14 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED | AUGUS T 26 – SEP TEMBER 2, 2019
OU PERHAPS thought that tennis was an
individual sport featuring head-to-head matches.
But the most gripping theater in the sport—or in
all sports, we would submit—is a race among three men.
The derby pitting Roger Federer (20), Rafael Nadal (18) and
Novak Djokovic (16) against each other to see who can win
the most major singles titles is also a de facto battle for the
title of men’s tennis GOAT.
That the three most accomplished male players of all
time compete contemporaneously means that we have the
good fortune to regularly witness their greatness. It also
means that every major now comes freighted with historic
importance.
STORY LINES—THE BIG THREE,
SERENA’S RECORD QUEST,
COCO’S SCHEDULE—A B O U N D
AT 2019’S FINAL MAJOR
OPEN
SEASON
Y
ESSAY
BY L. JON WERTHEIM
JULIAN FIN
NEY/GETTY IM
AGES (W
ILLIAM
S); SH
AU
N BO
TTERILL/GETTY IM
AGES (O
SAKA); CLIVE BRU
NSKILL/GETTY IM
AGES (DJO
KOVIC);
ERICK W
. RASCO (N
ADAL); LAU
REN
CE GRIFFITH
S/AFP/GETTY IM
AGES (FEDERER)
