Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, or Rafael Nadal? Who took the least time to reach the magic number of 20 Grand Slam titles?Â
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are tied at 20 Grand Slam titles each at the end of the 2021 tennis season. This is the first time such an astonishing event has taken place in the history of the sport, which has also made it really difficult for fans to choose who is the greatest player of all time.
Even though Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have the same number of Majors right now, it didn't take them the same amount of time to reach the milestone.
Let's find out who took how long and if the one who took the least time accomplished the feat at a much younger age than their two rivals.
Who won the race to 20 Grand Slam titles between Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal?
If one considers age as the criteria, Novak Djokovic wins the race quite clearly as he won his 20th Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships 2021 at the age of 34 years and two months. Meanwhile, Federer achieved the feat at the age of 36 at the 2018 Australian Open and Rafael Nadal was 34 years and four months old when he lifted his 20th Major at the 2020 French Open.
Since 2011
Murray 🇬🇧 + Nadal 🇪🇸 + Federer 🇨ðŸ‡
Grand Slams - 18
Tour Finals - 2
Big Titles - 59 ✅
Year End No.1 - 4
Weeks as No.1 - 199
Djokovic 🇷🇸
Grand Slams - 19 ✅
Tour Finals - 4 ✅
Big Titles - 54
Year End No.1 - 6 ✅
Weeks as No.1 - 334 ✅ https://t.co/ojpeFrW5CJ
If one goes by the time that each of them took to reach the 20 Grand Slams, the Serbian again beats both his rivals.
Djokovic turned professional in 2003 and won his 20th Major in 2021, taking him 18 years to do so. On the other hand, Nadal turned pro in 2001 and won his 20th Grand Slam in 2020, pulling off the feat in 19 years. Federer is tied with Rafa, as he also took 19 years, after turning pro in 1999 and achieving the feat in 2018.
Novak Djokovic caught up with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal pretty fast
When the 2011 season began, Federer was in his prime, having won 16 Grand Slam titles and Nadal was establishing himself as his strongest challenger with 9 Majors. Meanwhile, at the time, Djokovic had won only one Grand Slam title, which came at the 2008 Australian Open, and was nowhere close to the Swiss and Spaniard in the race.
Grand Slams hasta 2011
🇨ðŸ‡Federer 1⃣6⃣
🇪🇸 Nadal 9⃣
🇷🇸 Djokovic 1⃣
Grand Slams 2011-21
🇷🇸 Djokovic 1⃣9⃣
🇪🇸 Nadal 1⃣1⃣
🇨ðŸ‡Federer 4⃣
Una Era dominada por el serbio.
Diez años absolutos.
Elite total 🎾 https://t.co/N6tXoKbMrI
However, the Serbian legend turned the tables within a decade, and won 19 Grand Slam titles to level both his arch-rivals. Not only that, with his current form, he has the best chance of ending his career with the highest number of Grand Slam titles.
Fans are quite excited for the 2022 season to see how things unfold. With Federer's participation in the Australian Open and Wimbledon seeming unlikely, it will be intriguing to see if either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal can add to their tally and whether they eventually manage to win 25 Grand Slam titles.
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