Tennis: Former Grand Slam Legend Predicts Nadal To Overtake Federer This Year

A current grand slam tally of the Big Three of tennis amounts to 55 gold trophies. The trio has already surpassed what used to be an untouchable record of 14 championships by Pete Sampras. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have 16, 19, and 20 major titles respectively.

It is a feast to behold as the three have dominated the Open Era and have changed the discourse of the game. It’s not an argument of if they’re in the Mount Rushmore of the sport – it’s already a given that they’re one of the best. Rather it’s a question of who will be on top when it’s all said and done.

For tennis legend John McEnroe, he believes that 2020 will be the year that Nadal will finally overtake Federer. Nadal being younger than Federer still has so much more in his tank as he enters the year as the world’s number one seed. With the King of Clay being near unstoppable at Roland Garros, he’s most likely to pick up more titles in the upcoming tournaments.

As Mcenroe shares, “You would think, after what we have been watching in the last couple of years, that Rafael Nadal is going to win another French Open crown, at least one, and pull off something else as well to move past Roger Federer, maybe already in 2020 if he stays healthy."

But when it comes to winning the most titles among all three, the seven-time grand slam winner predicts Djokovic to be on top. "At the end of the year, it is easy to pick Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to have the most Majors, but on the long-term run, I would have to go with Novak Djokovic."

The 2020 season looks exciting, as there are more factors to consider in the tour. Next-generation superstars such as Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev are stepping up as worthy foes for the big three. The tennis world will have to wait and see how the three tennis icons hold up in the tournaments to come.