Chasing Roger Federer

When Rafael Nadal lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires for a record twelfth time on Sunday, he also came one step closer to matching his eternal rival Roger Federer in terms of total Grand Slam titles. The 33-year-old Spaniard now has 18 titles to his name, trailing Federer, age 37, by two wins at one of the tennis sport’s biggest stages.

Among tennis fans, the debate as to who should be considered the GOAT (greatest of all time), has been raging on for years. While Federer’s proponents like to point towards his Grand Slam record and his overall grace on and off the court, team Nadal argues that Federer cannot be considered better than Nadal (and Djokovic for that matter) when he has a losing record against him.

While it’s tough to argue against either of the two considering their achievements, Nadal eclipsing Federer’s Grand Slam tally would certainly tilt the debate in his favor. As the following chart shows, Novak Djokovic is also still in the running for the Grand Slam record. The youngest of the three at 32, Djokovic has 15 Grand Slam titles to his name. Should Federer and Nadal retire before him, he could well end up having the last laugh.