[intense music playing]
{\an8}[producer] Okay.
Come on in.
So now I'm gonna give you
a trivia question.
Since the inception of
the ATP rankings,
there have been 29 men
who have been number one.
I did not know that.
[producer]
Tell me how many you can name.
We're doing it with everybody.
I'm not picking on you.
Ooh.
Yeah, hard one.
I don't think
I can name all of them,
but I would probably get
to 20 or something.
♪
Ilie Nastase.
Nastase was
the first one in '73.
-Björn Borg.
-Borg.
-Borg came around.
-McEnroe.
-Connors.
-Connors.
Love the past, because
they have paved the way for me.
-The easy one's Djokovic.
-Federer.
-Roger.
-Rafa.
-Nadal.
-Murray.
I think Murray
might have got there, too.
Good man.
Okay, let's go
with the recent ones.
-Me.
-Medvedev.
-Ah!
-Carlos.
-Alcaraz.
-Sinner.
At the moment,
there's me and Carlos.
Yeah, I can say that
I'm number one in the world.
[lively music playing]
[producer] So if you could go
in a time machine
with any one of these guys,
your prime
versus their prime,
who would it be?
I would love
to play all of them.
{\an8}[McEnroe laughs]
{\an8}Pete Sampras.
I still love to watch him
on YouTube and stuff,
so I would have loved
to play with-- with Pete.
I would want
to play on these amazing two
that we've been dealing with
the last couple of years.
[Agassi] I mean, I want
no part of playing these guys.
The worst seat in the house
is playing-- is playing them.
I would love
to have played against Lendl.
{\an8}[commentator]
{\an8}[Murray] Yeah,
I think I would have won.
I'm sure
he probably feels like
he thinks
he would have won.
Probably I will
pick up Bjorn Borg.
Everybody says that
he was unbeatable on clay.
[crowd cheering]
I would like that,
that battle.
I would love to have played
Roger Federer at Wimbledon,
Novak Djokovic
at the US Open,
and I would not
have loved to play
Rafael Nadal
at the French. [laughs]
It's delusional to think
that I would beat Rafa on clay.
{\an8}Well not on clay.
[laughs]
Let me just throw that out
right away.
Rafa would be the one.
The two lefties...
[laughs]
...playing
each other on clay,
the king of clay
against the king of clay.
But I still think
he would have won. [laughs]
[laughs]
[crowd cheering]
{\an8}When I was number one
in the world
{\an8}for the first time in 2004,
I didn't want to have a rival.
{\an8}I just wanted to be the best,
{\an8}and then there was the rest,
basically.
{\an8}[Drucker]
Long live the king.
{\an8}And he takes that number one
ranking,
{\an8}and he ends up holding it
for 237 weeks.
{\an8}That is an incredible feat.
{\an8}So if you think
in kind of 2005,
{\an8}Roger Federer is far and away
the world number one.
And it feels like a matter
of time before he'll complete
the Korea Grand Slam
and win the French Open.
That's the only one
he's missing.
{\an8}The only slight fly
in the ointment
{\an8}is this guy called
Rafa Nadal.
{\an8}Rafa Nadal shows up, and he's
already pretty damn muscled.
[commentator
speaking indistinctly]
[Carillo] And you know,
he's wearing the sleeveless
and the pirate pants
and the headband on.
Barely a year after
Federer becomes number one,
Rafa emerges.
He beats Federer
the first time they play,
Miami, 2004.
Nadal is 17.
[Federer]
When Rafa came onto the scene...
[all chanting]
Rafa, Rafa, Rafa.
...I guess at first
I had to appreciate the rival,
you know,
that he is going to be around.
And then a year later,
he beats Roger
on his way
to winning Roland Garros,
the first time Nadal
ever played Roland Garros.
[crowd cheering]
Whoa, who's this guy?
And suddenly, Roger's thinking,
"I've got a rival."
And Roger
didn't like it.
[Federer] He's going
to win more in the future,
and he's going
to be around.
And maybe I have to adjust
my game towards him.
So you have
to accept that.
[Nadal]
I won the first
Roland Garros,
and I won
a couple of Masters 1000.
I won 11 tournaments
that year.
{\an8}I was close enough
in the race, but...
{\an8}but I really,
back in the days,
{\an8}I thought Roger there,
that he was better than me.
{\an8}[tense music playing]
{\an8}Well, Rafa had
the real advantage of saying,
{\an8}"This is the bar,
this is the guy I need to beat.
How am I going to
tailor my game?
What am I going to do
to beat him?"
[Nadal]
When I came in to the Tour,
Roger was clear, by far,
the best player of the world.
He was doing the things,
unbelievable, you know,
being very consistent, winning
the most important events.
[commentator] He's someone
that everyone cheers for,
both on
and off the court.
That's why I always work
very hard to improve
in every single surface,
to put myself in a position
to be competitive
against the best players
in all the tournaments.
[crowd cheering]
I think 2006, again,
I did a lot of things well,
but Roger
is still better than me.
'07, again,
a little bit the same story.
But, of course, at some point,
I start thinking
that being number two
for three years,
almost, in a row,
I start thinking that,
"Okay, I want to be
number one at some point."
[Wertheim] For a few years,
Roger could kind of coast,
and he would have fun,
and everyone would love Roger,
and then here came this guy
who wasn't playing that game,
who basically said,
"I'm coming to take you down,
I'm not playing
for the runner-up trophy."
[commentator] Rafael Nadal
confirming the superiority
over Federer,
over everybody, on a clay court.
[crowd cheering]
He's now won 21
of the 22 finals he's played
on his beloved clay.
{\an8}Nadal, a chance to equal Borg's
record of four straight titles.
{\an8}Roger Federer is going to have
his hands full today.
{\an8}[commentator speaking
indistinctly]
{\an8}Nadal destroys Federer,
he loses four games.
{\an8}I mean, the last set
is a bagel, it's brutal.
{\an8}[commentator speaking
indistinctly]
Rafael Nadal concedes the number
one player in the world,
Roger Federer,
just four games.
Quite astounding, fellas.
Nadal's not going to be too easy
to beat at Wimbledon, either.
Well, if Nadal can win there,
then that is
a real shift in power.
[Wertheim] I think people don't
necessarily remember this part.
Nadal had been the runner-up two
years running, against Roger.
First year's pretty good,
the second year,
he's pissed that he loses.
They go on to play
one of the all-time
great matches.
There were so many
classic points in that match...
[crowd cheering]
...that when I think back to it,
I'm not quite sure who won it.
Because it looked like
Nadal had it won.
And you sort of say,
"Ah, changing of the guard,
you know,
everyone changing of the guard,
Rafa's taking him down,
doing so at Wimbledon,
on Centre Court, in the final."
And then Roger
storms back.
He comes back, he wins
the third set in the tie-break,
he wins the fourth set
in the tie-break,
saving championship points.
[crowd cheering]
Just incredible drama.
I was basically
down and out,
and then all of a sudden
hope came back,
and maybe now
Federer has to win.
But in tennis,
it is so cruel sometimes.
[commentator] There's a new man
at the head of men's tennis.
{\an8}You know, a lot of Spaniards
gave up on grass.
{\an8}They said,
"That's for cows,
{\an8}you know,
nobody can play on it."
{\an8}And to Rafa, it was a challenge,
and he learned.
And he became
one of the great winners.
because I was ready,
I played in semifinals
in Australia,
then I won Roland Garros,
I won Wimbledon.
{\an8}I put myself in a position
to achieve that number
{\an8}for the first time
in Cincinnati.
{\an8}[commentator] That's it!
Rafael Nadal
wins Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal
will make history,
and with tonight's victory,
he will become world number one.
Being number one
always is a goal.
I fight a lot
for the last few years,
doing very good results,
and finally I am number one.
[tense music playing]
When I was growing up,
I remember watching Carlos Moyá,
you know,
that was from my island.
{\an8}[Moyá]
[commentator] And the history is
that they're both from Mallorca.
When he's at home,
Moyá will hit with young Nadal
and encourage him
and help him and advise him,
and the youngster
will ask him for advice.
[commentator speaking
other language]
[commentator] The 16-year-old
has just put out
one of the world's
best players.
{\an8}[Moyá]
{\an8}[commentator speaking
other language]
[commentator]
Rafael Nadal has been named
as the ATP European Player
of the Year for 2005.
He was
a workman's workman.
{\an8}You knew that he wasn't going
to let one ball pass,
{\an8}whether it was the first ball
or the last,
{\an8}winning or getting
his butt kicked, no matter what.
{\an8}He was going to play
that kind of tennis.
[commentator] Nadal is much
too fast to get away with that.
So what is that?
That is willing to k*ll yourself
to get one more ball back
and make your opponent beat you.
And watching him do that
was fun.
And he did not
make it look easy
because the brand of tennis
he played was not easy.
You know, where Roger
floated across the court,
Nadal dug in.
Like, he made it
very physical.
[groaning]
[crowd cheering]
He has an intensity like no
other tennis player has ever had
and that's something
I can really truly admire.
And his dedication,
how he practices,
and he doesn't shy away
to put in extra effort
every single day.
And then
that trickles down
to every single point
that he plays.
[commentator]
Couldn't have played that point
any better
from start to finish.
[Eccleshare]
He gets world number one,
which, you know, some might see
as an end in itself.
It wasn't for him.
He wanted to kick on.
[intense music playing]
He goes and wins
the Australian Open,
which was his first
hardcourt major in 2009.
[commentator]
Rafael Nadal wins
in Melbourne
at the Australian Open.
And that set the tone, really,
for the rest of his career
because it was always
then about finding a new goal,
finding a new target, not
just settling for what he had.
♪
And so now it's
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.
{\an8}The two all-time
greatest players
{\an8}going up against
each other for years.
{\an8}[Wertheim] Most of 2008,
{\an8}it's peak Roger-Rafa,
{\an8}and it was a thoroughly
unique rivalry.
No one says, like,
"I like Duke and Carolina.
I like Mustangs
and Camaro."
{\an8}Like, you sort of pick one,
and it seemed totally normal
{\an8}to be like,
"I like both these guys."
[all shouting] Rafa, Rafa,
Rafa, Rafa, Rafa, Rafa.
[Wertheim]
It almost seemed weird
to have any sort of
animosity towards one.
[Drucker] And they go
back and forth
on that
number one ranking.
Really, it's life
at the top for these two.
They're just
the big kingpins of tennis.
[commentator] Five tournaments
now won consecutively
on three
different surfaces.
[commentator]
He's done it!
[commentator
speaking indistinctly]
Then Roger is sneaking in
that Roland Garros title
that had eluded him.
{\an8}[commentator] The Federer dream
has come true.
[Wertheim] And Nadal wins
again at Wimbledon.
I mean, it's really theatric,
and the fact
that they actually kind of
sort of seem to like each other.
Do you know what you're going
to give me for Christmas yet?
You know what?
I'm going to play an exhibit--
[both laughing]
{\an8}And I think one thing
that gets overlooked
{\an8}is how much better
they each made the other.
{\an8}[commentator] And no weakness
at all in Federer's backhand.
{\an8}[Agassi] It was special.
{\an8}I think it took rivalries
to another level.
{\an8}I mean, when I look
at these two guys,
{\an8}they did it with class,
they did it with respect.
They did it
for the game, you know?
If you think in that
sort of mid-2000s period,
going towards the end
of that decade,
you have these
two huge characters
who were dominating the tennis
landscape to such an extent,
and they were loved.
There wasn't really room,
I think,
in a lot of people's minds
for a third man.
To see daylight between
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal,
and this-- this young kid
from Serbia thinks,
"No, I can make room for that."
Novak Djokovic,
who comes from w*r-torn Serbia,
you know, the Balkan Wars
had been going on for years.
There were bombs
going on around this guy,
and he came
from such a different place
from anybody else.
And it forged him.
{\an8}He broke into a game
that had historically demanded
{\an8}a certain level of wealth
and privilege just to play it.
You have Djokovic,
whose family
has talked about
working with loan sharks.
I think the fact
that he was able
to navigate a path
from those difficulties
perhaps gives him
another set of motivation.
[Djokovic]
Being number one in the world
has always been a dream for me.
Never was satisfied with
anything else but number one.
[tense music playing]
And Novak Djokovic doesn't take
over overnight, but he is there.
He's consistent
in sort of 2006 period, 2007.
[commentator]
Game, set, match, Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal
didn't really expect Djokovic
to kind of come in
and be such a force.
And the way he fit in
was really quite amazing.
[Eccleshare] Then he wins
his first Grand Slam
at the start of 2008.
[commentator]
Game, set, match, Djokovic.
For the first time,
Novak Djokovic
is a Grand Slam champion.
[Eccleshare] And people
really sit up and take notice,
that is this guy
a real challenger?
Can there be a real challenger
to Federer and Nadal,
who've been so far and away
the best players?
And he can't
quite sustain it.
[Wertheim] Novak breaks through
in 2008 in Australia,
but then he retreats.
[Eccleshare]
You know, he doesn't win
another Grand Slam in 2008,
he doesn't win one in 2009,
he doesn't win one in 2010.
[Wertheim] People forget that
there was this three-year gap
when he kind of went away.
What's the deal
with this Serbian kid,
who now seems
to have lost it?
And then
at the end of 2010,
he leads Serbia
to the Davis Cup win,
and that is
incredibly emotional for Novak,
takes it
right to his heart.
And around
that same time,
he begins to make changes
with his diet.
[Carillo]
He had breathing problems
in the beginning
of his career,
so he changed
his diet completely.
And also,
over the years,
he changes serve
a bunch of times,
and he got
to the net more,
and he just kept adding
and adding to his game.
He was sort of
the ultimate problem solver.
But he's, for me,
the ultimate perfectionist.
{\an8}He doesn't let
one stone unturned
{\an8}in order for him to be
a little better,
{\an8}whether that's the way he plays,
whether it's his diet,
{\an8}because he's not
the most talented.
You know,
there's players in the world
that can do more
with the ball,
but his drive for perfection
succeeds everybody else.
[Carillo] Djokovic
wanted to be number one.
He wanted to be
the greatest ever,
maybe more so
than all of them.
[Eccleshare]
Not that we knew it then,
but all of that is building up
to this enormous
power shift in 2011.
[uplifting music playing]
[commentator]
For the second time,
Novak Djokovic
ascends the mountain
and reaches the summit.
[both groaning]
[crowd cheering]
I always wanted to win Wimbledon
and be number one.
Those were
the two childhood dreams.
♪
[Eccleshare]
That really cemented the fact
that he was
the best player in the world.
He had managed
to completely upend
the established order
that we got so used to.
He wins three of
the four slams.
I mean, it is extraordinary
what he does that year.
[Wertheim] And by the end
of 2011, people were saying,
"Wait a second,
we had this rivalry,
we were convinced
these two were going to go down
as the best players ever
in tennis history.
Oh, sh*t, there's a--
there's a third one?"
And this rivalry would become
a three-way, like, trivalry.
[Eccleshare] Nadal and Djokovic,
then they played again,
those two,
the 2012 Australian Open final,
and Djokovic won
in close to six hours.
Incredible sequences, really,
that he was able to beat Nadal
three times in a row.
I mean,
Djokovic was just rewriting
what was possible
in the sport.
[Becker] He has
a street fighter mentality.
You know, born and raised
in w*r-torn Serbia,
he's got
this never-say-die attitude,
almost like a boxer
in the tenth round
when he's bleeding,
and he-- he drops the gloves
and he goes, "Okay, now,
now we go, now we attack."
[Eccleshare] It was
kind of like a TV show
where you had
the two main characters,
and that was fine,
thank you very much.
All of a sudden, we get
introduced this third character,
and it really
disrupts things.
[Wertheim]
And you also had the sense
that Djokovic
actually sensed this
and wanted popularity
that was being withheld,
so that was
sort of the subplot.
[Djokovic] Even though
I managed to get this trophy
in 2011 and '12,
every time is very special,
because I know it's one of
the ultimate challenges
in professional sport
to end the season
as number one of the world.
Nadal and Federer
have been so dominant,
and it's very demanding.
Well, not every player has
a career that goes like this.
I think no player has it,
so we all go through
a couple of lulls.
{\an8}So I came into his team
{\an8}when he lost a couple of
Grand Slam finals,
{\an8}he lost the number one ranking,
and he was a little bit lost,
{\an8}and I was able to bring,
I think, the hunger back.
It was logical,
explaining him,
"The only reason
we fly to Melbourne
is to bring
the trophy home."
So a final isn't good enough
to win the g*dd*mn tournament.
That's it.
And if you want that,
I'm the right guy for you.
So Djokovic is winning,
and he's number one,
and then suddenly
you turn around and see,
wait, he's hit
double digits in majors.
Well, that's pretty good.
That's almost as
much as Pete Sampras.
In 2002, we thought no one was
ever going to touch his record.
And 200 weeks at number one?
Well, that's great.
That's four years at number one.
[commentator] So dominant.
It's all
about maintaining it now.
Is everybody just
simply playing catch up?
{\an8}When Novak had to come on tour,
{\an8}people called it arrogance.
{\an8}He called it being
confident in yourself.
{\an8}He always said he wants to be
{\an8}the best player
in the history of tennis.
And at the end of the story,
he managed to do it.
He managed to do
everything that he said.
Over a 13-year period
from 2004 through 2016,
just three guys held
that number one ranking.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal,
and Novak Djokovic.
[Nadal] We had to push
each other to our limits.
And at the end,
I think it's fair enough
that all of us,
of course, Novak,
of course, Roger,
but at the same time,
Andy catched
the year-end number one.
[Murray] This photo is after
winning the Paris Masters.
I beat John Isner in the final.
Yeah, that was the week
where I got to number one.
[announcer, indistinct]
I was always, you know,
two, three, four in the world,
and I wanted to try to get there
at some stage during my career.
I grew up in a very
sort of sporty household,
so we were competing
from a very young age.
My brother, being only
we played all sports together.
And, you know,
because he was older than me,
he, you know,
was better than me.
I always, you know,
always wanted to come back
and try the next day
and win against him.
And I think it, you know,
teaches you a lot of
good lessons and, you know,
how to deal with losses,
setbacks, you know,
how to compete.
Andy Murray
from Dunblane, Scotland.
So Andy Murray makes his debut
in front of a nation
that is just
desperate for success.
[commentator]
And a standing ovation
for the 18-year-old.
British tennis was littered
with players who might have
an okay run,
but it doesn't mean anything,
it doesn't go anywhere.
But Murray had this
incredibly steely determination
that he was going
to absolutely maximize.
So there's a huge amount
of hysteria and excitement
around Andy Murray.
[commentator] He's done it!
A career-defining moment.
In the early part of my career,
the biggest target that
I had was to win a Grand Slam.
That was what I was
often getting asked about.
[Eccleshare]
Andy Murray kept getting close.
He was getting
to Grand Slam finals,
but he was losing them.
[commentator]
Disappointment for Andy Murray.
And having lost his first three,
he brought in Ivan Lendl.
I was feeling the pressure of
trying to get over this hurdle
of winning a major, and being
able to talk to him about that,
for me,
was really helpful.
And against Roger,
I felt like I was ready.
I was close,
I played really well,
but couldn't quite
get over the line.
-I'm getting closer! [laughs]
-[laughter]
I'm getting closer?
I'm getting closer?
That could start making me cry.
He cries on court,
which makes a massive difference
to how he's perceived.
Shows his human side.
Nation loves him.
He loses his first
four Grand Slam finals,
and then finally wins one,
beating Djokovic in five sets.
The first British
male Grand Slam champion
for 76 years.
But there's still the big one.
Can he win Wimbledon?
If I hadn't won Wimbledon,
certainly, from a British
sporting public perspective,
my career
would have been a failure.
[commentator]
The waiting is over!
The main feeling
at the time was just relief,
and I wouldn't have to spend
the rest of my life
thinking about, you know,
"What if, what could have been."
And then he won Wimbledon again
three years later,
and he's won the Davis Cup,
he's won two Olympic golds.
But the one thing he hasn't done
is got to world number one.
[Murray] I was usually ranked
three or four behind Roger,
Rafa and Novak.
And what those guys
were doing on the court,
it was not something
that I ever felt
that I was
necessarily going to achieve.
And then, in 2016,
after Wimbledon,
there's an opportunity here to
maybe try and get to number one.
And then he goes
on this incredible surge.
-Great tournament, mate.
-Good luck out there.
[Eccleshare] Winning tournament
after tournament.
[announcer, indistinct]
Two more tournaments
to finish the year.
Hopefully I can play well
and finish it
as strong as possible.
He plays Novak Djokovic
in the final of the ATP finals.
{\an8}[commentator]
And he's created history
{\an8}by becoming only the 17th player
in the history of the game
{\an8}to be crowned
year-end world number one.
[Murray] To get to number one
in the world
when you're surrounded by,
you know, the greatest
players of all time,
that's 52 weeks of really,
really hard work
and top performances
to get there.
And I would argue,
it's a lot harder to achieve
than winning a Grand Slam.
It's one of the things
in my career that I'm proud of,
that nothing
came easily for me,
but I kept sort of
persevering and working hard.
[indistinct chatter]
{\an8}[Moyá]
[Eccleshare]
And trying to keep up
with the big three
does come at a cost.
The following year,
his body breaks down.
That's when he first
really starts to feel the hit.
And things are never the same.
Ends up having
the resurfacing operation.
[Nadal]
Body and physical issues
are part of the career
of every player.
That's part of my career too.
And all the body issues,
of course,
had a negative impact
on the chances
to hold
the number one more weeks.
That's why we competed.
But my next goal was
to finish the year number one.
I always considered it
much more important
to finish the year as number one
than become
number one at some point.
[audience cheering
and applauding]
I remember finishing
the year in number one
in, I think,
And finish number one,
I think, five times.
Something that
I am very proud of.
And Rafa Nadal becomes
the all-time greatest
clay court player.
[commentator]
And he's won five in a row now.
The greatest
becomes even greater.
Key point to always be
not comfortable
with the things
that you are doing.
You always need it more
and more and more.
It used to be that Björn Borg
was considered the all-time
greatest clay court player
because he won it six times.
Rafa Nadal won it 14 times.
[commentator]
It is a 14th Roland-Garros title
for the greatest player
this great tournament
has ever seen and ever will see.
That might be the single
greatest feat in tennis history
is that one man can dominate
such a difficult surface
for so long
against some of
the greatest players,
I mean, who ever lived.
[Evans] Rafa was the greatest
clay court player of all time.
One of the greatest
players of all time.
A fantastic competitor.
[commentator] Oh, he's got no
business winning that point.
That's big-time tennis
when it matters most.
{\an8}[Ferrero]
[indistinct chatter]
After having
a super long career
and playing
the most important matches
for almost 20 years...
I think I inspired kids
to play tennis
and to try to
become professionals
and fight for
the most important things.
{\an8}[commentator]
Oh, he's made it.
{\an8}[Nadal]
I really shared an era of tennis
{\an8}that was very,
very competitive.
The level of
my competitors was huge
and even like this,
I was able
to achieve these numbers,
and it's something to be
proud of without a doubt.
Pete Sampras
won 14 singles majors.
That was more
than any man had ever won.
And then suddenly
three guys come along
who each win at least 20.
Federer wins 20, Rafa wins 22,
Novak wins 24.
That's just amazing.
The Big Three's legacy,
it's hard
to overstate it, really,
because for exactly 20 years
from Federer's first Grand Slam
to Djokovic's last win
at a Grand Slam,
as things stand,
he may go on to win more
because he's
still playing obviously.
[dramatic music playing]
They dominated the sport
in a way that
we'd never seen before.
{\an8}This golden generation,
{\an8}I think the rivalry
between the three of them
{\an8}have made them better.
{\an8}It's taken tennis
to different levels
{\an8}in terms of popularity.
[overlapping speaking]
{\an8}Whoever was number one
in the world
{\an8}when the Big Three played,
to me,
{\an8}matters less,
or how long they were,
{\an8}because I think they have
to be looked upon differently.
{\an8}They're all just number one
for their whole career to me
{\an8}because they're just incredible.
What those three guys did
for so long
in an effort to be number one,
it was breathtaking.
You know,
once you become number one
and you build some weeks
on that spot in the rankings,
and then you're thinking,
"You know,
maybe I could get
another week or another week,"
and then next thing you know,
you know,
you're kind of
climbing yourself on that ladder
of people that
have held the number one
for the most weeks.
That has been
one of my greatest goals,
try to break the record there
and I managed to do it,
so of course
it was very deeply fulfilling.
[Kafelnikov]
He set up such big standards
for everything.
{\an8}Numbers of
Grand Slam titles won.
Numbers of weeks
being held as number one.
The game itself,
what he can do on the court,
even still at that age,
how he performs,
it's such a high standard.
Novak's legacy
will be unforgettable.
[Evans] Great champion,
possibly the greatest player
of all time
if you go by the statistics.
Very hard to argue against.
He's won everything.
He's won everything
multiple times.
He's won everything
more than other players.
What else can you say?
You can't argue
with Djokovic's record.
Ah, that's
the match which I won,
which made me number one.
[man]
One, two and three! Yeah!
Cheers.
[upbeat music playing]
I always wanted
to be number one,
but I always
took it step by step.
When I was really young,
I was playing against
the wall in my apartment.
My parents were
hating me for this.
I was touching
all the walls with my racket
and the walls
were not white anymore.
And I was always imagining
I play against Roger or Rafa.
I was not the best junior.
I was always pretty good,
but I was never number one
in all of these rankings.
So I was always under the radar
and I think if you ask the guys
who knew me at the time,
even probably
maybe my coaches or anyone,
if you would tell them
that I would be top ten,
I think they would be like,
"You know what, everything
is possible in tennis."
I doubt there would be
a lot of people
who would say
I would be number one.
People would not
consider me a big deal.
But I like being the underdog.
Ah!
{\an8}If you look to
the Big Three as a blueprint
{\an8}for how to build your tennis,
{\an8}and if he tried
to follow their path,
{\an8}he probably would have
washed out
{\an8}outside the top 100.
And as a tennis fan,
I like anyone
who takes conventional wisdom
and subverts that in some way.
[upbeat music playing]
If you just
follow your visual bias,
you'll think,
"This guy's a nobody."
And if you were to just show
a picture of him to a layman,
none of this
would make any sense.
But you look at the game
he actually built for himself,
which was
one of extreme patience,
camping out
ten feet behind the baseline,
using his very unusual flat,
skidding strokes
to challenge his opponents
in this era of topspin.
It's very difficult to attack.
And he can hit you the same ball
[announcer] Daniil Medvedev!
having his big public debut.
He's just had one of
the greatest hardcourt summers
that ATP has seen.
[commentator]
New territory for the Russian.
[Eccleshare]
He's played tennis
that's been
out of this world at times,
just destroying opponents.
{\an8}And he suddenly
burst on the scene,
{\an8}and soon enough, he was
in the mix among the top five.
[audience cheering
and applauding]
[announcer]
Wow, what a big day
for this young man, folks.
His first Masters 1000 title.
One of the great tests of any
young tennis player in that era
was to beat Novak Djokovic
in a major final.
And he was the guy to do it.
[commentator] And Medvedev is
the champion for the first time.
Novak was one of the biggest
inspirations in my career.
The way he acts
with me never changed.
I was 600, I was number two,
he was the same guy with me.
That gained
a lot of respect from me.
He spoiled
Novak Djokovic's chances
of winning the calendar slam.
And then to beat Djokovic
and stop Djokovic winning
that US Open,
which would have given him
the calendar slam,
the Holy Grail,
that's a really significant
moment in tennis history.
[Drucker]
He was a great competitor,
and he surprised everyone.
And soon enough,
he became number one.
It was a very brief few weeks
that he got to hold
the number one ranking,
but the fact that he did it
by beating the greatest
ever hardcourt player
in a major final on hardcourt
made it all the more remarkable.
For Daniil Medvedev
to win a Grand Slam,
and you could say
should have won others,
you know,
led Nadal by two sets to nothing
in that Australian Open
final in 2022.
For him to win a slam
and be the world number one
is really
an incredible achievement.
-[whooping]
-[Kafelnikov] He absolutely
deserved all the success
what he had.
It's no fluke that he's been
winning so many tournaments,
he's been beating
so many great players,
and obviously become
a number one in the world.
He was this brief interregna,
the only player
to break through.
{\an8}[producer]
Yeah, I mean... I tried.
When you talk about Big Four,
I was the first in, like,
But you know what?
After I was not
number one anymore...
it was still Novak.
So I became the disruptor
at least for Novak.
It was a great feeling to share
this history moments with them.
{\an8}Look, I thought
after the era of Djokovic,
{\an8}Nadal and Federer
that we have a problem.
You know,
where's the next superstar?
Are they any good?
Who else is
playing tennis, right?
[dramatic music playing]
I didn't think
it was going to be that quick
that we have
two dominant players
that rule the tennis world.
[commentator] He's done it.
What a magical night
for 16-year-old Carlos Alcaraz
on his ATP Tour debut.
He is the youngest player
inside the top 500 in the world.
[Medvedev]
Carlos, I remember very well.
He came on tour and everyone
was talking about him.
New Spanish guy,
playing very good,
winning challenges
already at a young age.
And I remember
he was practicing.
And I was looking
at this 17-year-old... kid.
I couldn't understand it.
And I was talking to my coach
and I was like,
"Well, at this moment,
he's young.
He doesn't control it."
[indistinct]
[Medvedev] I was like,
"If one day he can control this,
what he has,
he's going to be unbeatable.
{\an8}[man speaking Spanish]
{\an8}[man]
{\an8}[man]
He has every shot in the book.
-He has volley.
-[rubber screeching]
He has serve.
He has slice.
He has drop shot.
My best shot could be
the forehand,
{\an8}but the shot that the people
know me, it is a drop shot.
[commentator] [indistinct]
And he's probably
one of the fastest on tour.
I had never seen a player
so young and so...
comprehensively gifted
at every facet of the game.
He is one of the most
talented players ever.
I would compare him to
a Federer and a McEnroe
with what he can do
with the ball.
[crowd exclaims]
{\an8}Carlos Alcaraz is Novak,
{\an8}Roger and Rafa
inside of one person.
He has the speed.
He has the defense.
He has the versatility,
the shots you don't expect.
{\an8}Look, I'm going to take
Novak's baseline game,
{\an8}but I'm not going to
rip my shirt.
{\an8}And I'm going to take
Rafa's intensity,
{\an8}but I'm still
going to smile.
And I'm going to take
some of Roger's shot making,
but I'm really going to lean
into it and go like this,
Roger would never do that.
So you see elements,
you see tennis evolving.
[announcer speaking
in other language]
{\an8}[commentator] Carlos has been
there for the team.
{\an8}Forever will know
how big a moment this is.
[Alcaraz] I play to my team,
to myself,
but also for the people
who are supporting me every day.
Yeah, I play for them as well.
[crowd cheering]
He's an amazing tennis player,
if he's playing at his peak,
probably only Jannik
can beat him at this moment.
♪
[Nathan] Paris 2021 foreshadows
a lot of what we're going to see
in the seasons to come,
where you get these really
spectacular baseline rallies.
[commentator] Wow,
brace yourself for this match
if you like
your big baseline hitting.
{\an8}It brought to mind
peak Nadal,
{\an8}peak Djokovic,
names that would feel
{\an8}almost blasphemous
to bring up for players
{\an8}who are at that time teenagers
or barely out of their teens.
[commentator] It's Alcaraz
that lands the final blow.
It's two of the youngest
players that are out on tour.
{\an8}[Nathan] I remember
at the end of that match,
{\an8}they meet at the net,
Sinner says,
{\an8}"I hope we play more again
in the future."
Those guys have
no idea what's coming,
but they are going to collide
over and over again.
-[crowd cheering]
-[indistinct announcement]
Well, first of all, Jannik.
[Alcaraz chuckling]
Second time
you beat me this year.
I want to congratulate
you for everything
and wish you
all the best luck to this year.
{\an8}Yes.
It was a very,
very special night
that I can say that
I'm number one in the world,
that I was number one
in the world.
[Alcaraz] Next Monday,
at the age of 22 years old,
you will become
the first Italian ever
to be number one
in the world.
It was one of my,
if not the most special
moment I've had.
I would have never thought
that I would be there
at some point.
What I am
is just a normal person
and I'm from
a very small town
in very north Italy
in the mountains.
[Sinner] It all changed
when I was 13 and a half
from one day to the other
because my main focus,
especially in the winter,
was skiing.
I can say that I was a great
and very talented skier
because of my physicality.
I was Italian champion
in skiing,
but I never played tennis,
actually.
But I saw that
I was very competitive
and I won against people
who were practicing every day.
So I was like,
"Okay, there's something
very strange going on."
But I never dealt with pressure
of needing to perform very well
because my parents,
they were not into tennis.
So it was very,
very different of a childhood,
maybe, to all of these
other 28 names
because I was not focused
on becoming an actual
professional tennis player.
{\an8}I do remember,
and I was in Egypt
{\an8}in a Sharm el-Sheikh.
And I called my dad
and I said,
"Just 10,000-something points
are missing
to become
number one in the world."
And I think back then I was
And to see myself
on Internet
and I could see that
there is an actual number
next to my name,
it's so, so special.
[commentator] Expect big things
from Jannik Sinner.
♪
[Nathan] One of the first
talent scouts in Italy
that discovered Sinner said
that he thought he was behind
a construction site.
They he looked around
and saw it was a young
Jannik Sinner
hitting tennis ba*ls.
I think the Jannik Sinner
tennis experience
is an acoustic one
and to do it justice
you kind of
want to be up close.
[loud thuds]
{\an8}In 2022, you know,
a lot of people were thinking
{\an8}maybe I've got my chance now,
Nadal's about to retire,
{\an8}Federer's gone, Djokovic
can't keep doing this forever.
But I don't think
anyone thought they would
step forward so quickly
and dominate the way they have.
They played each other
in the 2022
the US Open quarterfinal.
And that match really sort of
captured the tennis world
and was like, "Wow, what have
we got on our hands here?"
[commentator] [indistinct]
The matchup between
Sinner and Alcaraz,
it does have a kind of
computer game element to it.
It's so quick,
superhuman abilities.
Seems like they bring
the best out of each other.
{\an8}[commentator] [indistinct]
Alcaraz.
[Eccleshare] And then
eventually Alcaraz wins
his first Grand Slam
in that US Open
to become the world number one.
It was super intense.
I had mixed feelings
in that moment.
I don't remember clearly
if I was thinking more
about the Grand Slam final
or the number one in the world.
But a day after,
I realized
that I was
the world number one.
[announcer] [indistinct]
Carlos Alcaraz!
[Alcaraz] So I got my dream,
I got the number one spot.
Honestly, I surprised myself
with what I was capable of.
We come to the end of 2023,
Djokovic is still
absolutely the man to beat.
You know, he wins three out of
the four Slams that year,
but the other one is won
by Carlos Alcaraz who,
you know, he wins Wimbledon,
beating Djokovic.
At the very end of 2023,
Sinner is beating
Novak Djokovic not once,
but twice
in the span of a few weeks.
And he just carried
that momentum
right into the next season.
{\an8}Jannik's 2024 season
started off with a bang.
{\an8}[crowd cheering]
{\an8}[Cahill] To think about
the moment when he won his first
{\an8}major against a champion
player like Medvedev.
It goes back
to that resilience and belief
that Jannik has
that he just hung tough.
I think that moment set him up
for that remarkable 2024 season.
[announcer] ...the 2024
Miami Open singles champion.
Usually when a player
first breaks out,
you expect some dip.
But it just never came
with Jannik Sinner in 2024.
{\an8}[announcer] Jannik Sinner!
{\an8}[commentator speaking
in other language]
[reporter] What does it mean
to you to be the first Italian
-number one?
-Oh, it means a lot.
I'm happy to be part of
this Italian movement
and I think
Italy deserves it, no?
{\an8}As an Italian,
we've been waiting forever
{\an8}right for this moment.
{\an8}We had great players
in the past,
{\an8}but we never really
had a player who could get
{\an8}to the number one
and win slams consistently.
Representing Italy is something
very special and very unique.
[commentator] [indistinct]
I see it in other sports
when the Formula One,
Ferrari, Monza.
[crowd] Monza!
When Milan plays against Inter
in the stadium, it's big.
It's, like, so massive.
And when I play,
the atmosphere is crazy.
{\an8}[commentator] [indistinct]
Jannik Sinner!
[commentator] The local hero,
the world number one
looking good on home soil.
Hi, everyone.
Jannik here.
I just wanted to say
that I'm very happy
to have this trophy with me,
it's an amazing feeling.
When you're number one,
you have a target on your back.
{\an8}I've been there
for one year
{\an8}and everyone
is aiming for you.
{\an8}Everyone is practicing
to beat you.
{\an8}You are the chased one.
[commentator] Carlos Alcaraz
takes the trophy at Beijing.
It's a hat-trick of wins
against Sinner this season.
It's this latest reminder
of what these two
will serve up
for many years.
{\an8}Alcaraz and Sinner,
every time there's a tournament,
{\an8}you want those guys
in the finals.
They seem to be head and
shoulders above everybody else.
[crowd cheering]
We are completely different.
He is a player
who is so, so talented.
Physically incredible.
He engages a lot with the crowd.
He's like fire.
And I'm more the calm guy.
But I'm not as calm as I look.
You know, because if you are
as calm as you look,
it seems like
you don't want it, really.
And we're lucky at
the moment because we have
two players that play a very
different style of tennis,
but they like each other.
[Sinner] Yeah, I have a very
special rivalry with Carlos.
He is the best player
we have right now in our sport.
So I think
it's wonderful to see that
it doesn't have to be disliking
the person next to you.
They're just able
to separate work and play
in a way that's honestly
kind of inspiring.
They realize, you know,
at the end of the day,
we do have to
see each other
pretty much every week
in a different country.
We might as well keep up
a nice relationship.
[Sinner] Hopefully,
we can still play
a couple of more times
in the future.
So it's a big pleasure
to share the court with you.
[Cahill] You have seven, eight,
nine, ten-year-olds out there...
[kids speaking
in other language]
...wanting to grow up,
being them as tennis players.
We need those rivalries.
It's what pushes
the next generation into sport.
[commentator] Well, they will
stand alongside each other
on many, many podiums.
There are some matchups
that are electrifying.
Roger against Rafa,
McEnroe-Borg.
What Sinner and Alcaraz
gave us at the French Open,
that's one of
the all-time greats.
[Nathan] We see Sinner
meet Alcaraz at
his native surface of play,
and, you know,
push him to the brink.
Yeah, triple championship point.
{\an8}[crowd cheering]
{\an8}[commentator] Alcaraz
is not done yet.
[commentator]
Defends his title.
Surely one of the greatest
matches ever played.
One of the most
famous poems
that there is in the world
is from Rudyard Kipling.
And it's called, If,
and ultimately it says,
if you can treat
triumph and disasters
and treat those
two imposters just the same.
Winning and losing, you have
to equally treat the same,
which is impossible.
The way he handled
the loss at Roland-Garros
and for him
to come back to Wimbledon...
[crowd cheering]
...is exactly
what Rudyard Kipling meant
when he wrote this poem.
They win all eight of
the Grand Slams
in 2204 and 2025 splitting them
equally between the two.
The level of dominance we
associate with the big three.
[Sinner] Being number one,
I really think he deserves it.
You know, he won
two Grand Slams like I did.
[commentator] It's a second
for Sinner down under.
[Sinner] But you know,
he won more tournaments.
[Nathan] Both have
of the player in third,
so once you get to that point
of separating yourself
on your own tier,
it really is
a one-on-one competition
and the clearest way
to delineate that
is to hold
the year-end number one,
which was in contention
as late as the last tournament
of the 2025 season.
And Carlos talked a little bit
about the pressure
of needing
to win those matches
that would secure
the number one ranking for him.
I'm trying not to think
about it, to be honest,
but it's really difficult
not to think about
the number one spot at
the beginning of the match.
I thought
a little bit about it, but...
I didn't think about it at all
during the match.
I was just trying
to get the win.
[crowd cheering]
♪
[announcer] Carlos Alcaraz!
[Alcaraz]
It's a great achievement now
that I achieved
my goal of the year.
It means a lot.
I'm so excited about
keep going,
and I never doubt about
fighting toe to toe
with Jannik on the court.
A player like him,
he always comes back stronger
from the loses,
and once again, it's really
difficult playing against him.
[crowd cheering]
{\an8}With a new generation
coming up,
{\an8}they really made this shift
in the top of tennis
{\an8}very, very quickly,
more quickly than I anticipated,
{\an8}so it's been really,
really good for tennis.
[kids shouting]
I think a lot of people
look to the big three
and just assume
that after they retired
the majors would be there
for the taking,
but Sinner and Alcaraz,
they kind of closed the door
behind them in an instant.
I always say we have been
so lucky to see this big three,
and together they made
something incredible,
so let's see
if we can do the same.
I couldn't be more proud,
is the word, of Carlos
and Jannik of really carrying
the torch to another level.
I think we have a global
high again of interest.
I think tennis is really
popular, it's very cool.
{\an8}The game of tennis has shown
throughout the years to be able
{\an8}to produce these great
personalities, great rivalries.
Obviously,
the Agassi-Sampras era
and then you had the era
of the Roger, Rafa, Novak.
Now Jannik and Carlos,
and we'll enjoy
the next rivalry,
whoever that would be.
And whatever happens,
you always have
this one against one beautiful,
ultimate competition
between two individuals.
You know,
the gladiatorial battle
within this colosseum arena.
The best player wins,
and they go
to become the number one,
which is the ultimate
achievement in tennis.
[Federer] I'm a big
nostalgia tennis lover.
Knowing the history of the game
is important to me.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
It was fun, thank you.
Thanks, guys.
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