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Roger Federer

Roger Federer (German pronunciation: [ˈrɔdʒər ˈfeːdərər]; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He is ranked No. 4 in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, an all-time record shared with Rafael Nadal. Federer has been No. 1 in the ATP rankings a record total of 310 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Federer has won 103 ATP singles titles, the second-most all-time behind Jimmy Connors and including a record six ATP Finals.

Federer played in an era where he dominated men's tennis together with Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, who have been collectively referred to as the Big Four. A Wimbledon junior champion in 1998, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2003 at age 21. In 2004, he established himself as the best player in men's tennis by winning three out of four major singles titles and the ATP Finals, a feat he repeated in both 2006 and 2007. Over a stretch from 2005 to 2010, Federer made 18 out of 19 major singles finals. During this span, he won his fifth consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He completed the career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open after three previous runner-ups to Nadal, his only main rival up until 2010. At age 27, he also surpassed Pete Sampras's then-record of 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles at Wimbledon in 2009.

Although Federer remained in the top 3 through most of the 2010s, the success of Djokovic and Nadal in particular ended his dominance over grass and hard courts. From mid-2010, he only won one major title through the end of 2016. During this period, Federer and Stan Wawrinka led the Switzerland Davis Cup team to their first title in 2014, adding to the gold medal they won together in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Federer also has a silver medal in singles from the 2012 London Olympics, where he finished runner-up to Murray. After taking half a year off in late 2016 to recover from back surgery, Federer had a renaissance at the majors. He won three more Grand Slam singles titles over the next two years, including the 2017 Australian Open over Nadal and a men's singles record eighth Wimbledon title in 2017 later that year. He also became the oldest ATP world No. 1 in 2018 at age 36.

A versatile all-court player, Federer's perceived effortlessness has made him highly popular among tennis fans. Originally lacking self-control as a junior, Federer transformed his on-court demeanor to become well-liked for his general graciousness, winning the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times. He has also won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times. Outside of competing, Federer played an instrumental role in the creation of the Laver Cup team competition. Federer is also an active philanthropist. He established the Roger Federer Foundation, which targets impoverished children in southern Africa, and has raised funds in part through the Match for Africa exhibition series. Federer is routinely one of the highest-paid athletes in any sport, and ranked first among all athletes with $100 million in endorsement income in 2020.

Rafael Nadal

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəf(ə)ˈɛl nəˈðal pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is ranked No. 2 in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, tied for the most in history with Roger Federer. His 13 French Open titles in particular are a record at any tournament. Nadal's dominance on clay is also highlighted by 60 of his 86 ATP singles titles coming on this surface, including 25 of his 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and his 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.

From childhood through most of his professional career, Nadal was coached by his uncle Toni. He was one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching No. 2 in the world at age 19 and winning 16 titles, including his first French Open and six Masters events. Nadal became No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after his first major victory off clay against the longtime top-ranked Roger Federer, his only main rival through 2010, in a historic Wimbledon final. He also won an Olympic gold medal in singles that year in Beijing, and then completed the career Grand Slam at the 2010 US Open in the only year where he won three majors. With his Olympic gold medal, he is also one of only two male players to complete the career Golden Slam.

In the next decade, Novak Djokovic emerged as Nadal's primary rival. The two of them have faced each other 56 times, the most in men's tennis history and including nine major finals. Since Djokovic defeated Nadal in three consecutive major finals in-between the 2011 and 2012 French Open tournaments, Nadal has struggled at Wimbledon and has not won another Australian Open. He has continued his dominance at the French Open by winning at least four consecutive titles a second and a third time, while also winning three more US Open titles. He tied Federer's record for the most Grand Slam men's singles titles at the 2020 French Open.

Nadal is one of the few top-ranked left-handed players. One of his main strengths is his forehand, which he routinely hits with extremely heavy topspin at difficult angles to return. He is one of the best at breaking serve, regularly appearing among the tour leaders in percentage of return games, return points, and break points won. Nadal has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award three times, and was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011. Representing Spain, he has an Olympic gold medal in both singles and doubles. He has also led the Spain Davis Cup team to five titles while playing alongside fellow top 10 players including David Ferrer and his future coach Carlos Moyá. Outside of competing, Nadal opened a tennis academy in his hometown of Mallorca, and is also an active philanthropist.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, romanized: Novak Đoković, pronounced [nôʋaːk dʑôːkoʋitɕ] ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He is ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), has held the top ranking for 293 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 a joint-record six times. Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slam men's singles titles, the third-most in history behind only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He is the only player to complete the career Golden Masters – that is, winning all nine modern ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, which he has done twice. Overall, he has won 81 ATP singles titles, including a record eight Australian Open titles and a record 36 Masters events.

Djokovic began his professional career around the time Federer and Nadal established themselves as the two dominant players in men's tennis. At age 20, he interrupted their streak of 11 consecutive majors to win his first Grand Slam singles title at the 2008 Australian Open. By 2010, Djokovic and Andy Murray also separated themselves from the rest of men's tennis to join Federer and Nadal in the Big Four, the group of players who have dominated men's tennis through the end of the next decade. In 2011, Djokovic surpassed the rest of the Big Four with his first annus mirabilis, during which he became No. 1 for the first time as he won three out of four majors and his first five Masters events of the year. He remained the best player in men's tennis for the rest of the decade, leading the tour in major and Masters titles, and winning four out of his five titles at the ATP Finals consecutively from 2012 through 2015. After four consecutive year-end finishes at No. 3 through 2010, Djokovic finished No. 1 six times and No. 2 three times in the next ten years.

Djokovic had another career year in 2015, reaching fifteen consecutive finals, including all four major finals and eight Masters finals, winning three majors and six Masters events as well as the ATP Finals. The following year, he won the 2016 French Open to complete the career Grand Slam and become the first male player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold four major titles at once. After long trailing both Federer and Nadal in their head-to-head records, Djokovic has since taken the lead against each of the other Big Four members. Representing Serbia, Djokovic has led the Serbia Davis Cup team to a title in 2010, and also led Serbia to a title at the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020. He won a bronze medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Two of the main strengths of Djokovic's playing style are his powerful and consistent two-handed backhand and his ability to turn defense into offense. He excels at returning serve in particular, and regularly ranks among the tour leaders in return points, return games, and break points won. He has also led the ATP Tour in their career Under Pressure Rating statistic since 1991, in part because of his prowess at winning deciding sets. Djokovic has won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award four times. He is also a recipient of the Order of St. Sava, the Order of Karađorđe's Star, and the Order of the Republika Srpska.

Andy Murray

Sir Andrew Barron Murray OBE (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He has been ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. He has won three Grand Slam singles titles, including two at Wimbledon, and has reached eleven major finals in total. Murray was ranked in the top 10 for all but one month from July 2008 through October 2017, and finished no lower than No. 4 in eight of the nine year-end rankings during that span. Murray has won 46 ATP singles titles, including 14 ATP Masters 1000 events.

Originally coached by his mother Judy alongside his older brother Jamie, Andy moved to Barcelona at age 15 to train at the Sánchez-Casal Academy. He began his professional career around the time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal established themselves as the two dominant players in men's tennis. Murray had immediate success on the ATP Tour, making his top 10 debut in 2007 as a teenager at age 19. By 2010, Murray and Novak Djokovic also separated themselves from the rest of men's tennis, joining Federer and Nadal in the Big Four, the group of players who have dominated men's tennis through the end of the next decade. Murray initially struggled against the rest of the Big Four, losing his first four major finals – three to Federer and one to Djokovic. He made his Grand Slam breakthrough in 2012 by defeating Djokovic to win the US Open. With this title, he became the first British Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade in 1977, and the first male champion since Fred Perry in 1936. A month earlier, he also won a men's singles gold medal against Federer at the 2012 London Olympics.

From his first major title in 2012 through early 2016, Murray reached six major finals – all against Djokovic – including three at the Australian Open and at least one at all four majors. He only won one of these at Wimbledon in 2013. Murray had his career-best season in 2016. During that year, Murray made three major finals, winning Wimbledon for the second time. Moreover, he won a second men's singles gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics to become the only player with two Olympic gold medals in singles. He also became world No. 1 for the first time and clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking by winning his only ATP Finals against Djokovic. Since that year, Murray has struggled with various injuries and fell out of the top 100 in 2018 due to only seldom playing on tour.

Murray is an all-court player who excels in particular at returning serve and constructing points. He is generally regarded as having one of the best and most consistent two-handed backhands on the ATP Tour. Murray is considered a national hero in Great Britain for reestablishing the country as a leading force in men's tennis for the first time since the early 20th century. He and his brother have also led the Great Britain Davis Cup team to a title in 2015. Murray has been outspoken as a feminist, and became the second top 10 player in the history of the ATP Tour to have a female coach when he hired Amélie Mauresmo.