Tennis great Bjorn Borg believes Novak Djokovic sits atop the sport’s pinnacle when it comes to ranking the Big Three. However, there’s not much between them as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal aim to preserve their legacies in the eternal debate.
Federer and Nadal dominated men’s tennis for several years before Djokovic came along and rained on their parade. The Serb snapped the iconic duo’s streak of 11 consecutive major victories in 2008 when he claimed his first Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open. The rest is history as ‘Nole’ went on to add another 23 major titles to his record and lay down a new marker as the most prolific Grand Slam player in the sport. So much so that Borg, who won 11 major trophies of his own, views Djokovic as the outright best of the best.
Borg, 69, held the record for most men’s major wins himself for 13 years before Pete Sampras set a new standard by winning Wimbledon in 1994, collecting his 12th Grand Slam title. And the former didn’t split hairs when asked to rank the top three during a recent interview with Marca.
“First Djokovic, then Nadal and Federer, tied,” came the Swede’s response as he promoted his new autobiography, Latidos. And such high praise is sure to go down well with the last remaining active player from tennis’ holy trinity.
Borg’s achievements could be considered that much more impressive given he achieved such superiority near the genesis of the Open Era. The Scandinavian superstar never won the US Open despite four final appearances, amassing his Grand Slam collection exclusively via Wimbledon (five titles) and the French Open (six).
His opportunities were also limited by the fact Borg very rarely played the Australian Open given it was a less convenient destination at the time. In fact, his only appearance came in 1974 when he was knocked out by eventual runner-up Phil Dent in the third round.
What’s more, Borg was only 25 when he announced his first retirement at the end of the 1981 season. He made a brief and unsuccessful comeback in 1991, but there will always be that question mark as to how many more majors he might have added had he continued to play through his prime years.
Just as Djokovic, 38, nears his own retirement, a new wave of superstars stands primed and ready to fill the void left by the Big Three. Specifically, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have displayed the potential to dominate the major circuit for years to come.
The former Next Gen prospects have a combined age of just 46 but have already accrued 10 major trophies between them. And Borg has been overjoyed to see two talents of such quality emerge when they did.
“It’s the best thing that could happen to tennis,” he said. “I don’t miss any of their matches. It will be interesting to see how the big titles are distributed next season.”
The signs suggest Djokovic could be heading into his farewell campaign in 2026 as injuries and other obstacles begin to take more of a toll. But as the Big Three becomes a thing of the past, it’s evident the future may have already arrived.