held the top four places in the rankings for a whole calendar year for the first time. This also prompted the first uses of the term 'Big Four' to refer to the players, although results saw Nadal and Federer generally remain clear leaders ahead of Djokovic and Murray who they themselves were still regarded ahead of the rest of the tour. At the Australian Open, Nadal won his first Australian Open title in another 5-set epic, obtaining a third consecutive Major final victory over Federer, while Murray and Djokovic were eliminated earlier on. Nadal continued to dominate early in the season, but suffered from injury in June, allowing Federer to take the upper hand for the rest of the season. Federer subsequently passed the record for most Grand Slam tournament wins, taking his 14th Grand Slam title at the French Open, thus completing the Career Grand Slam after Nadal had prevented him from achieving this feat at the previous 4 French Open tournaments, and 15th title at Wimbledon respectively. Federer finished the season having reached all four Major finals for the third time in his career following 2006 and 2007.

Following Nadal's injuries, Murray and Djokovic made up further grounds in the rankings, although neither of them were able to make a Major final in 2009. In particular, their consistency at Masters level tournaments kept them in the top four of the rankings, with Murray reaching world No. 2 in August, and ending the 211-week reign of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the top two players of the world in the process. His reign as the world No. 2 would not last long, as he was upset in the fourth round of the US Open by Croat Marin ?ili?. There, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam tournament semifinal of 2009, losing in straight sets to Federer while Nadal was defeated by eventual winner Juan Martín del Potro in the semifinal. Between 2005 Australian Open and 2014 Australian Open, this was the only Grand Slam event not won by a member of the Big Four. (Since then, Wawrinka has won the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open while ?ili? won the 2014 US Open).

At the end of 2009 Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray finished as the ATP's top four players for the second consecutive year with only Nadal and Federer changing positions from the 2008 final rankings list.

During the 2010 season, the Big Four began to dominate the Tour as a group for the first time. The Big Four provided six of the eight Grand Slam tournament finalists, and won 14 tournaments combined in the season (compared to 6 for the other four competitors at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals). At the start of the year, Federer continued his dominance as world number one by winning the Australian Open, defeating Murray in the final, but his run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals came to end at the French Open that year when he lost to Robin Söderling in 4 sets. He also then lost to Tomá? Berdych at Wimbledon ending his run of 7 consecutive Wimbledon finals. Nadal dominated the clay-court season again, winning all three clay-court Masters events and the French Open. Nadal also won at Wimbledon, although in both of these tournaments he only had to face one other member of the Big Four (Murray in the Wimbledon semi-finals).

At the US Open, Djokovic beat Federer to reach his third Major final, although Nadal won once again to complete his Career Grand Slam. In November, Robin Söderling (who has reached the French Open final) briefly passed Murray to reach fourth place in the ATP rankings, threatening to break the Big Four's run of filling the end-of-year rankings. However, all of the Big Four reached the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals semifinals with Federer defeating Nadal in 3 sets in the final, leading to them achieving their third successive season in the top 4 positions. Again Djokovic and Murray were third and fourth respectively, both reaching one Grand Slam tournament final apiece.

2011-2013: Dominance

The 2011 season was dominated by Novak Djokovic. Djokovic won 10 titles in total, including three Grand Slam tournament titles (only the fifth man in the open era to do so) and five ATP Masters 1000 titles (a record), enjoyed a 41 match winning streak (ended by Federer in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open), amassed a record in prize money, and ascended to world No. 1 in the world for the first time in July. The season was described by many experts and former players as one of the best tennis seasons for a single player seen in history, with Tennis Magazine describing it as the third best tennis season ever, behind Roger Federer's 2006 season, and Rod Laver's in 1969. Pete Sampras described it as "one of the best achievements in all of sport."

Djokovic's dominance contributed to an overall control by the Big Four. They all reached the semifinals at two of the year's Grand Slam events, and amongst them won every Masters tournament. Nadal was a clear second place behind Djokovic, winning the French Open and losing in both the Wimbledon and US Open final. Nadal ended the season with a 0-6 losing record against Djokovic: every match they played was a championship final.

By his standards, Roger Federer had a weak season: he failed to win a Grand Slam tournament title for the first time since 2002, losing to Nadal for the fourth time in a French Open final, and the sixth time overall in Major finals. He dropped to world No. 4 in November, the first time he had been ranked outside the top 3 since 2002. Federer's drop was caused by Murray's remarkable run of form in Asia in October, winning three successive titles. However, Federer rallied, winning his three final tournaments (a sign of things to come in the subsequent season), including the World Tour Finals, which was enough to secure an end-of-season ranking of No. 3. Murray, meanwhile, was making significant improvements to his game and made the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, with his best result a defeat in the Australian Open final by Djokovic. He ended the year with two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles for the fourth consecutive year, and five titles in total.

The dominance of the Big Four continued in 2012. Each player won one Grand Slam tournament: Djokovic won in Australia, Nadal in France, Federer at Wimbledon and Murray (who hired former world number 1 Ivan Lendl as his head coach earlier in the year) with his first Grand Slam tournament title at the US Open. This win, combined with winning the gold medal in the Olympic Games men's singles on Wimbledon's Centre Court with consecutive semi-final and final victories against Djokovic and Federer - "cemented" Murray's position as a member of the Big Four: his end of season ranking of third was his best yet. Djokovic entered the season as world number 1, and remained there until July 2012, when he was overtaken by Federer, who reclaimed the top spot for the first time since June 2010. Federer subsequently overtook Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the top, and ultimately extended the record to 302 weeks. Federer relinquished his world No. 1 ranking on 5 November, Djokovic reclaiming the top spot and ending the year at the top of the rankings for the second consecutive year. Djokovic was the only player to make at least the semifinals in all four Grand Slam events, and was the losing finalist at the French and US Open. Both he and Federer won three Masters tournaments, seeing them dominate the season as a whole. Federer was also the silver medalist at the Olympics, where Djokovic finished fourth. Nadal, meanwhile, had his season cut short by an injury. Having won two clay court Masters tournaments and the French Open, he was eliminated in the second round at Wimbledon - his first defeat at such an early stage in a Grand Slam tournament since 2005. He later revealed that he had been injured going into the tournament, and he did not compete for the rest of the season, but still ended the year as world No. 4.

The 2013 season continued in similar fashion, with Djokovic, Federer and Murray occupying three of the four semifinal slots at the Australian Open, with Nadal still suffering from injury. Murray beat Federer in a five-set epic in the semifinal meaning all four members of the Big Four had beaten each other at least once in a Grand Slam event, subsequently losing to Djokovic in the final in four sets. As a result, Djokovic became the third man to win four Australian Open titles and the first to win three consecutively. Murray himself becoming the first man to reach the final of the next Grand Slam event after winning their maiden title. Nadal returned for the clay-court season, winning events in Rome, Barcelona, Madrid before becoming the only male player to win a Grand Slam tournament eight times by winning the French Open, defeating Djokovic in the semifinals. However, Djokovic did end Nadal's eight-year winning streak at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Murray's clay-court season ended prematurely because of a back injury and did not compete at the French Open, whereas Federer lost in the quarterfinals after making the final in Rome. Nadal and Federer lost early at Wimbledon in the first and second round respectively, thus ending Federer's 36 consecutive Grand Slam tournament quarter final appearance record. Murray defeated Djokovic in the final to become the first British man to win the tournament in 77 years, extending his winning streak on grass to 18 matches. Leading up to the US Open, Nadal won ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, his third hardcourt ATP Masters 1000 event of the year after winning at Indian Wells earlier in the year, extending his winning streak to 15-0 on hardcourts for the year. He went on to win the US Open, defeating Djokovic in the final in four sets. While Murray and Federer lost early, in the quarterfinals and fourth round respectively.

Overall, the season was about Nadal and Djokovic. Nadal won two Majors and five ATP Masters 1000 events. He was also runner-up at the ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic won one Major, and reached two finals and a semifinal in the other three, and finished the year strongly on a 22-match winning streak, winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London. The 2013 head-to-head record of Nadal and Djokovic was tied at 3-3. A back injury ended Murray's season prematurely and he finished fourth in the rankings, but was the only player besides Nadal and Djokovic to win a Grand Slam tournament or ATP Masters 1000 title, at Wimbledon and Miami respectively. Federer suffered his worst season for a decade. He reached just one Major semifinal, failed to win a single ATP Masters 1000 crown and finished the year sixth in the rankings with one title to his name, though he too suffered from a recurring back injury throughout the season.

2014: Slam dominance halted

As 2013 came to a close, Roger Federer's fall in the rankings prompted many sources to debate whether or not the status of the Big Four had ended. This debate intensified in the wake of the Australian Open, which saw Stan Wawrinka defeat Djokovic in the quarter-final and Nadal in the final to win his first Slam title, marking just the second time since 2005 and the first since 2009 that a player outside the Big Four had won a Grand Slam tournament. Murray and Federer fell to sixth and eighth in the rankings respectively, and after the tournament, several players expressed the opinion that they were now capable of challenging the Big Four. However, the Big Four occupied all four final spots of the first two Masters 1000 titles of the year in Indian Wells and Miami, with Djokovic winning his fourth and fifth consecutive Masters titles with tight victories over Federer and Nadal respectively.

Nadal struggled early in the clay season at his traditional favorite tournaments of Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. A third loss, to Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters, was the first time Nadal had lost more than two matches on clay in a season for a decade. He did, however, win the Madrid Masters after Nishikori got injured while dominating Nadal 6-2, 4-2 in that final. Nadal went on to defend his French Open title, defeating Murray in the semi-final and Djokovic in the final.

Following his back surgery at the end of 2013, Murray had struggled to return to form in the first half of the year, reaching only two semi-finals and losing to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the quarter-finals while attempting to defend his Wimbledon title, a defeat which saw him fall to no. 10 in the world rankings. This, and Nadal's loss to Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round, his third consecutive early-round loss at Wimbledon, led former players and experts, including Jimmy Connors, to express the opinion that the "aura" around the Big Four had faded. Milos Raonic, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon, suggested there was now a "human side" visible in the Big Four, which was giving players belief when facing them. However, Djokovic defeated Dimitrov and Federer beat Raonic to make it an all-Big Four final, the 24th they have contested. Djokovic defeated Federer in five sets to claim his second Wimbledon title, a result that left Djokovic, Nadal and Federer occupying the top three places in the rankings.

At the Rogers Cup, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Djokovic and Murray in the third round and quarter-finals respectively before defeating Federer in the final. Federer continued his return to form, winning his first Masters title since 2012 in Cincinnati. Later, he also won the Shanghai Masters, and returned to No. 2 in the rankings, overtaking Nadal, whose season had been curtailed by a wrist injury.

The US Open 2014 saw the Big Four's collective grip on the major titles slip still further, however, as Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic beat Djokovic and Federer in the semi-finals respectively to contest the first Slam final featuring none of the Big Four since the 2005 Australian Open, and the first time since 2003 that multiple first-time Grand Slam tournament winners have been crowned in a single season. Following the tournament, Murray dropped to 11th in the rankings, his first time outside the top 10 since 2008. The tournament as a whole further signalled the decline of the Big Four's dominance. Towards the end of the year, Andy Murray managed to return to form, winning three titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia, allowing him to return to the top ten in the rankings and qualify for the Tour Finals, but he bowed out at the group stages following a humiliating defeat by Federer, in which he won just a single game. Indeed, throughout the year Murray failed to register a single victory against another member of the Big Four in nine meetings.

At the tour finals Federer and Djokovic both reached the final, but Federer withdrew citing injury following a brutal semifinal against Wawrinka. Federer recovered to win the Davis Cup as part of the Switzerland team for his, and the country's, first triumph in the competition, leading many people to say that his tennis career was now complete. Collectively, the Big Four won 19 titles in 2014, but two Slam titles and two Masters titles went to other players. In the end-of-year rankings, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal held the top three spots, with Murray in sixth.

2015-2016: Djokovic and Murray become Top 2

Following Murray's strong end to 2014 and reaching the final of the 2015 Australian Open, he moved into the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time in over year, meaning that the Big Four held the top four places in the rankings for the first time since early 2013, slowing the idea of the regression of the quartet. However, Federer and Nadal both lost early in the third round and quarterfinals respectively, the first time in 12 appearances that Federer had lost before the semi-finals at the first Slam of the season. Djokovic won the title, as well as the first three Masters titles of the year in Indian Wells (where the Big Four were the top four seeds in ATP Masters 1000 event for the time since 2012), Miami and Monte-Carlo, defeating Murray in the final in Miami (his seventh straight victory against the Brit) and Federer in the final of Indian Wells respectively. With these victories, Djokovic became the only man to win the Indian Wells-Miami sweep on three separate occasions.

Then, in the Madrid Open, Murray defeated Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori to reach the final, where he defeated Nadal in straight sets to win his first Masters title on clay and first since 2013. This was also the first time he had beaten another member of the Big Four in a Tour match since his victory in the final at Wimbledon 2013, going into the match 0-12 against the other members. The defeat saw Nadal slip to seventh in the rankings, his first time outside the Top 5 for more than a decade. Djokovic, returning after skipping Madrid, again defeated Federer in the final for his fourth Masters title of the year in Rome. Nadal suffered his worst European clay-court season in a decade, failing to win a single title and appearing in just one final, whereas Djokovic and Murray entered the second Grand Slam event of the year unbeaten on clay.

Djokovic defeated Nadal for the first time at the French Open in straight sets. This was only Nadal's second defeat at the French Open, seeing him drop to No. 10 in the rankings. Djokovic emerged victorious over Murray in a five set match that was spread over two days but succumbed to Wawrinka in the final in four sets, Wawrinka's second Slam title in two years.

Federer emerged victorious over Murray in straight sets in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Djokovic claimed the other spot in the final, to set up a rematch of the previous year's final, and defeated Federer in four sets to win his second grand slam of the year, denying Federer a record eighth Wimbledon title for the second year in a row.

Murray and Federer shared the two North American Hard Court Masters titles, at Montreal and Cincinnati respectively, with Djokovic being the losing finalist on both occasions. The US Open final was contested by Djokovic and Federer. Djokovic won in four sets, giving him a third slam title of the season. Murray led Great Britain to Davis Cup victory in 2015, winning all eight of a possible eight singles rubbers and becoming the latest member of the quartet to win the Davis Cup.

In 2016 Djokovic collected his sixth Australian Open title in a straight sets victory over Murray. He followed up this solid run of form with a record setting fifth Indian Wells and record equaling sixth Miami masters titles.

Nadal won his first Masters title for 2 years at Monte Carlo, the record ninth time. Murray continued his fine clay court form from the previous year by reaching the final of the Madrid Masters where he lost in 3 sets to Djokovic. He followed this with a first Rome Masters title, defeating Djokovic in the final in straight sets.

At the 2016 French Open, Murray reached his first Paris final to complete his set of Grand Slam finals, but Djokovic again beat him in the final to become the third Big Four member after Federer and Nadal to complete a Career Grand Slam.

In the Wimbledon final Murray beat Raonic in straight sets to win his second Wimbledon title, and third Grand Slam title overall. Murray's victory marked the first time since the 2010 French Open that a member of the Big Four had won a Grand Slam title without having to defeat one of the other three members.

Federer withdrew from the remainder of the 2016 season due to a knee injury, missing the 2016 Olympics and 2016 US Open.

Djokovic appeared in a record 43rd Masters final in Toronto and claimed a record 30th title, defeating Japan's Kei Nishikori.

In the Olympics, Djokovic was knocked out of the men's singles in the opening round by Juan Martín del Potro, in a repeat of the bronze medal match from four years earlier. Del Potro went on to defeat Nadal in an epic semifinal to set up a final meeting with Murray. Murray ultimately won the final in four sets, becoming the first man to win the singles gold medal twice. Nadal lost the bronze medal match to Kei Nishikori, but won gold in the men's doubles event.

Murray then reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters on a 22-match winning streak, having not lost since the French Open final, but lost the final to Marin Cilic.At the US Open Djokovic reached the final by was defeated once again by Stan Wawrinka in a Grand Slam final.

Murray dominated the rest of the year. He won titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris. As a result, upon reaching the Paris final, Murray gained the number-one ranking, ending Djokovic's 122 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings. This meant that all of the Big Four had reached world number one at some point. Following an early loss at Shanghai, Nadal announced that he would skip the remainder of the 2016 season to recover fully from the wrist injury that troubled him earlier in the year. Thus, for the first time since 2001, neither Nadal nor Federer would be present at the year end championships.

At the ATP finals, Murray beat Djokovic 6-3 6-4, claiming the title and the No.1 spot at the end of the year, and ending 2016 on a 24-match winning streak, the longest of his career. He became the second player after Andre Agassi to win Grand Slam, World Tour Finals, Olympic and Masters titles, and the first to do so in the same calendar year. 2016 marked the first year since 2003 that neither Federer, Nadal or Djokovic finished the year as world number 1. Despite his struggles with form throughout the second half of the year, Djokovic still ended 2016 as world number 2. Having suffered from injury plagued seasons, Nadal and Federer ended the year at number 9 and number 16 respectively. For Nadal it was his lowest end of year ranking since 2004, while Federer's fall in the rankings meant that November 2016 marked his first time outside the top 10 since October 2002.

2017: Federer and Nadal resurgence

At the Australian Open, Djokovic and Murray both suffered defeats prior the quarterfinals. Nadal and Federer, meanwhile, both reached another Australian Open final; for Nadal it was the first time he had reached this stage since winning the 2014 French Open. Both came through tough five-set semi-final matches to make the final. In the Australian Open final, a second consecutive five-set match for both players, Federer triumphed over arch-rival Nadal, winning an 18th men's singles Grand Slam title.

Federer went on to win a record-equalling fifth Indian Wells title, gaining another victory over Rafael Nadal in the 4th round and defeating his countryman Stan Wawrinka in the final. Federer and Nadal once again met, contesting another Masters 1000 final for the 2017 Miami Open title. Federer defeated Nadal in two sets, completing a 2017 sweep of Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami Open titles.

As the 2017 clay court swing commenced, Federer stepped back to rest and skip the entire clay season to focus on the grass and hard court seasons, as well as to prolong his career. Djokovic and Murray returned from their respective elbow injuries to join alongside Nadal in competing in the 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters. Both Djokovic and Murray lost in the early stages while Nadal claimed the 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters title, which saw him becoming the first male player to historically winning a single tournament 10 times and simultaneously winning a new record most clay court titles at 50, surpassing Guillermo Vilas's 49. Nadal and Murray then both participated in Barcelona. Murray lost in the semi-finals to Dominic Thiem, while Nadal beat Thiem to win his tenth Barcelona title. This was the second week in a row in which Nadal became another tournament's 10-time champion, subsequently becoming the only male tennis player to do so for two separate ATP tournaments each, one of the ATP Masters 1000 series and the other being of the ATP 500 series. In the 2017 Madrid Open, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray competed for the title. Murray lost early while Nadal and Djokovic contested the semi-final, which Nadal won in 2 sets. Nadal then went on to win the Madrid open, again defeating Thiem in the final to claim a record 5th Madrid Open title and equal Djokovic's record of 30 ATP Masters 1000 series titles. In Rome, Murray's poor form continued, with him losing in the second round to Fabio Fognini. Nadal's unbeaten run on clay during 2017 came to an end in the quarter-finals as he was beaten by Thiem in their third meeting of the season. Djokovic, meanwhile, continued his slight improvement in form, making the final after thrashing Thiem in the semi-finals for the loss of only one game. However, he then lost the final in straight sets to Alexander Zverev Jr. where he showed that lack of continuity was still present.

Djokovic would then suffer his own thrashing at the hands of Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals of the French Open, when he lost in straight sets, including losing the third set 6-0, his first bagel at a grand slam tournament since 2005. This further emphasised that Djokovic was still very far from his best form. Following this loss, he fell to world No.4, his lowest ranking since October 2009 and his first time outside the top two of the rankings since March 2011. In contrast, Nadal breezed through to the French Open final without dropping a set, including a third round match where he only lost one game. Murray, meanwhile, bounced back from his recent poor form by reaching the semi-finals, but lost to Stan Wawrinka in a five-set epic. Nadal then defeated Wawrinka in the final to become the first player in the Open Era to win ten titles at a single slam. This win also ended a three-year drought of slam titles for the Spaniard, his last title coming at the French Open in 2014. Following the win, Nadal returned to world No.2, his highest ranking since October 2014.

In the grass season warm-ups, Federer, Djokovic, and Murray played while Nadal rested for Wimbledon. Federer lost in his opening match of the Stuttgart Open to Tommy Haas, but later went on to win the 2017 Halle Open without dropping a set. This title victory once again saw Federer equal Nadal for the record of winning the most ATP 500 titles at the count of 18. Djokovic won his first non-major grass title at the 2017 Eastbourne International, while Murray lost in his opening match in the 2017 Queens Club Championship.

At Wimbledon, The Big Four were the top four seeds at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2014. Nadal was the first to exit in the 4th round, suffering a second defeat to Gilles Muller who had previously defeated Nadal in 2005's Wimbledon in the 2nd round. Struggling with a hip injury, Murray then followed in the quarter-finals, losing to Sam Querrey, who had beaten Djokovic the previous year. Djokovic retired in the second set of his quarter-finals match against Tomas Berdych, citing arm injury. Federer, however, advanced to Wimbledon final without dropping a set and won the Wimbledon title in straight sets against Marin Cilic. Federer's Wimbledon victory was a record-historic 11th Wimbledon final and a record-breaking 8th title win. This meant the Big Four being the ATP top four again.

photo src: yaledailynews.com

Overall dominance

Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympics

Since the 2005 Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam tournament of the 2005 ATP Tour, the Big Four have won all three Olympic Games singles tournaments, all but five Majors and all but two Tennis Masters Cups/ATP World Tour Finals.

The dominance does not just consist of winning the events either, with all four members regularly making it to the latter stages of the tournament. Since 2006 they have occupied all but 17 finalist spots. They occupied 10 consecutive grand slam finals (winner & runner-up) from the 2010 US Open to the 2013 Australian Open. Since 2008 they have occupied all four semifinal spots on four occasions, at the 2008 US Open, 2011 French Open, 2011 US Open and 2012 Australian Open, as well as taking three of the four spaces on nine other separate occasions. In 2011 they occupied 14 out of a possible 16 Grand Slam semifinal slots. In the same period, only twice have two or more not made the semifinal stage (2009 and 2010 French Open), while in 2012 they took 13 out 16 Grand Slam tournament semifinal slots. At the Olympics, members of the Big Four took three of the four available singles medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016, also including doubles have a total of five golds, two silvers and a bronze from these Games. Murray has three Olympic medals whilst Nadal, and Federer have won two Olympic medals each. Murray is the only one to have won two medals at the same tournament and taking both the singles gold medal and the mixed doubles silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is also the only player of any gender to win two consecutive gold medals at the singles event. Djokovic is the only member to not have won a gold medal in any event so far, but having won the singles bronze medal in 2008, has fallen on both occasions to eventual medalist Juan Martín del Potro.

The Big Four, along with Rod Laver, Tony Roche and Ivan Lendl, are the only men in Open Era history to reach the semifinals at all four Majors in a single calendar year, Federer has achieved this a record five times in his career so far and Djokovic four times. However, this feat has been accomplished many more times in the pre-Open Era. Similarly, the Big Four make up four of the ten players to have made the semi-finals twice or more at each of the four Grand Slam events. Besides, the Big Four make up four of the ten players to reach the final at each of the four Grand Slam events. Finally, one fact that possible separates them from their predecessors is their overall consistency at the grandest of stages in tennis. Prior to 2003, no man had ever made 20 grand slam singles finals, Ivan Lendl led the way with 19 grand slam singles finals. However, since then, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have reached 29, 22 and 21 grand slam singles finals, respectively.

Combined Grand Slam tournament singles performance timeline (best result)

Combined Olympic Games singles performance timeline (best result)

List of multiple Grand Slam champions - Open Era (since 1968)

Big Four Grand Slam finals: 30

Big Four Grand Slam semifinals: 27

The four have contested a large number of Grand Slam semifinals. In four Grand Slams, they all made it to the final four, and thus competed in both semifinals (2008 US Open, 2011 French & US Opens, and 2012 Australian Open). Federer and Djokovic have played by far the most times in the semifinal stage with 10 matches.

Big Four Olympic final

ATP World Tour Finals

Combined performance timeline (best result)

Big Four ATP World Tour Finals finals: 6

ATP Masters tournaments

Similarly, ATP Masters/ATP Masters 1000 events have been dominated by the Big Four. Djokovic and Nadal lead with a record 30 titles followed by Federer (26) and Murray (14). Since 2005, spanning 113 events, they have won 96, and since 2011 of the 59 events that have taken place, they have won 54. This includes all 9 in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Moreover, between the 2014 Canada Masters and 2016 Cincinnati Masters, they won 18 consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events. Since the tournaments were revamped and renamed ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events at the beginning of 2009, no player outside the Big Four has won more than one title.

Of these ATP Masters events, excluding the Paris Masters (where the Big Four have had less success, although they have still won it six times in the last eight years) they have won:

• All but one Indian Wells Masters events since (and including) 2004.
• All but two Miami Masters events since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Monte-Carlo Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Rome Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Madrid Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Canada Masters event since (and including) 2004.
• All but two Cincinnati Masters event since (and including) 2005.
• All but one Shanghai Masters event since its introduction in 2009.
• All but two Hamburg Masters event between 2002-08 before it was downgraded to an ATP 500 tournament.

^a Of the eleven they failed to win, they've occupied the runner-up spots on seven occasions. Of the eight they failed to win since 2009, they've occupied the runner-up spots on four occasions.

Combined Masters performance timeline (best result)

¹Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009-present.
²Held as Stuttgart Masters until 2001, Madrid Masters (hardcourt) from 2002-08, and Shanghai Masters 2009-present.

Big Four Masters 1000 finals: 44

Other Big Four finals: 15

Davis Cup

Combined Davis Cup performance timeline (best result)

Top-level tournament records

The four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Finals, nine ATP Masters 1000s and the Summer Olympics, make up the 15 most coveted top-level tournaments in men's tennis. Although no player has won each of these 15 events in men's singles, this feat has been achieved in men's doubles by Canada's Daniel Nestor and the United States' Bryan Brothers, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. Djokovic matches the result in men's singles of Andre Agassi, who ended his career having won 13 of these 15 events, achieving a Career Grand Slam (winning all four majors in a career), a Career Golden Slam (winning all four majors and the Olympic singles gold medal in a career), and what Sports Illustrated called a Career Super Slam (winning all four majors, the Olympic singles gold medal, and the ATP World Tour Finals).

Federer and Nadal are one behind Djokovic, and within three of matching this feat of winning all 15. Nadal has also achieved a Career Grand Slam and a Career Golden Slam, but has thus far fallen short of winning the tour finals, the Miami Open and Paris Masters. Federer has also achieved a Career Grand Slam, but is missing the Olympic Gold in singles, the Monte-Carlo Masters and Italian Open. Djokovic, as the only man to have won eight of the nine Masters events, is a Cincinnati title away from achieving what has been labelled the Career Golden Masters, as well as needing the Olympic Gold to complete his overall tally. Murray is two-thirds of the way to the goal having won 11 of the 15 events.

Federer and Nadal have reached the final of each of the 15 elite tournaments. Djokovic has reached the final of all bar the Olympics, whilst Murray has of yet failed to reach the final at Monte Carlo.

This table is current after 2017 French Open

¹Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009-present.
²Held as Stuttgart Masters until 2001, Madrid Masters (hardcourt) from 2002-08, and Shanghai Masters 2009-present.
*Denotes open-era tournament record.

Grand Slam performances

Top Tier singles tournament standings since 1990

The biggest tournaments since the reformation of the ATP World Tour in 1990 are the Grand Slams, ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, WTF/YEC and the Olympics. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are the only players to have won 40+ tier 1 tournaments. Boldface indicates an Open era record.

Big Four vs the rest of the field

To date the Big Four have collectively won 49 Major titles (with Federer a record 19, Nadal 15, Djokovic 12, and Murray 3). The only other active players who have a Major title to their name are Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open), Stan Wawrinka (2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, 2016 US Open) and Marin ?ili? (2014 US Open). Starting with the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, their combined record at Grand Slam tournaments against everyone else is 707-62. Moreover, only six times has a player outside the group beaten two of them in the same Grand Slam tournament (Safin at the 2005 Australian Open, Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open, del Potro at the 2009 US Open, Berdych at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and Wawrinka at the 2014 Australian Open and the 2015 French Open). Stan Wawrinka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomá? Berdych are the only players to have beaten each member of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event.

Wins over each member of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event

• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (def. Murray and Nadal at the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic at the 2010 Australian Open, and Federer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and at the 2013 French Open)
• Tomas Berdych (def. Murray at the 2010 French Open, Federer at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and at the 2012 US Open, Djokovic at the 2010 and 2017 Wimbledon Championships, and Nadal at the 2015 Australian Open)
• Stan Wawrinka (def. Murray at the 2010 and 2013 US Open and at the 2017 French Open, Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open, Federer at the 2015 French Open and Djokovic at the 2014 Australian Open, at the 2015 French Open and at the 2016 US Open).

Wins over three members of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event

• Andy Roddick (def. Nadal at the 2004 US Open, Djokovic at the 2009 Australian Open, and Murray at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships)
• Fernando Verdasco (def. Djokovic at the 2005 US Open, Murray at the 2009 Australian Open and Nadal at the 2016 Australian Open)

Wins over two members of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event

• Arnaud Clément (def. Federer at the 2000 Australian Open and the 2001 Australian Open, and Murray at the 2005 US Open)
• Tommy Haas (def. Federer at the 2002 Australian Open and Djokovic at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships)
• Mario An?i? (def. Federer at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and Djokovic at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships)
• David Nalbandian (def. Federer at the 2003 Australian Open and at the 2003 US Open and Murray at the 2005 Wimbledon Championships)
• Lleyton Hewitt (def. Nadal at the 2004 Australian Open and at the 2005 Australian Open, and Djokovic at the 2006 US Open)
• Marat Safin (def. Djokovic at the 2005 Australian Open and at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, and Federer at the 2005 Australian Open)
• David Ferrer (def. Nadal at the 2007 US Open and the 2011 Australian Open, and Murray at the 2012 French Open)
• Robin Söderling (def. Nadal at the 2009 French Open, and Federer at the 2010 French Open)
• Marin ?ili? (def. Murray at the 2009 US Open, and Federer at the 2014 US Open)
• Juan Martín del Potro (def. Nadal and Federer at the 2009 US Open)
• Kei Nishikori (def. Djokovic at the 2014 US Open and Murray at the 2016 US Open)
• Sam Querrey (def. Djokovic at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships and Murray at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships)

Only four players have defeated 3 of the Big Four at the same tournament. Two of these players are members of the Big Four: Nadal who defeated Murray in the round of 16, Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Federer in the final to win the 2008 Hamburg Masters; and Federer who defeated Murray in the round robin round, Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Nadal in the finals to win the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals. The only two other players to have achieved this trifecta are:

• David Nalbandian (def. Nadal in the quarter-finals, Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Federer in the finals to win the 2007 Madrid Masters)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (def. Djokovic in the round of 16, Murray in the quarterfinals, and Federer in the finals to win the 2014 Canada Masters)

Only two players have beaten a member of the Big Four in a grand slam final. The first to do so was Juan Martin del Porto in the 2009 US Open final. Wawrinka defeated Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final, and Djokovic in the 2015 Roland Garros final and the 2016 US Open final. In all 4 cases they defeated the world No. 1 in the process.

The Big Four have played in 100 tournaments where all four have competed. Collectively they have won 88 of these 99 tournaments (88%). Of the 12 tournaments they failed to win, they were runner-up in 6 of them, and 5 of these 12 tournaments occurred prior to them first being seeded as the Top 4 players (post-US Open 2008). Since this time in 2008, the Big Four have won 59 of 66 tournaments (89%). And starting with the 2010 Rome Masters, they had won 31 consecutive tournaments where all four were present, until the 2014 Australian Open.

Only seven players have managed to win a tournament where all four of the Big Four have competed:

• Andy Roddick (2006 Cincinnati Masters, 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships, 2010 Miami Masters)
• David Nalbandian (2007 Madrid Masters, 2007 Paris Masters)
• Nikolay Davydenko (2008 Miami Masters, 2009 ATP World Tour Finals)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008 Paris Masters)
• Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open)
• Ivan Ljubi?i? (2010 Indian Wells Masters)
• Stan Wawrinka (2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open)

The Big Four's dominance ratio is also high when only three of the Big Four have competed in the same tournament. Of the 48 events where this has occurred, they have won 42 of them (88%). Since 2008, they have won 31 of 36 tournaments (86%).

Only seven players have managed to win a tournament where three of the Big Four have competed:

• Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open)
• Sam Querrey (2010 Queen's Club Championships)
• Robin Söderling (2010 Paris Masters)
• Stan Wawrinka (2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, 2016 US Open)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014 Canada Masters)
• Marin ?ili? (2014 US Open)
• Alexander Zverev (2017 Italian Open)

The Big Four's dominance record diminishes when only two of them have competed in an event, but overall they still have a 70% success rate, winning 44 of the 63 tournaments in this category, and a success rate of 81%, winning 26 of 32 tournaments, since 2008.

As for tournaments where only one of the Big Four has competed, this is the only category where the rest of the field has a positive ratio, winning 186 of the 262 tournaments (71%) played overall. However, it must be noted that this includes many tournaments played early on in each of the Big Four's careers when they were still unseeded or seeded in double digits. Since their debut as the Top 4 seeds in late 2008, the Big Four have won 31 of the 60 tournaments (52%) where just one of them has competed.

Only 14 players have recorded at least one victory over each member of the Big Four. Of these players, eight have recorded ten or more victories in total, one has a positive record against two members (both are 2-1 win-loss records), and none have a positive record against all four combined.

Top-Level tournament records 2005-present

• Big Four
  • Majors: 15 Federer, 15 Nadal, 12 Djokovic, 3 Murray
  • Masters 1000: 30 Djokovic, 30 Nadal, 22 Federer, 14 Murray
  • Tour Finals: 5 Djokovic, 4 Federer, 1 Murray
  • Olympic Games: 2 Murray, 1 Nadal
  • Overall: 47 Djokovic, 46 Nadal, 41 Federer, 20 Murray
• Rest of the field
  • Majors: 3 Wawrinka, 1 Safin, 1 del Potro, 1 ?ili?
  • Masters 1000: 3 Davydenko, 2 Nalbandian, 2 Roddick, 2 Tsonga, 1 Berdych, 1 Robredo, 1 Ljubi?i?, 1 Söderling, 1 Ferrer, 1 Wawrinka, 1 ?ili?, 1 Zverev
  • Tour Finals: 1 Nalbandian, 1 Davydenko
  • Overall: 4 Wawrinka, 4 Davydenko, 3 Nalbandian, 2 Roddick, 2 Tsonga, 2 ?ili?, 1 Safin, 1 del Potro, 1 Berdych, 1 Robredo, 1 Ljubi?i?, 1 Söderling, 1 Ferrer, 1 Zverev

Tournament titles 2009-2013

^a del Potro won the 2009 US Open.

^b Davydenko won the 2009 Shanghai Masters, Ljubi?i? won the 2010 Indian Wells, Roddick won the 2010 Miami Masters, Söderling won the 2010 Paris Masters, and Ferrer won the 2012 Paris Masters.

^c Davydenko won the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals.

^d Federer won silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics

^e Söderling won the 2010 & 2011 Rotterdam Open, Ferrer won the 2010 Valencia Open, Nishikori won the 2012 Japan Open, Tokyo, del Potro won the 2012 Swiss Indoors, Basel, 2013 Rotterdam Open & 2013 Swiss Indoors, Basel, and Fognini won the 2013 German Open, Hamburg.

^f Represents ATP 500/250 Series tournaments the Big Four have competed in only, as opposed to every ATP 500/250 on the ATP World Tour in general.

Tournament titles overall

This table is current after Wimbledon 2017

Grand Slam tournament performance comparison

Before 2005, Murray and Djokovic had not competed in a Grand Slam tournament. Nadal had made four appearances during 2003 and 2004, reaching the third round at 2003 Wimbledon and 2004 Australian Open. Federer had been competing in Grand Slam tournaments since 1999, and had won Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004, as well as the 2004 Australian Open and 2004 US Open.

2003-2008

2009-2014

2015-2017

^D indicates the player met Novak Djokovic at that tournament.
^F indicates the player met Roger Federer at that tournament.
^M indicates the player met Andy Murray at that tournament.
^N indicates the player met Rafael Nadal at that tournament.

Rankings

Between 8 September 2008 and 28 January 2013, the top four positions in the ATP Rankings were occupied by all members of the Big Four for all but 16 weeks. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic were consistently in the top four for this period of time, with Andy Murray dropping to #5 during all 16 of those weeks. The only two other players who entered the top four in this period were Juan Martín del Potro (3 weeks) and Robin Söderling (13 weeks). This run was ended when David Ferrer replaced Nadal in the top 4 following a period of injury for Nadal, and retained his place in the top 4 for much of 2013 as Roger Federer dropped down the rankings.

All four have been world number one. Federer first reached number one in 2004 after winning his first Australian Open, whereas Nadal did in 2008 following his Olympics victory after three straight years of ending the year ranked world No. 2, behind Federer. Similarly, Djokovic achieved world No. 1 status following his Wimbledon victory in 2011, after four consecutive years at No. 3, in a season which is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport. Murray reached the number one position after the Paris Masters on 7 November 2016, towards the end of a season in which he had made 3 Grand Slam finals (winning one, Wimbledon), as well as winning the Olympic Games and three Masters tournaments.

They have held:

• The first two places in the ATP Rankings continuously since 25 July 2005 (exclusively by Federer and Nadal from July 2005 to August 2009), as of 5 June 2017.
• The first three places in the ATP Rankings continuously from 13 August 2007 - 7 July 2013.
• The top four places in the ATP Rankings for all but 16 weeks from 8 September 2008 - 28 January 2013.

ATP Year-end ranking timeline by year

ATP Year-end ranking timeline by age at end of season

Current rankings

Career Grand Slam tournament 1st seedings

Federer has been seeded 1st in 23 Grand Slam tournaments, followed by Djokovic (18), Nadal (10) and Murray (3).

¹ Seeded first ahead of Nadal despite their world rankings being reversed, this was due to Wimbledon's grass seedings formula.

Bolded name indicates that the tournament was won by the top seed.

Main international tennis and sports awards

¹Award shown in year that was honored, not year the award was presented.

photo src: fivethirtyeight.com

Combined achievements

All four

1. Won 45 of 50 last Grand Slam events (as of the 2017 Wimbledon), this is 90% of majors won since the French Open in 2005.
2. Represented in the final of 49 of 50 last Grand Slam events (as of 2017 Wimbledon).
3. Won every Wimbledon since 2003 (15 titles), furthermore 8 out of the last 12 Wimbledon finals have been contested by 2 of the Big 4, as of 2017. No other Grand Slam tournament has ever been dominated by four players for 15 consecutive years (2003-2017). During this period Federer has won an open era record 8 titles, Djokovic 3, Nadal and Murray 2 apiece.
4. Won 9 out of the last 12 US Opens (represented in 11 finals of which 6 were contested by 2 of the Big Four).
5. 8 of the last 9 Australian Open finals have been contested by the 2 of the Big Four (as of 2017 Australian Open).
6. 30 Grand Slam tournament finals featured two from the Big Four, the most of any four players.
7. Occupied at least 7 out of 8 Grand Slam finalist slots in 6 seasons (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015), including 20 out of 20 from the 2010 US Open until the 2013 French Open.
8. Each has reached the final of at least one Grand Slam at least 5 times.
9. Each has reached the final of every Grand Slam tournament, and final of ATP World Tour Finals.
10. Occupied all four semi-final slots on 4 Grand Slam occasions (2008 US Open, 2011 French Open, 2011 US Open and 2012 Australian Open).
11. Consecutively held the world No. 1 ranking since February 2004.
12. Occupied the world No. 1 and 2 rankings since July 2005.
13. Each has been ranked year-end world No. 1 (2004-present).
14. Each won at least one Olympic medal in singles.
15. Won 54 of the last 59 Masters 1000 tournaments as of Rome 2017. (Represented in 58 finals)
16. Won 96 of the last 113 Masters 1000 tournaments as of Rome 2017. (Represented in 104 finals)
17. Won 18 consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments from 2014 Cincinnati Open - 2016 Canadian Open.
18. Won every Grand Slam tournament, Masters 1000 tournaments and the ATP World Tour Finals in 2011 and 2013.
19. Occupied top four places in the rankings for 5 years, all consecutive. (2008-2012)
20. Won BBC Sports Personality (or Overseas Personality) of the year and ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year.
21. Reached 11+ consecutive Grand Slam tournament quarterfinals.
22. The only four players to have reached the semi-finals or better at all nine Masters series events at least once.
23. Were ranked in the year-end top 6 every year at age 21 through 29 (as of year-end ranking 2016).
24. Each won the Davis Cup at least once.
25. Each has been chosen at least once as flag bearer for their respective country at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics.
26. Each has set or tied the Open Era record for most titles won Grand Slam events and Olympics- Djokovic with 6 Australian open titles, Federer with 8 Wimbledon titles and 5 US Open titles (tied), Nadal with 10 French Open titles and Murray with 2 Olympic Singles titles.
27. Top four prize money leaders of all time.
28. Hold the top 10 spots for prize money earned in a season (unadjusted for inflation).
29. Each has enjoyed at least one season with a winning percentage of 90% or greater- Federer has achieved this three times (2004-06), Djokovic twice (2011 and 2015), and Nadal and Murray once each (2013 and 2016 respectively).

Three of the four

Djokovic, Federer and Nadal

1. Won 42 of the last 50 Majors as of 2017 Wimbledon, which is 84% of majors won since the French Open in 2005.
2. Won 29 out of 30 Grand Slam events from the 2005 French Open up to and including Wimbledon 2012 which is 97% of majors won.
3. Represented in 45 of 46 Major finals from the 2005 French Open up to and including the 2016 French Open.
4. Won 11 of the last 12 Australian Open titles (represented in all 12 finals), as of 2017.
5. Only three players in history to play 20 or more Major finals. Federer has reached 29 finals (all-time record), Nadal has 22 finals and Djokovic 21.
6. Only three players in the Open Era to reach the final of every Grand Slam tournament at least three times.
7. Only three players in the Open Era to play 5 or more consecutive Grand Slam finals.
8. Consecutively held the world No. 1 ranking from February 2004 to November 2016.
9. Occupied the top 3 places in the rankings for 6 years, 5 consecutively (2007-2011, 2014).
10. Each has won 3 of the 4 Grand Slam events in a season. Federer in 2004, 2006, and 2007, Nadal in 2010, and Djokovic in 2011 and 2015.
11. Each has won at least one Major 3 or more times consecutively.
12. Each has won one Major 6+ times.
13. Each has won 11+ titles in a season.
14. Each has won at least 10 Grand Slam titles and are in the top five in the open era - Federer has won 19 (the all-time record), Nadal has won 15 (second) and Djokovic has won 12 (tied fourth with Emerson).
15. The only era in men's tennis where three players have won double digit grand slams and the career grand slam whilst playing in the same time period (2003-present).
16. Set or tied the Open Era record for most titles won in all four four Grand Slam events - Djokovic with 6 Australian Open titles, Federer with 8 Wimbledon titles and 5 US Open titles (tied) and Nadal with 10 French Open titles.
17. Each has won the Career Grand Slam (Winning all four major tournaments at least once). From 2009 - 2016, all three won all four major titles.
18. Only three players in the tennis history to simultaneously hold grand slam titles on grass, hard court, and clay. Nadal achieved this feat twice from 2008-2009 and in 2010, Federer in 2008/2009, and Djokovic from 2015-2016.
19. All won ATP Player of the Year, ITF Men's Singles Champion, Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year and ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis player.
20. Each has 80%+ win percentage at all 4 Grand Slam tournaments.
21. Each have won at least 200 Grand Slam matches.
22. Hold the all-time top 3 for match wins at the French Open/French Championships.
23. Hold the Open Era top 3 for number of semifinals and quarterfinals reached at the French Open.
24. Each has the highest win percentage on clay (Nadal), grass (Federer) and hard (Djokovic) courts in the Open Era.
25. Won 8 out of 9 Masters 1000 tournaments in 2012.
26. Won 7 out of 9 Masters 1000 tournaments in 2007 and 2014 and were represented in every final both years.
27. Each is placed in the top three in terms of the number of titles won in Masters 1000 tournaments. Djokovic and Nadal are ranked first with a record 30 titles, Federer is ranked third with 26 titles in the open era.
28. All three have won the Indian Wells Masters since 2003 - Present. A record 13/14 titles have been won by Djokovic, Federer and Nadal during this period.
29. Each has defeated the other two in at least one Grand Slam tournament final.
30. Each has reached the final of all 9 Masters 1000 tournaments.
31. Hold the top three for match wins against top 10 ranked opponents.
32. Hold the top 11 spots for winning top 10 ranked opponents wins in single season.
33. Top three earliest to clinch year-end No. 1 leaders since the ATP Rankings started in 1973.
34. Held the Year-End Number 1 ranking for 12 straight years (2004-2015). No other three players have held the year end number 1 ranking for 10 or more straight years.

Djokovic, Murray and Nadal

1. Won every Grand Slam tournament, Masters 1000 tournament and the ATP World Tour Finals in 2013.
2. Won a combined 12 consecutive Rome Masters titles from 2005 to 2016. During this period Nadal has won 7, Djokovic 4 and Murray 1.

Djokovic, Federer and Murray

1. Won every Masters 1000 tournament and ATP World Tour Finals in 2015.
2. Won the ATP World Tour Finals at least once

Two of the four

1. Federer and Nadal won 10 consecutive French Opens from 2005 to 2014 (Nadal winning 9 of them and Federer winning one in 2009).
2. Federer and Nadal have won at least one Major 5 times consecutively.
3. Federer and Nadal also have the longest winning streaks on each of the surfaces. Nadal compiled an 81-match winning streak on clay, while Federer compiled a 65-match winning streak on grass and a 56-match winning streak on hard courts. Furthermore, Nadal ended Federer's streaks on grass courts and Federer ended Nadal's streak on clay courts.
4. Djokovic and Federer have won 11 of the 13 ATP World Tour Finals between 2003 and 2015.
5. Djokovic and Federer have won the Australian Open at least 5 times each.
6. Djokovic and Federer have won Indian Wells 5 times each. Djokovic and Federer also achieved a "sunshine triple" (Australian open, Indian Wells and Miami in the same year).
7. Djokovic and Nadal won all 9 Masters 1000 tournaments consecutively from the 2013 Monte-Carlo Masters to the 2014 Miami Masters.
8. Murray (twice) and Nadal have won Gold in Singles at the last three Olympic Games.
9. Murray and Nadal were represented in 18 consecutive Major Finals from the 2010 Australian Open until the 2014 French Open, although they are yet to play each other in a Major final.
10. Djokovic and Federer have had streaks of 14 or more Major semi-finals.
11. Djokovic and Federer have had streaks of 28 or more consecutive quarterfinals appearances in the majors.
12. From the 2004 French Open up to and including 2017 Australian Open, the 2010 French Open was the only Grand Slam tournament not to feature either Djokovic or Federer in the semi-finals.

photo src: www.baltimoresun.com

Legacy and recognition

Current and former professionals

Fellow top players, including David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Roddick have all spoken about the dominance of the Big Four and the challenge they face in matching them. While the question of breaking through the dominance of the Big Four is a constant question the rest of the tour are constantly asked, many former top professionals have also spoken about the topic, including Björn Borg, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, 11-time Major champion Björn Borg was quoted as saying:

Media

Since 2010, when the Big Four increasingly began to dominate the tour as a group, most articles and reports concentrate solely on the members of the Big Four and their chances in upcoming tournaments or how the previous one has affected them, with smaller sections on the rest of the players.

Wider impact on the sport

The presence of the Big Four is generally seen to have had a positive impact on tennis, making the sport more exciting and in turn attracting more attention. However, with all four members being from European countries, this may have had a potentially negative effect on interest in North America. It has also been argued that the dominance of the Big Four has made the game predictable or even boring.

Murray's position and "Big Five" proposals

Some tennis commentators, including Murray himself, have spoken of a "Big Three" or "Trivalry", with Murray behind the other three players. Statistician Nate Silver, in 2014, even labelled the group the 'Big Three and a Half'. Andy Murray's overall record against the other three members of the Big Four is (as of August 2016) 28-55. Murray also briefly fell outside the top ten in the rankings in 2014, at the time the only member of the Big Four to have done so since 2006, following a drop in form after back surgery at the end of 2013. However, Murray features in the top ten on a number of Open Era records, including in quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals reached at Grand Slams, and is to date the only person in history to have won two Gold Medals in singles at the Olympic Games. In the ATP rankings he was the last of the Big Four to reach world No. 1, though he had by that time spent 76 weeks as No. 2. Murray's 3 Grand Slam and 2 Olympic Games victories since 2012 have seen him listed more comfortably alongside the other three members during the mid-2010s His rise to reach the world No. 1 ranking in November 2016, and keep it to finish the year at the top position, has further helped cement his position in the Big Four.

Separately, it has been claimed that the current era in tennis should be seen as having a "Big Five", with Juan Martín del Potro, Marin ?ili? and Stan Wawrinka suggested as expanding the Big Four. Wawrinka in particular is the only active player outside the Big Four to have won more than one Slam title, having won three (the same amount as Murray), defeating Djokovic and Nadal on the way to the 2014 Australian Open title, Federer and Djokovic to win the 2015 French Open and Djokovic again to win the 2016 US Open. However, Wawrinka has reached 7 fewer Grand Slam finals, won 13 fewer Masters titles than Murray, and only peaked at number 3 in the world rankings. Wawrinka has downplayed this suggestion, describing Murray as "well ahead" of him.

Golden era

Some, including Steffi Graf and John McEnroe, believe the presence of the Big Four has coincided with that of a new "Golden Era" in men's tennis since 2010, wherein depth, athleticism and quality have never been better. The era has been compared to that of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson and John Newcombe throughout the 1960s and that of Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

While Novak Djokovic himself recognises it as a golden era, Roger Federer remains skeptical:

Prize money

Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Murray make up the top four prize money leaders of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

photo src: www.tennisforum.com

Rivalries

The respective rivalries between the Big Four are considered to be some of the greatest of all time. Between the four of them they have played 217 matches against each other, 65 of which were at Grand Slam events. This includes 30 Grand Slam tournament finals, as well as 26 Grand Slam semifinal meetings, more than any other group of four players. Currently, Djokovic leads the head-to-head record against all members of the Big Four.

Head-to-head records

Head-to-head records on hard

Head-to-head records on clay

Head-to-head records on grass

Head-to-head records at Majors

Head-to-head records at Masters 1000

Head-to-head records at ATP World Tour Finals

Head-to-head records at finals

* Including walkover or abandoned match (not counted in H2H, same as in the official ATP H2H)

Head-to-head records at Majors finals

Head-to-head records at Masters 1000 finals

Head-to-head records at ATP World Tour Finals finals

Of the 65 Grand Slam tournament matches that the Big Four have played thus far, 47 of them have been en route to winning the title for one of the Big Four.

Nadal has had to defeat one of the other three members 19 times in order to win his 15 titles. This includes 8 wins over Djokovic (4 finals, 3 semifinals, 1 quarterfinal), 7 wins over Federer (6 finals, 1 semifinal), and 4 wins over Murray (3 semifinals, 1 quarterfinal). Furthermore, in order to win 6 of his 14 titles, he has had to defeat two of the Big Four in the same tournament. On 3 occasions he has had to defeat Federer and Djokovic, on 2 occasions he has had to defeat Federer and Murray, and on 1 occasion he has had to defeat Djokovic and Murray.

Djokovic has had to defeat one of the other three members 16 times in order to win his 12 titles. This includes 7 wins over Federer (3 finals, 4 semifinals), 6 wins over Murray (5 finals, 1 semifinal), and 3 wins over Nadal (3 finals). Furthermore, in order to win 4 of his 12 titles, he has had to defeat two of the Big Four in the same tournament. On 2 occasions he has had to defeat Federer and Murray, on 1 occasion he has had to defeat Nadal and Federer, and on 1 occasion he has had to defeat Nadal and Murray.

Federer has had to defeat one of the other three members 10 times in order to win his 18 titles. This includes 4 wins over Djokovic (1 final, 2 semifinals, 1 round of 16), 3 wins over Murray (3 finals), and 3 wins over Nadal (3 finals). Furthermore, in order to win 2 of his 18 titles, he has had to defeat two of the Big Four in the same tournament. On both of these occasions he had to defeat Djokovic and Murray.

Murray has had to defeat one of the other three members 2 times in order to win his 3 titles. On both of these occasions he defeated Djokovic in the final.

Federer vs. Nadal

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004 and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers. It is also considered one of the greatest in history. They have played 37 times (tied fourth-highest in Open Era history), most recently in the final of the 2017 Miami Open, and Nadal leads their thirteen-year-old rivalry 23-14.

They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to world No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top, eventually with 6 years from 2005 to 2010. Federer was ranked world No.1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 23-14. Fifteen of their 37 matches have been on clay which is statistically Nadal's best surface and Federer's worst, with 13 being in finals. Nadal has a winning record on outdoor hard courts (8-5) and clay (13-2), while Federer leads on grass (2-1) and indoor hard courts (5-1). Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 21 of their matches have been in tournament finals which have included an all-time record 9 Grand Slam tournament finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final. Nadal won six of the nine, losing the first two Wimbledon finals. Four of these finals were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 and 2017 Australian Open), with the 2008 Wimbledon final being lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. Thirteen of their 37 meetings have reached a deciding set. They have also played in 11 Masters Series finals, including their lone five-hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points and at the 2005 Miami Masters where Federer came back from 2 sets down to win in nearly 4 hours. They also contested the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in 2010 with Federer winning in 3 sets. Nadal has defeated Federer on grass in Wimbledon (which is Federer's better surface) but Federer has not been able to beat Nadal on clay in Roland Garros losing to him several times.

Djokovic vs. Nadal

Djokovic and Nadal have the most head-to-head meetings in Open Era history with 50 meetings, which Djokovic leads 26-24. Nadal leads on grass 2-1 and clay 15-7, while Djokovic leads on hard courts 18-7. They have met 13 times in Grand Slam tournaments with Nadal leading 9-4, and 4-3 in finals. The rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the 2000s decade by ATPworldtour.com and is widely considered to be the greatest rivalry in the history of the sport. Djokovic is the first player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively, which he did twice. He is also only the second player to have defeated Nadal in more than one Grand Slam tournament final (the other being Federer) and the first to beat Nadal in a final on a surface other than grass. Their 2012 Australian Open encounter is considered by many to be the greatest match ever played and their 2013 French Open semifinal is considered the best clay court match ever played.

Between 2011-12, they met in four consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals, just the second time in tennis history this has happened. In doing so, they also became the second pair in history, after Venus and Serena Williams, to meet in the finals of each of the four different Grand Slam events. Djokovic defeated Nadal in the first three (from Wimbledon to the Australian Open), making Nadal the first player in history to lose three consecutive Grand Slam event finals. However, Nadal defeated Djokovic in the French Open final, denying him a Career Grand Slam and the opportunity to become the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four Majors at once. The two also share the record for the longest Australian Open and Grand Slam tournament final match ever played (5 hours and 53 minutes), at the 2012 Australian Open final. This and the 2013 French Open semifinal they contested, are considered two of the greatest matches of all time. At ATP Masters 1000 level, they have met 26 times, 12 of which were in the final (a record), including the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where Djokovic ended Nadal's 47-match winning run and eight-year winning streak at the event.

Djokovic vs. Federer

Djokovic and Federer have played each other 45 times with Djokovic leading 23-22. Djokovic leads on grass 2-1, while they are tied 17-17 on hard courts and 4-4 on clay. In terms of number of matches played, it ranks as the second largest rivalry in the Open Era. The rivalry is the largest in Grand Slam tournament history with 15 matches played, having won against each other matches at each of the four Grand Slams. Djokovic leads this category 9-6 (they are tied 3-3 at the US Open, 1-1 at Roland Garros, and Djokovic leads 3-1 in Australia and 2-1 in Wimbledon). They have played in four Grand Slam tournament finals, the 2007 US Open, which Federer won in straight sets and at Wimbledon in 2014 and 2015 and the 2015 US Open, won by Djokovic. They've also met in a record ten semifinals. The rivalry between Federer and Djokovic is considered one of the best in the Open Era.

Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open), and the only player besides Nadal and Murray who has double-figure career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of four players currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Major and the only player to do it three times. Between 2007-2011 they played a record five times at the US Open (tied with Lendl-McEnroe and Connors-Lendl), with Federer winning the first three and Djokovic the last two. This includes the 2010 and 2011 semifinals they contested, in both of which Djokovic saved two match points before going on to win the match. In contrast Federer is the only player beside Nadal to have achieved 20 career wins against Djokovic and ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak and 41-0 start to the 2011 season, by defeating him in the French Open semifinals. These three matches have been classified among the greatest matches in tennis history by the ATP.

At ATP Masters 1000 level, they have met 18 times, and they are both tied 9-9, while Djokovic leads 4-3 in finals. The pair have also contested one final at the 2012 ATP World Tour Finals, which Djokovic won in straight sets. They were scheduled to meet again in the 2014 final but Federer withdrew. The pair met four times in 2014, in the semifinal of the Dubai Tennis Championships, with Federer recording his first victory over Djokovic since 2012 and first deciding set victory over another member of the Big Four since 2010, in the final of Indian Wells the following week, with this time Djokovic coming out on top, Monte-Carlo semifinal with Federer winning in straight sets, and at Wimbledon, with Djokovic winning in five sets. They have met six times so far in 2015, at the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships with Federer winning in straight sets, the final of the Indian Wells Masters with Djokovic winning in three sets, the final of the Rome Masters, which Djokovic won in straight sets, the final of Wimbledon, which Djokovic won in four sets, the final of the Cincinnati Masters, which Federer won in straight sets and 2015 US Open, which Djokovic won in four sets.

Djokovic vs. Murray

Djokovic and Murray have met 36 times with Djokovic leading 25-11. Djokovic leads 5-1 on clay, 20-8 on hard courts, and Murray leads 2-0 on grass. The two are almost the same age, with Murray being a week older than Djokovic. The pair have met in seven Grand Slam tournament finals: the 2011 Australian Open, 2012 US Open, 2013 Australian Open, 2013 Wimbledon Championships, 2015 Australian Open, 2016 Australian Open and 2016 French Open. Djokovic won in Australia four times and once in France, and Murray emerged as the victor at the US Open and Wimbledon. Between 2012-13, the pair met nine times, including three Major finals, and were ranked as the two highest ranked players in the world between May and August 2013. During this time, the rivalry rose in prominence as the emerging rivalry in tennis. Since then, Djokovic has dominated the rivalry, winning eight matches in a row, before Murray stopped his winning streak in the final of the 2015 Rogers Cup.

The US Open final they contested equalled the record as the longest US Open final in history, as well as the second longest major final in Open Era history, behind the 2012 Australian Open final. It also featured the longest ever tie-break in a US Open final, with a 12-10 final score in the first set. Other notable matches include a nearly five-hour-long semifinal match in the 2012 Australian Open, which Djokovic won 7-5 in the fifth set, as well as a semifinal meeting at the 2012 Olympic Games, with Murray winning in straight sets. At ATP Masters 1000 level, they've met 20 times, with Djokovic leading 14-6. Ten of these meetings came in finals, and they are tied at 5-5. Their most notable match in this category was in the final of the 2012 Shanghai Masters, where Djokovic saved 5 championship points to win the title, ending Murray's perfect 12-0 record at the event. This, and the three set match they played in Rome in 2011, were voted the ATP World Tour Match of the Year, for each respective season.

Federer vs. Murray

Federer and Murray have met 25 times, with Federer leading 14-11. Federer leads 12-10 on hard courts and 2-1 on grass, and they have never met on clay. Overall, Federer leads Murray 5-1 in Grand Slam events, three of which were finals, once each at the US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, all of which Federer won. However, Murray leads their head-to-head 9-8 in three-set tennis, leading 6-3 at ATP Masters 1000 level (2-0 in finals) with Federer ahead 3-1 in the matches they've contested at the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008 and Federer coming out victorious in London in 2009, 2010 and in 2012. In 2012, exactly four weeks after the two met in the Wimbledon final, they met again on Centre Court for the final of the Olympic Games. Murray exacted revenge on Federer by winning in straight sets for the loss of just 7 games, claiming the gold medal and at the same time denying Federer a Career Golden Slam.

Murray is one of only three players to have recorded 10 or more victories against Federer, the other two being Nadal and Djokovic. The pair have only met three times since 2012, with Murray recording his first victory over Federer at Grand Slam event level with a five set victory in the semifinals of the 2013 Australian Open, and Federer reversing the result in the quarterfinal the following year. Federer won their meeting at the 2014 Cincinnati Masters quarter-final in straight sets.

Murray vs. Nadal

Murray and Nadal have met on 24 occasions, on all surfaces and at every Grand Slam tournament, with Nadal leading 17-7. Nadal leads 7-2 on clay, 3-0 on grass and 7-5 on hard courts. The pair regularly meet at Grand Slam tournaments, with nine of their meetings coming at this level, with Nadal leading 7-2 (3-0 at Wimbledon, 2-0 at the French Open and 1-1 at both the Australian & US Open). The pair are the only match-up within that of the Big Four that have not contested a Grand Slam tournament final, despite one of them occupying a finalist spot in every final between the 2009 US Open and 2014 Wimbledon Championships. However, they've met in 6 semi-finals and 2 quarter-finals, making the rivalry an important part of both men's careers. In 2011 the pair met in three consecutive Grand Slam tournament semi-finals from the French Open to the US Open, with Nadal defeating Murray every time. Murray leads 3-1 in ATP finals, with Nadal winning Indian Wells in 2009 and Murray winning the two ATP 500 finals they've contested in Rotterdam the same year and Tokyo in 2011, as well as Madrid in 2015.

The pair did not meet in 2012 or 2013, partly because both players suffered from injury. However, they renewed their rivalry in 2014 with a quarter-final meeting at the Rome Masters, with Nadal winning in three tight sets. The pair met again in the semi-finals of French Open two weeks later, with Nadal winning comfortably in straight sets on his way to winning his ninth French Open title.

Head-to-head records vs other players

As of June 9, 2017, a total of 101 different players have played against each member of the Big Four at least once. The following table presents the Big Four's Head-to-head records against the 16 players that have posted at least 1 victory against each of them,^hth as well as their records against the 2 players who have posted at least 1 victory over 3 of them and have also won at least 10 matches overall.

Active players are in boldface.

Grand Slam head-to-head records vs other players

Active players are in boldface.

At least 8 meetings.

Head-to-head records overall

photo src: www.atpworldtour.com

Career evolution

This table lists end-of-season statistics for each member of the Big Four, allowing for comparison at the same age.

• () = active record (updated Monday 17 July 2017).

Titles by tournaments played comparison

• () = active record (updated Monday 17 July 2017).

Another way to view their respective careers and evolution is to look at the progression of titles won by the number of tournaments played to win each of their titles at each level of competition including Grand Slams, Olympic Games, ATP World Tour Finals (formerly Tennis Masters Cup), ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (formerly ATP Masters Series).

photo src: texastech.com

Notable matches

With a combined total of 210 matches played, the Big Four have played many notable matches. The 2008 Wimbledon final and the 2012 Australian Open finals are considered by some to be the greatest matches of all time. Novak Djokovic saved match points against Roger Federer at the 2010 and 2011 US Open semifinals, whereas Federer ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak in the 2011 French Open semifinals. The 4 hour 50 minute 2012 Australian Open semifinal between Murray and Djokovic is said to have given Murray the belief he needed to match the other members of the Big Four. Moreover, every Grand Slam tournament final of 2012, all played between the Big Four, holds some historical significance. The 2012 Australian Open final was the longest Grand Slam tournament final in terms of time played, the 2012 French Open saw Rafael Nadal break the record for the most number of titles at the French Open, whereas Djokovic was attempting to become the first man to hold all four Majors since Rod Laver in 1969. The 2012 Wimbledon final saw Federer equal the record for most Wimbledon titles when he came out victorious against Murray, who became the first British man since 1938 to appear in the final. The 2012 US Open final was the equal longest final in US Open history, and Murray became the first British man since 1938 to win a Major title, and the only British man to do so in the Open Era. He also became the only man to win Olympic Singles Gold and the US Open back-to-back.

2007 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2007 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. It pitted world No. 1 Roger Federer against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a Major final for the fourth time. This was a rematch of the Wimbledon final from the year before and would become the defining match of the Federer-Nadal rivalry up to that point. This was a historic match as Federer was trying to equal Björn Borg's record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles, while Nadal was attempting to be the first man since Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back (this achievement is colloquially known as the "Channel Slam").

Federer defeated Nadal in five compelling sets in three hours and forty-five minutes, for a fifth consecutive Wimbledon championship (equalling the feat achieved by Björn Borg). Borg himself returned to Wimbledon for the first time since losing the final in 1981, saying "I just feel that this is the right time for me to come back, to hopefully watch Roger winning his fifth title in a row to match my record." This match marked only the third time in the new century that a Major final had gone to five sets, and was the first time the technology Hawk-Eye was ever used in a Wimbledon final.

2008 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2008 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. A part of the storied rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, it pitted the two players, then ranked world No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, against each other in a Major final for the sixth time (out of eight). After 4 hours and 48 minutes, Nadal defeated Federer in five sets in failing light. A number of tennis critics promptly lauded it as the greatest match in tennis history.

This was the longest Wimbledon men's singles final in history, clocking in at four hours and forty-eight minutes. The match also featured numerous rain delays which meant the match finished in near darkness, at 21:15 BST, almost seven hours since the match started at 14:35 BST. It was to be the last Wimbledon final to be significantly affected by rain, as a retractable roof was being installed at Centre Court and would be in place by the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.

2009 Australian Open final

The 2009 Australian Open Men's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2009 Australian Open. It was contested between the world's top two players for much of the previous four years, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer then world number's 1 and 2 respectively. It was their seventh (out of nine) Grand Slam tournament final meeting and it was the same final match up as had been previously at both the 2008 Wimbledon Men's Singles final and 2008 French Men's Singles final, both of which Nadal won. However this was Rafael Nadal's first Major hardcourt final while it was Roger Federer's ninth and was yet to lose in a Major hardcourt final.

Nadal defeated Federer in 5 sets in 4 hours and 19 minutes, with the match finishing after midnight, to become the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open. The match was lauded as one of the greatest ever at the Australian Open and it was yet another high quality match between two of the greatest players of all time, only 6 months since their epic 2008 Wimbledon final. It was a match of huge significance as had Federer won the match he would have equalled the all-time Grand Slam tournament record of 14 by Pete Sampras and the open-era record for most Australian Open titles of 4 with Andre Agassi (he would go on to achieve these in the near future). However, as a result of Nadal winning he set his own records, holding 3 of the 4 slams at the same time for the first time in his career. Not only that but he became the first man in the open-era to hold 3 Grand Slam tournament titles on 3 different surfaces at the same time. This victory over Federer many believed brought about a change in the tennis standings as Nadal was now clearly the number 1 player after Federer had that title for over 4 and a half years consecutively with Nadal deemed the second best for nearly 3 years of that. The defeat brought Federer to tears as he came to terms with his loss.

The match statistics followed a similar pattern to those at the 2008 Wimbledon Final, with Federer having a lower first serve percentage against Nadal (51% vs 64%) and he again couldn't be as clinical on break point opportunities with only 31% break points converted for Federer whereas Nadal converted 43% of his break points. However the total points by each player proved even closer than that at that Wimbledon final, as Federer won 1 more point than Nadal (174 vs 173) yet still lost this final.

2010 US Open final

The 2010 US Open Men's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2010 US Open. It pitted then-world No. 1 Rafael Nadal against then-world No. 3 Novak Djokovic in a Major final for the first time, having previously met four times at this level (one quarter-final and three semi-finals, all won by Nadal). This was the first US Open final reached by Nadal, having previously fallen in the semi-finals in the previous two years, while for Djokovic, this was the first Major final he reached since winning his then-only Major title at the 2008 Australian Open. To reach the final, both players had to beat their semi-final opponents in contrasting circumstances: Nadal easily defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, while Djokovic saved several match points in the fifth set to overcome Roger Federer in five sets, thus denying what would have been the first ever Federer-Nadal final at Flushing Meadows.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in four sets in three hours and forty-three minutes, to win his first US Open title, and thus complete the Career Golden Slam (equalling the feat achieved by Andre Agassi). He also became the first Spaniard since Manuel Orantes in 1975 to win at Flushing Meadows, became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win Major titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open simultaneously and became only the second man after Laver to hold two Major titles on each surface (hard, clay and grass). The second set which Djokovic won was the only set Nadal lost in the entire championships. This would prove to become the main rivalry in tennis over the next 18 months.

2011 French Open semifinal

The 2011 French Open Men's singles semifinal between world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and world No. 3 Roger Federer was a historic encounter that brought about the end of the longest winning streak in almost 30 years. Djokovic entered the match undefeated for the first five months of the year having gone 41-0 with a total winning streak of 43 matches (his last loss had come against Federer at the World Tour Finals). It was the first Grand Slam tournament in which Djokovic had ever been seeded higher than Federer. Djokovic had defeated Federer in their three previous meetings in 2011, however, Federer shocked many by taking the first two sets. Djokovic won the third set and as the fourth set went on the light began to fade and it was clear that if the match went to a fifth set it would have to be continued the next day. Djokovic served for the fourth set at 5-4 but was broken and Federer closed out the match in a tiebreaker.

Federer then played Nadal in the final, which was their record eighth encounter in a Grand Slam tournament final. Nadal defeated Federer for the fifth time at Roland Garros and tied Björn Borg's record of six French Open titles.

2012 Australian Open final

The 2012 Australian Open Men's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 Australian Open. It pitted the world's top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, against each other in a Grand Slam tournament final for the fourth time (out of seven) and third consecutive time. Djokovic defeated Nadal in five sets to win the match. At five hours and fifty-three minutes, it was the Major final match with the longest duration in history. During the trophy ceremony, both Nadal and Djokovic required chairs, as they were both so tired that they couldn't stand.

It was lauded as one of the greatest matches ever by former players, legends, and analysts of the sport. John McEnroe claimed it surpassed the 2008 Wimbledon final as the best tennis match of all time, while legends Pete Sampras, Mats Wilander, and Björn Borg said it was the best match they saw in their lifetime. After the 2012 Australian Open, Rod Laver came out with his greatest in the amateur and Open Era lists, Djokovic was ranked 6th and Nadal 5th on the Open Era list. Laver said the 2012 Australian Open final was a main reason for including both players. Nadal called it the toughest loss of his career but the best match he ever played. Djokovic said it was the finest win in his career and also commented on the high level of tennis played. Not only was this the longest Grand Slam tournament final, but according to Tennis Channel and the Australian Open TV networks, this was one of the most-watched finals, despite ending late into the night locally. Soon after the conclusion of the 2012 Australian Open, there were sources claiming that Djokovic sealed his spot as a tennis great and in the Tennis Hall of Fame.

2012 French Open final

The 2012 French Open Men's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 French Open. It pitted the world's top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, against each other in a Grand Slam tournament final for the fifth time overall and fourth consecutive time. This match had historical proportions as Djokovic would have become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Majors simultaneously, whereas Nadal was looking to break Björn Borg's record of six French Open titles and equal Chris Evert's record of seven French Open titles held by a man or woman.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in a two-day final in four sets, to ultimately achieve his seventh French Open title and deny Djokovic a Career Grand Slam. With Nadal leading by two sets to one, and Djokovic leading 2-1 on serve in the fourth set, the match was suspended due to rain; it was initially thought that Djokovic had gained the momentum, having won eight consecutive games prior to the suspension of the match, however, Nadal was able to regroup and take the fourth set, and ultimately the match, after Djokovic double-faulted on championship point down.

2012 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Gentlemen's Singles tournament at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. It pitted world No. 3 Roger Federer against world No. 4 Andy Murray in a Major final for a third time. This final snapped a streak of four consecutive Major finals reached by Djokovic and Nadal. Nadal was ousted in the second round while Federer defeated Djokovic in the semi-finals. In what was the most historic Major final of the year, Federer sought to win a record shattering seventeenth Major title and a record-tying seventh Wimbledon to match his idol Pete Sampras. Both of these records are amongst the most prestigious in all of tennis. Murray on the other hand had become the first British man since Bunny Austin in 1938 to reach the Wimbledon final, and was attempting to become the first Briton to win any Major title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Federer defeated Murray in four sets in three hours and 44 minutes, to capture a record equalling seventh Wimbledon championship, and a record breaking seventeenth Major title. The victory was also historic as it caused Federer to depose Djokovic as world No. 1 and break Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the summit of men's tennis (Federer had been just one week short when he lost the number one ranking in June 2010). At the beginning of the third set play was halted by rain and the roof which had been installed in 2009 was closed for the first time during the Wimbledon final.

2012 US Open final

The 2012 US Open Men's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2012 US Open. It pitted then-world No. 3 Andy Murray against world No. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam tournament final for the second time. Murray defeated Djokovic in five sets to win the match. It was the equal-longest US Open men's final in history, lasting four hours and fifty-four minutes (equalling the 1988 US Open final played by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander), and the equal second-longest men's final in the Open era, only behind the aforementioned 2012 Australian Open final. By winning the 2012 US Open, Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title, and the first British man in the Open Era to do so. This was the most famous match in the rivalry between the two players. It also marked a milestone for Murray, as it was his 100th match win at a Major.

This match featured the longest ever first set (and the longest ever tiebreak) in a men's championship match; the 87-minute first set, won by Murray, included four breaks of serve in the first four games of the match, a 54-shot rally in the sixth game, and the 24-minute tiebreak which lasted up until 12-10; additionally, the tiebreak included two 30-shot rallies. Murray required six set points to win the first set, and required five sets to win the match. Murray said that a toilet break at the end of the fourth set helped him to restore his concentration after Djokovic took the third and fourth sets.

2013 Australian Open final

The 2013 Australian Open Men's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2013 Australian Open. It pitted world No. 1 Novak Djokovic against world No. 3 Andy Murray in a Major final for the second time in as many Grand Slam tournaments and third time overall. Djokovic was looking to become just the third man in the Open Era to win the Australian Open four times and the first to win it three consecutive times. Murray, by reaching the final, had become the first man to reach the final of the next consecutive Grand Slam tournament after winning their first title.

Murray took the first set on a tie-break just as he had done in the US Open final the previous year, and while the second set followed a similar pattern with no breaks of serve, this time Djokovic took the tie-break. One break of serve in the eighth game (two hours and 52 minutes into the contest) was enough for Djokovic to take the third set before taking the fourth 6-2 comfortably against a tired-looking Murray, who needed four hours to defeat Federer in the semifinal just two days before. The match lasted three hours and 40 minutes and four sets. By winning Djokovic won his sixth Grand Slam tournament title to tie him with greats such as Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, whereas Murray equalled Edberg's feat of three runner-up finishes at the Australian Open.

2013 French Open semifinal

The 2013 French Open Men's singles semifinal was a rematch of the prior year's final between Nadal and Djokovic. Just weeks after that victory, Nadal went on a lengthy injury hiatus of over 7 months before his highly successful return, reaching the final of all 8 tournaments he entered and winning 6 titles. But one of those losses was to Djokovic in Monte Carlo, ending Nadal's record streak of 8 consecutive titles there. Djokovic was very motivated to win this match, having said winning his first French Open title was his highest priority of 2013, plus his desire to dedicate the title in honor of his recently deceased childhood tennis coach.

The match was a see-saw five setter with Nadal prevailing 9-7 in the fifth after 4 hours and 37 minutes. Analyst Steve Tignor summed it up: "This epic was a mirror image of their last one, in the 2012 Australian Open final. That day it had been Nadal who had survived a near-death experience in the fourth set, won it in a tiebreaker, and taken a 4-2 lead in the fifth before watching Djokovic storm back for the title. Today it was Nole who broke Rafa at 3-4 in the fourth and again at 5-6, grabbed that set in a tiebreaker, and led 4-2 in the fifth before watching Nadal take it all away. In each of those matches, the loser was haunted by a stunning, crucial lapse. In Australia, with a chance to go up 5-2 in the fifth, Nadal had missed the easiest of backhand passing shots. In Paris, serving at 4-3 in the final set, Djokovic gave away a point when he ran into the net after hitting what would have been a winning overhead."

Numerous tennis pundits and legends including Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Björn Borg, Boris Becker, and John McEnroe claimed this was the greatest clay court match to ever take place in tennis history. ESPN commentator Chris Fowler and Patrick McEnroe even echoed this very remark during the broadcast of this match.

Nadal then won the title for the fourth consecutive year. This was his 8th overall French title, making him the first man to win 8 titles at any Grand Slam tournament. His opponent was David Ferrer, who was the first Slam finalist outside the Big Four since Tomá? Berdych three years prior at Wimbledon.

2013 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2013 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was the championship tennis match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. It pitted the top two players in the world, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray against each other for the fourth time in a Grand Slam tournament final. After three hours and nine minutes, second seeded Murray defeated world No. 1 Djokovic in three sets to win the match. By winning the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the Wimbledon title, the first Scottish man since Harold Mahony in 1896 to win the title, and the first British man in the Open Era to do so.

2014 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2014 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was the championship match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. A significant part of the Djokovic-Federer rivalry, it pitted Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer against each other in a Grand Slam tournament final for the second time. After three hours and 56 minutes, top-seeded Djokovic defeated fourth-seeded Federer in five sets to win the match.

By winning the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic not only won for the second time, but also reclaimed the world number one ranking from Rafael Nadal at the conclusion of the tournament. He also stopped a losing run in Grand Slam tournament finals having lost his last 3 and 5 of his last 6, Meanwhile, with his run to the final and showing in the final that he is still a major contender even at the age of 32, Federer returned to the top 3 ranking positions after a lengthy period in the ranks 5-8 range. Federer had been going for his 80th career tour title, 18th Major victory and his 8th Wimbledon title.

2015 Wimbledon Championships final

The 2015 Wimbledon Gentlemen's singles final was the championship match of the Men's Singles tournament at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, featuring a rematch of last year's final between Djokovic and Federer. Djokovic, the top seed, defeated Federer, the second seed, again, this time in four sets.

2016 French Open final

It was the first time in nearly two decades that number 1 played number 2 and neither had won the French Open previously. Andy Murray had a career resurgence on clay, making deep runs in the Masters tournaments prior to the French Open, finishing runner up to Djokovic in Madrid before besting him in Rome. Rain had affected the tournament schedule and in Djokovic's case, he had to play 4 matches in 5 days. Murray was playing to become the first Brit since 1937 to win, while Djokovic had multiple historical records on the line, most notably joining the elite group of men who won a career grand slam and joining Rod Laver and Don Budge as the only men to hold all 4 Grand Slam titles at the same time. After Murray took the first set, Djokovic rallied to win the match prevailing in four sets.

2016 ATP World Tour Finals championship match

Djokovic and Murray met for the first time since the aforementioned French Open final in the championship match of the season-concluding ATP World Tour Finals in London in November. Of the five meetings (all in championship matches) that took place between the pair in 2016, this one had added significance, as for the first time in tournament history, the two finalists had the chance to become year-end number 1 by winning the title. The stakes were high in Djokovic's case, as a win would have seen him win his fifth consecutive year-end title, and sixth overall (matching the record held by Roger Federer); Murray, on the other hand, was shooting for his first year-end title, having qualified for the championship match for the first time. Ultimately, Murray won in straight sets, ensuring he ended the year ranked world number one, and also becoming the first man other than Djokovic, Federer or Rafael Nadal to finish the year at the top of the rankings since Andy Roddick in 2003.

2017 Australian Open final

Federer and Nadal met in a major final for the first time since the French Open in 2011. The match between the perennial but aging archrivals was anticipated due to speculation of this possibly being their last contest in a major final, the potential tennis history made from either victory and subsequent implications on their respective legacies, and the match's relevance towards discussing either man as being 'the greatest tennis player of all time'. Federer triumphed in five sets despite being a break down early in the deciding 5th set. This was the first time Federer won a major since Wimbledon in 2012, the first time he defeated Nadal at a major since the Wimbledon final of 2007, and the first time that Federer defeated Nadal in a Grand Slam match outside the grass courts of Wimbledon. With this win, Federer increased his all-time record to 18 major titles, became the oldest man to win a Grand Slam tournament, at age 35, since Ken Rosewall at the Australian Open in 1972, and became the first ever man to win at least 5 singles majors in 3 different Grand Slam tournaments each.

Source of the article : Wikipedia