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Big Four no longer? Not just yet..


After another amazing Wimbledon Final yesterday, the question this tournament was are we seeing the end of the Big Four? Well two of the 'Big Four' just played out one of the greatest 5 set Wimbledon Finals in recent memory.

It's worth taking a look at the Grand Slam champions since 2003. That year saw Federer win his maiden slam at Wimbledon when he defeated Mark Philippoussis, 7–6, 6–2, 7–6. Fast forward to the current day and 44 Grand Slam tournaments later, the breakdown (Big Four only) is as follows:

  • Roger Feder: 25 Finals, 17 Wins
  • Rafael Nadal: 20 Finals, 14 Wins
  • Novak Djokovic: 14 Finals, 7 Wins
  • Andy Murray: 7 Finals, 2 Wins

Between these guys they have won 40 of the past 45 Grand Slams spanning 11 years. However, the Big Four wasn't truly born until 2008 when Djokovic won the Australian and Murray was a runner-up at the US Open that year to Federer. It was the Big One (Federer), then Big Two (add Nadal) and then Big Four.
2003United States Andre Agassi (8/8)Spain Juan Ferrero  SUI Roger Federer (1/17)United States Andy Roddick
2004Switzerland Roger Federer (2/17)Argentina Gastón GaudioSwitzerland Roger Federer (3/17)Switzerland Roger Federer (4/17)
2005Russia Marat Safin (2/2)Spain Rafael Nadal (1/14)Switzerland Roger Federer (5/17)Switzerland Roger Federer (6/17)
2006Switzerland Roger Federer (7/17)Spain Rafael Nadal (2/14)Switzerland Roger Federer (8/17)Switzerland Roger Federer (9/17)
2007Switzerland Roger Federer (10/17)Spain Rafael Nadal (3/14)Switzerland Roger Federer (11/17)Switzerland Roger Federer (12/17)
2008 Novak Djokovic (1/7)Spain Rafael Nadal (4/14)Spain Rafael Nadal (5/14)Switzerland Roger Federer (13/17)
2009Spain Rafael Nadal (6/14)Switzerland Roger Federer (14/17)Switzerland Roger Federer (15/17)Argentina Juan Martín del Potro
2010Switzerland Roger Federer (16/17)Spain Rafael Nadal (7/14)Spain Rafael Nadal (8/14)Spain Rafael Nadal (9/14)
2011Serbia Novak Djokovic (2/7)Spain Rafael Nadal (10/14)Serbia Novak Djokovic (3/7)Serbia Novak Djokovic (4/7)
2012Serbia Novak Djokovic (5/7)Spain Rafael Nadal (11/14)Switzerland Roger Federer (17/17)United Kingdom Andy Murray (1/2)
2013Serbia Novak Djokovic (6/7)Spain Rafael Nadal (12/14)United Kingdom Andy Murray (2/2)Spain Rafael Nadal (13/14)
2014Switzerland Stanislas WawrinkaSpain Rafael Nadal (14/14)Serbia Novak Djokovic (7/7)
Source: Wikipedia

Actually, apart from Wawrinka and Del Potro's solitary wins, the Big Four have dominated and continue to do so. There is no question however, that we are beginning to see a slight demise in some Big Four performances at the slams (for example Federer has only won 2 of his 17 slams since 2010). 

Let's look at the semi finalists for the past 7 Slams from beginning of 2013:

2013
Australian Open 2013: Djokovic v. Ferrer, Murray v. Federer (3/4)
Roland Garros (French Open) 2013: Djokovic v. Nadal, Ferrer v. Tsonga (2/4)
Wimbledon 2013: Djokovic v. Del Potro, Murray v. Janowicz (2/4)
US Open 2013: Djokovic v. Wawrinka, Nadal v. Gasquet (2/4)
2014
Australian Open 2014: Nadal v. Federer, Wawrinka v. Berdych (2/4)
Roland Garros (French Open) 2014: Nadal v. Murray, Djokovic v. Gulbis (3/4)
Wimbledon 2014: Djokovic v. Dimitrov, Federer v. Raonic (2/4)

In fact the last time the Big Four took all 4 semi-final berths was at Australia in 2012. With Wawrinka's breakthrough in January, and the emergence of Dimitrov and Raonic at Wimbledon it would seem like the Big Four's dominance is in more danger than ever. Can the new stars take the US Open? Or will we have to wait until 2015 to see new names emerge as GS winners. Whatever happens, this Golden Era of tennis is still strong today and a privilege to watch. 


Match Point Djokovic v. Federer at Wimbledon 2014 (forgive shakiness as I'm not a pro :))





Location: Wimbledon Chase, London SW20, UK

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