Behind the Nadal-Djoko final, the fight for the Grand Slam record

Who will Nadal, Djokovic or Federer win the most Grand Slam titles?

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• Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic meet in the Roland-Garros final this Sunday.

• The Spaniard can tie Roger Federer's record for 20 Grand Slam victories, and the Serbian come back to just two lengths.

• This record race is now an integral part of the landscape, and pushes the three players to constantly surpass themselves.

At Roland-Garros,

We do not know where it is exactly.

Surely in his house on the shores of Lake Zurich, or in the one located on the heights of the canton of Graubünden.

But we imagine that Roger Federer will have a close eye on the Roland-Garros final this Sunday.

The Swiss, recovering from a double right knee surgery in the first quarter of this year, is healing and preparing to return in 2021. In the meantime, he may see Rafael Nadal return to his height in the Tennis Hall of Fame with a 20th Grand Slam title.

Or Novak Djokovic to get closer by pocketing his 18th Major tournament.

This race for the Grand Slams is now an integral part of the landscape.

She adds extra tension at the start of each fortnight.

And feeds the motivation of the three monsters.

“It's great to see that, asks Arnaud Di Pasquale.

It helps them stay on top, especially at their age. They all have the goal of finishing in front at the end, that's for sure.

It will remain an indicator of their rivalry.

"

"I want to become the greatest tennis player in history"

They seem to be experiencing it each in their own way, anyway.

The most interested is probably Novak Djokovic.

Normal, it is he who runs after the other two.

A question of personality, too.

The Serbian - unlike his two rivals?

- does not try to hide that holding this record one day is what makes him get out of bed in the morning.

“I want to become the greatest tennis player in history.

My ambition, my desire and my goal are to break records, like the one who has been world number 1 the longest, and also the one who holds the most Grand Slam tournaments, he said at the microphone of Nova TV, last June, during the decried Adria Tour.

This is Everest for tennis players in terms of success and achievement.

But we'll see if that will happen.

"

Nadal who makes everyone laugh in front of Djoko, we had not seen this one coming.

- MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

“Saying so is also a way for him to exist, to compete with the other two,” said the former DTN, consultant for Eurosport on this Roland.

Nadal and Federer need it less.

They have a natural aura.

We touch here on the small complex of inferiority of the Serbian vis-à-vis his rivals.

He seems, despite his victories, always chasing after the love of the general public.

Where does this gap come from that the Serbian cannot bridge?

Di Pasquale resumes:

“We got used, at the beginning, to stratospheric matches between Nadal and Federer, for example at Wimbledon [aaah, the 2008 final].

They are among the markers in the history of tennis, we all have them in mind.

These two have taken the game to another dimension, plus with very different styles that are easy to read for the general public.

Djokovic, he arrived later, his game is more bland, he has less color.

Intrinsically, it is stronger, more complete, but you have to be a good connoisseur to like it.

So difficult for him to make his place, and he does not see well that the other two are more appreciated, more "stars" than him.

"

Is that why he can sometimes get on edge?

This was the thesis of his former mental coach, Pepe Imaz, after his stroke that earned him a disqualification at the US Open.

We have already talked about it in a previous paper.

The attitude of Djokovic on the Central, this Sunday, will be interesting to observe.

Even if he knows he is an outsider against a player who plays here "in his house", as he said in French in the text after his victory against Tsitsipas on Friday, he will certainly not want to let the opportunity pass.

"I don't care if the guy next to me has a bigger house"

Opposite, Rafael Nadal seems to be the most serene of the three in relation to the situation.

During confinement, he confided in a video interview to

.

This is how he summarized his state of mind (from 12'10 on the video):

“I would like it to be me [who finished the race in front], of course.

But that doesn't obsess me, it's not a problem for me.

I'm making my career and I don't care if the guy next to me has a bigger house, or a nicer car.

You have to be happy with what you do, and I am, after everything I've done throughout my career.

When I'm done, if Federer or Djokovic have more Grand Slams than me, I don't think that in ten years I'll be less happy.

"

The Spaniard takes this with philosophy.

Still, he will surely have these elements in the back of his mind when entering the Philippe-Chatrier.

The possibility of matching Federer, on clay, and another Roland who will arrive (normally) in barely eight months… It's a bit of history that will play out.

Fatalistic Federer?

And Rodreur, in all this?

At 39, the Swiss know well that time is not on his side.

In an interview with the

at the beginning of January, he admitted having a good chance of being overtaken.

“It's going in that direction, obviously.

Their 2019 season shows that they still have victories ahead of them, ”he said.

He himself knows that records are meant to be broken.

He had not hidden his emotion, and a little his embarrassment too, when he had erased the 14 titles of Pete Sampras in 2009. “In the end, if someone passes you, I think it's OK because it is the nature of sport, he added in the same interview.

It's all about statistics and records.

But I had my moment and always said after the 15th the others were bonuses.

"

"Federer will be overwhelmed, and by both"

His Majesty does not intend to make it easy for his rivals either.

Winning a new major title at 39 or 40 would be a feat, but that's exactly what he's working hard for right now.

“I still believe in myself,” he said after his semi-final at the Australian Open.

So who will be ahead in the end?

“I think Federer will be overwhelmed.

And by both, ”Di Pasquale wets.

But still ?

After a few minutes of discussion, we can tell that the old DTN has a favorite.

“Djokovic, on what he shows, he can still be at his top three years.

That's twelve Grand Slams, and over the last ten years, he's been the one to blow up the counters.

And it is still making progress!

What he did in Australia, and overall this season, is monstrous.

"

Just 10 years ago, Federer won his 16th Major.

Nadal was at 6. Djokovic at 1 ...

Since Australia 2010, it is:

Djokovic: 16

Nadal: 13

Federer: 4 https://t.co/nsKPojXc4I

- Laurent Vergne (@LaurentVergne) February 2, 2020

“It will be exciting to see how long they will keep playing and how many titles they will win.

They could have incredible years, adds Roger Federer of his acolytes.

This is what I guess.

It's a golden era for tennis right now, I have no doubts about that.

"

It is obvious.

We can also wonder where the counters would be if these three had not fallen on each other.

Did emulation help them?

If there had been only one dominant player, would he already be at 26 Grand Slams or would he have stopped long ago for lack of motivation?

In any case, we wish good luck to those who will try to climb to the top of the mountain in the future.

Our Roland-Garros file

While waiting to know who will win the battle, Di Pasquale still raises a last point.

And not the least important.

“It will not necessarily say who is the tallest of the three, observes the consultant.

Michael Jordan may not be the best basketball player in history, it's debatable, but in any case, he took his sport to another level.

Roger Federer will have done that, no matter what.

His place will not be called into question if it is not the one who has the most at the end.

"

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• Novak Djokovic

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