NOVAK Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have commonly been referred to as the ‘Big Three’ and for good reason. The ATP Tour’s elite of the past 15 years have collected a whopping 267 titles between them, of which 56 are Grand Slams. They occupy the top three spots on the ATP Tour records for Grand Slam wins, and that is a feat not likely to be broken for some time. Pete Sampras‘ record 14 majors looked remarkable two decades ago, sitting six clear of his nearest rival, Andre Agassi (eight). Fast forward 20 years and the top three looks vastly different with first Federer, then Nadal and Djokovic overtaking Sampras.

All three players are elite in their own way, but what separates them statistically on the court?

When it comes to surfaces, it is not hard to work out that Nadal is by far the strongest clay courter of not only the trio, but of all time. His 12 Roland Garros titles attest to that, and sometimes he cops criticism for only having won the five on other surfaces, but he still deserves his place in the group. Nadal has a remarkable winning record of 91.5 per cent compared to Djokovic (79.9) and Federer (75.9). However Nadal is also the only player to have two surfaces with a sub-80 per cent record with grass court (78 per cent) and hard court (77.8). Djokovic is the superior hard court player, marginally edging out Federer (84.5 per cent to 83.3), however the Swiss Maestro has dominated the grass court circuit (87.5 per cent to 84.1).

So they’re all winners, but what about their playing style?

Starting with Nadal, his weapon by far is his forehand. He opts for a forehand drive a remarkable 51.6 per cent of the time, and half of his winners come off his forehand side. He is still strong on his backhand (17 per cent of winners), but lacks the serve power the other two possess. The clay court talent has always been more of a gritty runner with power rather than a serve-based player.

Federer has the most interesting breakdown. Like Nadal, his forehand is the ace in the pack. He chooses to unleash it 43.5 per cent when driving, however his backhand is the most versatile of the trio. He opts for power almost 30 per cent, whilst his backhand slice is a thing of beauty. For 17.1 per cent of his shots, Federer puts heavy slice on the ball, something that neither Nadal (seven per cent) and Djokovic (five per cent) do. He also wins 26.8 per cent of his points off the ace, while 35 per cent off his forehand and 25 per cent from the net – both his serve and net games are the most consistent.

When it comes to power and shot making, Djokovic has the number one billing. He drives the ball a remarkable 88 per cent of the time – in other words, rarely tries to hit anything other than topspin or flat. He wins off his forehand 39.1 per cent of the time, but has handy percentages off his serve (22 per cent ace), at the net (20 per cent winning rate) and backhand (18.9 per cent winning rate).

Who ends their career as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT)?

If all their careers ended now, Federer deserves the title. But with a lot less time than the others – perhaps 12-18 months at most – Djokovic is in prime position to catch the Swiss star in the coming years. It will depend on how many Grand Slams he can win until age catches up to him as the next generation come through. Nadal will end his career as the greatest clay courter of all-time, a title that will not be matched for many years given his success on the clay.