4 Masters 1000 milestones awaiting Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in 2020
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are the three biggest names in men's tennis for their phenomenal achievements in the sport. Affectionately called the 'Big Three', the trio hold a plethora of significant records in tennis.
Federer (20), Nadal (19), and Djokovic (17) have the most Grand Slam singles titles of any player in the Open Era and the troika, with 28, 35, and 34 titles respectively, also hold the three best tallies of Masters 1000 titles since the series was introduced exactly three decades ago.
Perhaps, not surprisingly, the trio are the only ones in the history of the Masters 1000 series to have won over 350 matches (Nadal-384, Federer-380, Djokovic-355) and played 50 finals (Nadal-51, Federer-50, Djokovic-50).
Also Read: Deconstructing the 50 Masters 1000 finals of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic
On that note, let us have a look at 3 potential Masters 1000 milestones the Big 3 could achieve in 2020.
#1 Win a Masters 1000 title for a 15th different season (Nadal)
Nadal lifted a record-extending 35th Masters 1000 title at the 2019 Coupe Roger which marked a 14th different season in which the Spaniard captured at least one title in the tournament category.
The first player to win 5 Masters 1000 tournaments in a season when he did so in 2013 would become the first to win a title in the tournament category in a record-extending 15th different season.
Also Read: 3 milestones Nadal could achieve in 2020
#2 First player to play 500 Masters 1000 matches (Federer)
For long the Masters 1000 match wins leader till Nadal surpassed him at the 2019 Coupe Rogers, Federer became the oldest player to lift a Masters 1000 title when he beat defending champion John Isner to win his 28th title in the tournament category at the 2019 Miami Open.
In his latest Masters 1000 match, Federer lost to Alexander Zverev in the Shanghai quarterfinals in 2019.
However, with a win-loss record of 381-108 in the tournament category, Federer could become the first player in Masters 1000 history to play 500 matches when he is expected to rejoin the tour after 2019 Roland Garros. The 38-year-old would have the opportunity to do so in the 4 remaining Masters 1000 tournaments on the tennis calendar - the Coupe Rogers, Cincinnati, Shanghai, and Paris-Bercy.
Also Read: 3 milestones Federer could achieve in 2020
#3 First player to win 400 Masters 1000 matches (Nadal)
Nadal, with 384 wins, is the all-time match-win leader in the history of the Masters 1000 series.
The record 35-time winner is on a seven-match winning streak after winning his 35th title at the 2019 Coupe Rogers and then winning his first 3 matches at the Paris-Bercy Masters before withdrawing from his semifinal against Denis Shapovalov.
The Spaniard, who averages about 22 Masters 1000 wins per season, is expected to breach the 400-win mark sometime during the clay stint of the season.
#4. First player to win multiple titles at each of the 9 Masters 1000 tournaments (Djokovic)
With a win over seven-time champion Roger Federer in the 2018 Cincinnati final, Novak Djokovic became the first player in Masters 1000 history to win all 9 tournaments in a season during the course of his illustrious career, an achievement called the ' Career Golden Masters'.
If Djokovic, who fell to eventual winner Daniil Medvedev in the 2019 Cincinnati semifinals, wins the Cincinnati title in 2020, it would make him the first player to win the multiple ' Career Golden Masters' i.e., winning each of the 9 Masters 1000 tournaments multiple times during the course of his career.
Also Read: 4 milestones Djokovic could achieve in 2020