Big Four (tennis)

The early 2000s were seen as a time of transition in tennis, with older players retiring and a few players breaking through at the very top of the game.[22][23] Roger Federer had first played on the ATP Tour aged 17 in 1998,[24] finishing his first full ATP season the following year before finishing 2002 ranked sixth in the world, his first year-end ranking in the top 8. His breakthrough came in 2003 when he won his first Grand Slam tournament (or major) at Wimbledon,[25] won the World Tour Finals, and finished the year as world number 2 behind Andy Roddick. Federer captured three of the four majors in 2004, losing only at the French Open and finished the year as number one.

Rafael Nadal had won his first ATP Tour match aged 15 in April 2002,[26] and he defeated Federer in their first meeting in 2004 at Miami.[27]

In the following three years (2005-2007), Federer almost dominated the tennis scene entirely. Between 2005 Wimbledon and 2007 US Open, Federer captured eight of ten majors with a record of 67–2 in those tournaments.

2005 was Nadal's breakthrough year, in which he won 24 consecutive matches on clay, including his first French Open title, beating Federer in the semi-finals,[28] and he finished the year as world number two, while Federer remained number one for a second straight year.

The period between 2005 and 2007 was subsequently dominated by Federer and Nadal. They won 11 consecutive majors between them, meeting in every French Open and Wimbledon final from 2006–2008. Federer won two Grand Slam singles events in 2005 and three each in 2006 and 2007, reaching ten consecutive finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships to the 2007 US Open final. During this period, Nadal won three consecutive French Open titles.

From 2005 to 2010, they ended every year as the world's top two players.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were born a week apart, played each other as juniors[29] and made their Grand Slam tournament debuts in 2005. Djokovic made his ATP Tour debut in 2004, while Murray's was in 2005, a time when many bright youngsters joined the Tour.[30] They both reached the world top 100 in 2005, and top 20 in 2006.[29] Djokovic, however, began to excel ahead of Murray,[31] reaching one major final and two semi-finals in 2007 and began to challenge Federer and Nadal regularly. He also won two Masters tournament titles and five titles in total,[32] finishing the year ranked number three in the world. Murray, who was forced out of the French Open and Wimbledon by injury,[33][34] ended 2007 ranked 11th.[35]

Between 2008 and 2010, Djokovic and later Murray attempted to end the duopoly of Federer and Nadal at the summit of tennis. They did not break it but emerged ahead of the rest of the tour. At the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic defeated Federer in the semi-finals, reaching his first Australian Open final and ending Federer's streak of ten consecutive Major finals, continuing his fine form at the end of the 2007 season which saw him reach his first major final.[36] Djokovic went on to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who had eliminated Nadal in the semi-final)[37] to win his first Major. Following his Australian Open win, Djokovic emerged as a clear world number three during the year,[38] holding the ranking throughout 2008. Meanwhile, Murray continued to rise in the rankings, reaching his first Major quarter-final at Wimbledon, losing to Nadal.[39] He also won his first two Masters titles.

Federer and Nadal remained the lead rivalry, and the pair met in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Nadal won both, with the latter described as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time.[40][41][42] In August 2008, after winning the 2008 Summer Olympics gold medal, Nadal passed Federer to become world No. 1, after Federer had been at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks.

The year's final Major, the US Open, saw all four players reach the semi-finals of the same Major for the first time. Federer defeated Djokovic in the semi-finals, while Murray won through to his first Grand Slam final after upsetting the top-ranked Nadal in four sets.[43] Federer then defeated Murray in the final to win his fifth consecutive US Open title and his 13th Major title overall. Following the US Open, Murray entered the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time and all four players qualified for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup, which Djokovic won.[44] Despite having to withdraw from this event through injury, Nadal ended the year ranked world No. 1, ahead of Federer and Djokovic respectively, with Murray finishing fourth due to his run at the US Open.

In 2009, the Big Four held the top four places in the rankings for a whole calendar year for the first time. This also prompted the first uses of the term 'Big Four' to refer to the players,[45] although results saw Nadal and Federer generally remain clear leaders ahead of Djokovic and Murray, who themselves were still regarded ahead of the rest of the tour. At the Australian Open, Nadal won his first Australian Open title in another five-set epic, obtaining a third consecutive Major final victory over Federer who broke down in tears during the ceremony, while Murray and Djokovic were eliminated earlier on.[46] Nadal continued to dominate early in the season; however, he lost to Federer in the Madrid Open Final. Nadal entered the French Open as the favourite but lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round, allowing Federer to win his first French Open title defeating Soderling in the final.[47] Federer subsequently passed the record for the most Grand Slam wins, taking his 14th Grand Slam singles title at the French Open, thus completing the Career Grand Slam after Nadal had prevented him from achieving this feat at the previous four French Open tournaments,[48] and the 15th title at Wimbledon respectively.[49] Federer finished the season having reached all four Major finals for the third time in his career following 2006 and 2007.

Following Nadal's injuries, Murray and Djokovic made up further grounds in the rankings, although neither of them made a Major final in 2009. Their consistency at Masters level tournaments kept them in the top four of the rankings, with Murray reaching world No. 2 in August, and ending the 211-week reign of Federer and Nadal as the top two players of the world in the process.[50] His reign as the world No. 2 did not last as he was upset in the fourth round of the US Open by Croat Marin Čilić. There, Djokovic reached his first Grand Slam semi-final of 2009, losing in straight sets to Federer[51] while Nadal was defeated by the eventual winner Juan Martín del Potro in the semi-final.[52] Between 2005 Australian Open and 2014 Australian Open, this was the only Grand Slam event not won by a member of the Big Four. (Since then, Wawrinka has won the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open while Čilić won the 2014 US Open).

At the end of 2009 Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray finished as the ATP's top four players for the second consecutive year with only Nadal and Federer changing positions from the 2008 final rankings list.

During the 2010 season, the Big Four began to dominate the Tour as a group for the first time.[53] The Big Four provided six of the eight Grand Slam tournament finalists and won 16 tournaments combined in the season (compared to six for the other four competitors at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals).[53] At the start of the year, Federer continued his dominance as the world number one by winning the Australian Open, defeating Murray in the final, but his run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals came to an end at the French Open that year when he lost to Robin Söderling in four sets. He then lost to Tomáš Berdych at Wimbledon, ending his run of seven consecutive Wimbledon finals. Nadal dominated the clay-court season again, winning all three clay-court Masters events and the French Open.[54] Nadal also won at Wimbledon, although in both tournaments he only had to face one other member of the Big Four (Murray in the Wimbledon semi-finals).

At the US Open, Djokovic beat Federer to reach his third Major final, although Nadal won once again to complete his Career Grand Slam. With this win, Nadal became the first and so far only male player in history to win three Majors on three different surfaces in a single calendar year. In November, Robin Söderling (who has reached the French Open final) briefly passed Murray to reach fourth place in the ATP rankings, threatening to break the Big Four's run of filling the end-of-year rankings. However, all of the Big Four reached the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals semi-finals with Federer defeating Nadal in three sets in the final, leading to them achieving their third successive season in the top four positions. Djokovic and Murray were third and fourth respectively, both reaching one Grand Slam final apiece.[55]

The 2011 season was dominated by Novak Djokovic. He won ten titles in total, including three Grand Slams (only the fifth man in the Open Era to do so) and five ATP Masters 1000 titles (a record), enjoyed a 41-match winning streak (ended by Federer in the semi-finals of the 2011 French Open), amassed a record in prize money, and ascended to world No. 1 in for the first time in July. The season was described by many experts and former players as one of the best tennis seasons for a singles player seen in history, with Tennis Magazine describing it as the third-best tennis season ever, behind Federer's 2006 season, and Rod Laver's in 1969.[56] Pete Sampras described it as "one of the best achievements in all of sport."[57]

Djokovic's dominance contributed to overall control by the Big Four.[58] They all reached the semi-finals at two of the year's Grand Slam events, and amongst them won every Masters tournament. Nadal was clear in second place behind Djokovic, winning Roland Garros and losing in both the Wimbledon and the US Open final. Nadal ended the season with a 0–6 losing record against Djokovic: every match they played was a championship final.[59]

By his standards, Federer had a weak season. He failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002, losing to Nadal for the fourth time in a French Open final, and sixth time overall in major finals. He dropped to world No. 4 in November, the first time he had been ranked outside the top three since 2002.[60] Federer's drop was caused by Murray's remarkable run of form in Asia in October, winning three successive titles. However, Federer rallied, winning his three final tournaments (a sign of things to come in subsequent seasons), including the World Tour Finals, which was enough to secure an end-of-season ranking of No. 3. Murray, meanwhile, was making significant improvements to his game and made the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams, with his best result a defeat in the Australian Open final against Djokovic. Murray ended the year with two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles for the fourth consecutive year, and five titles in total.[61]

The dominance of the Big Four continued in 2012. Each player won one Grand Slam: Djokovic won in Australia, Nadal in France, Federer at Wimbledon and Murray (who hired former world number 1, Ivan Lendl, as his head coach earlier in the year[62]) with his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. This win, combined with winning the gold medal in the Olympic Games men's singles on Wimbledon's Centre Court with consecutive semi-final and final victories against Djokovic and Federer – increased confidence of Murray's position as a member of the Big Four: his end-of-season ranking of third was his best yet.[63][64] Djokovic entered the season as the world number one and remained there until July 2012, when he was overtaken by Federer, who reclaimed the top spot for the first time since June 2010. Federer subsequently overtook Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the top, and ultimately extended the record to 302.[65] Federer relinquished his world No. 1 ranking on 5 November, with Djokovic reclaiming the top spot and ending the year there for the second consecutive year. Djokovic was the only player to make at least the semi-finals in all four Grand Slam events, defeating Nadal at the Australian Open final in what is considered one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, and was the losing finalist at Roland Garros and the US Open. Both he and Federer won three Masters tournaments, seeing them dominate the season. Federer was also the silver medalist at the Olympics, where Djokovic finished fourth. Nadal, meanwhile, had his season cut short by an injury. Having won two clay-court Masters tournaments and Roland Garros, he was eliminated in the second round at Wimbledon – his first defeat at such an early stage in a Grand Slam tournament since 2005. He later revealed that he had been injured going into the tournament,[66] and he did not compete for the rest of the season, but still ended the year as world No. 4.

The 2013 season continued similarly, with Djokovic, Federer and Murray occupying three of the four semi-final slots at the Australian Open, with Nadal still suffering from an injury. Murray beat Federer in a five-set match in the semi-final, meaning all four members of the Big Four had beaten each other at least once in a Grand Slam event, but lost to Djokovic in the final in four sets. As a result, Djokovic became the third man to win four Australian Open titles and the first to win three consecutively in the Modern Era; and Murray himself became the first man to reach the final of the next Grand Slam event after winning his maiden title.[67][68] Nadal returned for the clay-court season, winning events in São Paulo, Mexico, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome before becoming the only male player to win a Grand Slam eight times by winning Roland Garros, defeating Djokovic in the semi-finals.[69] However, Djokovic did end Nadal's eight-year winning streak at the Monte-Carlo Masters.[70] Murray's clay-court season ended prematurely because of a back injury, and he did not compete at the French Open, whereas Federer lost in the quarter-finals after making the final in Rome.[71][72][73] Nadal and Federer lost early at Wimbledon in the first and second round respectively, thus ending Federer's 36 consecutive Grand Slam tournament quarter final appearance record, though he was most likely still feeling the effects of a recurring back injury he had been managing since Indian Wells.[74][75] Murray defeated Djokovic in the final to become the first British man to win the tournament in 77 years, extending his winning streak on grass to 18 matches.[76] Leading up to the US Open, Nadal won ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, his third hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the year after winning at Indian Wells earlier in the year, extending his winning streak to 15–0 in hard-courts for the year. He went on to win the US Open, defeating Djokovic in the final in four sets, for the second time. With his US Open win, he extended his 2013 hard court record to 22–0, and also completed the "Summer Slam" (winning the Canada Masters, Cincy Masters, and the US Open all in the same season), a feat only matched by other players in the Open Era, Patrick Rafter in 1998 and Andy Roddick in 2003. His streak would come to an end at the Beijing Open where he tore through the field and reached the final, but fell short to Djokovic. Regardless, it was still a 26-match win streak on hard courts, a surface that many pundits said would forever be Nadal's downfall. Murray and Federer lost in the quarter-finals and fourth round respectively.[77]

Overall, the season was about Nadal and Djokovic. Nadal won two Majors and five ATP Masters 1000 events. He was also runner-up at the ATP World Tour Finals. Nadal played in eight clay-court tournaments in 2013, making the finals in all eight of them, and winning six clay-court crowns. However, more impressively, Nadal played in eight hard-court tournaments in 2013 and made at least the semi-finals in all eight events, made the finals in six of them, and won four titles. Djokovic won one Major, and reached two finals and a semi-final, and finished the year strongly on a 22-match winning streak, winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London.[78] The 2013 head-to-head record of Nadal and Djokovic was tied at 3–3. A back injury ended Murray's season prematurely,[79] and he finished fourth in the rankings but was the only player besides Nadal and Djokovic to win a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 title, at Wimbledon and Miami respectively. Federer suffered his worst season in more than a decade. He reached just one Major semi-final, failed to win a single ATP Masters 1000 crown and finished the year sixth in the rankings with one title to his name, even if he too suffered from a recurring back injury throughout the season.[80]

As 2013 came to a close, Federer's fall in the rankings prompted many sources to debate whether the status of the Big Four had ended.[lower-alpha 1] This debate intensified after the Australian Open, which saw Stan Wawrinka defeat Djokovic in the quarter-final and Nadal in the final to win his first Slam title, marking just the second time since 2005 and the first since 2009 that a player outside the Big Four had won a Grand Slam.[90] Murray and Federer fell to sixth and eighth in the rankings respectively,[91] and after the tournament, several players expressed the opinion that they were now capable of challenging the Big Four.[92][93][94][95] However, the Big Four occupied all four final spots of the first two Masters 1000 titles of the year in Indian Wells and Miami, with Djokovic winning his fourth and fifth consecutive Masters titles with tight victories over Federer and Nadal respectively.[96][97] Nadal struggled early in the clay season at his traditional favorite tournaments of Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. A third loss, to Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters, was the first time Nadal had lost more than two matches on clay in a season for a decade.[98] He did, however, win the Madrid Masters after Nishikori got injured while dominating Nadal 6–2, 4–2 in that final.[99] Nadal went on to defend his French Open title, defeating Murray in the semi-final and Djokovic in the final.

Following his back surgery at the end of 2013, Murray had struggled to return to form in the first half of the year, reaching only two semi-finals and losing to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the quarter-finals while attempting to defend his Wimbledon title, a defeat which saw him fall to No. 10 in the world rankings.[100] This, and Nadal's loss to Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round, his third consecutive early-round loss at Wimbledon, led former players and experts, including Jimmy Connors, to express the opinion that the "aura" around the Big Four had faded.[101] Milos Raonic, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon, suggested a "human side" was visible in the Big Four, which was giving players belief when facing them.[102] However, Djokovic defeated Dimitrov and Federer beat Raonic to make it an all-Big Four final, the 24th they have contested. Djokovic defeated Federer in five sets to claim his second Wimbledon title,[103] a result that left Djokovic, Nadal and Federer occupying the top three places in the rankings.

Federer continued his return to form reaching the finals of Toronto and winning his first Masters title since 2012 in Cincinnati.[104] Later, he also won the Shanghai Masters, and returned to No. 2 in the rankings, overtaking Nadal, whose season had been curtailed by a wrist injury.[105] The US Open 2014 saw the Big Four's collective grip on the major titles slip still further, however, as Kei Nishikori and Marin Čilić beat Djokovic and Federer in the semi-finals respectively to contest the first Slam final featuring none of the Big Four since the 2005 Australian Open, and the first time since 2003 that multiple first-time Grand Slam winners have been crowned in a single season. Following the tournament, Murray dropped to 11th in the rankings, his first time outside the top ten since 2008. The tournament further signalled the decline of the Big Four's dominance.[106] Towards the end of the year, Murray managed to return to form, winning three titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia, allowing him to return to the top ten in the rankings[107] and qualify for the Tour Finals, but he bowed out at the group stages following a defeat by Federer, in which he won just a single game. Indeed, throughout the year, Murray failed to register a single victory against another member of the Big Four in nine meetings.

At the Tour finals, Federer and Djokovic both reached the final, but Federer withdrew citing injury following a brutal semi-final against Wawrinka.[108] Federer recovered to win the Davis Cup as part of the Switzerland team for his, and the country's, first triumph in the competition, leading many people to say that his tennis career was now complete.[109] Collectively, the Big Four won 19 titles in 2014, but two Slam titles and two Masters titles went to other players. In the end-of-year rankings, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal held the top three spots, with Murray in sixth.

Following Murray's strong end to 2014 and reaching the final of the 2015 Australian Open, he moved into the top four in the ATP rankings for the first time in over a year, meaning that the Big Four held the top four places in the rankings for the first time since early 2013, slowing the idea of the regression of the quartet.[110][111][112][113] Djokovic won the title, as well as the first three Masters titles of the year in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo.[114][115] In Madrid, Murray defeated Nadal in straight sets.[116] This was also the first time he had beaten another member of the Big Four in a Tour match since Wimbledon 2013, ending a streak of 12 losses against the other members. The defeat saw Nadal slip to seventh in the rankings, his first time outside the top five in more than a decade.[117] Djokovic defeated Federer in the Rome final. Nadal suffered his worst European clay-court season in a decade, failing to win a single title and appearing in just one final, whereas Djokovic and Murray entered the second Grand Slam event of the year unbeaten on clay. Djokovic defeated Nadal for the first time at the French Open in a straight-sets quarter-final. This was only Nadal's second defeat at the French Open, seeing him drop to No. 10 in the rankings.[118] Djokovic emerged victorious over Murray in a five-set match that was spread over two days[119] but succumbed to Wawrinka in the final in four sets.[120]

Federer beat Murray in straight sets in the semi-finals of Wimbledon.[121] Djokovic claimed the other spot in the final, to set up a rematch of the previous year's final, and defeated Federer in four sets to win his second major of the year, denying Federer a record eighth Wimbledon title for the second year in a row.[122] Murray and Federer shared the two North American hard-court Masters titles, at Montreal and Cincinnati respectively, with Djokovic being the losing finalist on both occasions.[123][124] The US Open final was contested by Djokovic and Federer. Djokovic won in four sets, giving him a third slam title of the season.[125]

Djokovic then continued to dominate throughout the remainder of the year, winning in Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and at the ATP World Tour Finals. Overall, Djokovic's 2015 season was one of the greatest in the history of the game, with him winning 11 titles (the most since Federer won 12 in 2006) including, for the second time, three majors. He also became the only man in the Open Era besides Federer and Rod Laver to reach all four major finals in the same year. He was dominant even against his fellow Big Four rivals, going 15–4 against them throughout the year. Federer was the only player on the Tour to be consistently competitive against Djokovic, winning three of their seven matches, which made up half of Djokovic's total defeats in 2015. Nadal and Murray both struggled against the Serb, with Nadal losing all four of his encounters in straight sets, and Murray winning only one of his seven encounters, in Montreal. However, Murray did lead Great Britain to Davis Cup victory in 2015, winning all eight singles rubbers and becoming the final member of the quartet to win the Davis Cup. Murray did finish at his highest year-end ranking of two even if he won fewer titles, reached fewer finals and had less success versus Djokovic when compared with Federer in the number three ranking.

In 2016, Djokovic collected his sixth Australian Open title in a straight-sets victory over Murray. He followed up this solid run of form with a record-setting fifth Indian Wells and record-equaling sixth Miami masters titles. Nadal won Monte Carlo for a record ninth time. Murray and Djokovic played in the finals of Madrid and Rome and split the titles. At the 2016 French Open, Murray reached his first Paris final to complete his set of Grand Slam singles finals, but Djokovic beat him in the final to become the third Big Four member after Federer and Nadal to complete a Career Grand Slam.

In the Wimbledon final, Murray beat Raonic in straight sets to win his second Wimbledon title, and third major title overall. Murray's victory marked the first time since the 2010 French Open that a member of the Big Four had won a Grand Slam title without having to defeat one of the other three members. Federer withdrew from the remainder of the 2016 season due to a knee injury, missing the Olympics and US Open.[126]

In the Olympics, Djokovic was knocked out of the men's singles in the opening round by Juan Martín del Potro, in a repeat of the bronze medal match from four years earlier.[127] Del Potro went on to defeat Nadal in an epic semi-final to set up a final meeting with Murray.[128] Murray ultimately won the final in four sets, becoming the first male player to win the singles gold medal twice. Nadal lost the bronze medal match to Kei Nishikori but won gold in the men's doubles event.[128] Djokovic won Toronto with Murray losing in the finals of Cincinnati. At the US Open, Djokovic reached the final but was defeated once again by Stan Wawrinka in a Grand Slam final.

Murray dominated the rest of the year. He won titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris. As a result, upon reaching the Paris final, Murray gained the number-one ranking, ending Djokovic's 122 consecutive weeks at the top. This meant that all of the Big Four had reached world number one at some point. Following an early loss at Shanghai, Nadal announced that he would skip the remainder of the 2016 season to recover fully from the wrist injury that troubled him earlier in the year. Thus, for the first time since 2001, neither Nadal nor Federer would be present at the year-end championships. At the ATP World Tour Finals, Murray beat Djokovic 6–3 6–4, claiming the title and the No. 1 spot at the end of the year and ending 2016 on a 24-match winning streak, the longest of his career. He became the second player after Andre Agassi to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, ATP Finals, Olympic and Masters titles, and the first to do so in the same calendar year. 2016 marked the first year since 2003 that neither Federer, Nadal or Djokovic finished the year as world number 1. Despite his struggles with form throughout the second half of the year, Djokovic still ended 2016 as world number two. Having suffered from injury-plagued seasons, Nadal and Federer ended the year at number nine and 16 respectively. For Nadal, it was his lowest end-of-year ranking since 2004, while Federer's fall in the rankings meant that November 2016 marked his first time outside the top ten since October 2002.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic and Murray both suffered defeats prior the quarter-finals. Nadal and Federer, meanwhile, both reached another Australian Open final. For Nadal, it was the first time he had reached this stage since winning the 2014 French Open. Both came through tough five-set semi-final matches to make the final. In the Australian Open final, a second consecutive five-set match for both players, Federer triumphed over Nadal, winning his 18th Grand Slam title. Federer went on to win a record-equalling fifth Indian Wells title, gaining another victory over Nadal in the fourth round. Federer and Nadal once again met in the 2017 Miami Open final, where Federer defeated Nadal, completing a sweep of Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami Open titles.

As the 2017 clay court swing commenced, Federer skipped the entire clay season to rest and focus on the grass and hard-court seasons, as well as to prolong his career. Nadal claimed the Monte-Carlo Masters title, which saw him historically become the first male player to win a single tournament ten times and simultaneously establish a new record for most clay-court titles at 50, surpassing Guillermo Vilas' 49. Nadal also won in Madrid with Djokovic falling to Alexander Zverev in the Rome final. Nadal breezed through to the French Open final without dropping a set for the third time, defeating Wawrinka in the final. This win also ended a three-year drought of slam titles for the Spaniard, his last title coming at the French Open in 2014. Following the win, Nadal returned to world No. 2, his highest ranking since October 2014. Djokovic, who lost in the quarter-finals, fell to world No. 4, his lowest ranking since October 2009 and his first time outside the top two of the rankings since March 2011.

At Wimbledon, the Big Four were the top four seeds at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2014.[129] Nadal, Murray and Djokovic all lost before the semi-finals. Federer, however, won the title without dropping a set by beating Marin Čilić in the final. Federer's victory was a record-breaking eleventh Wimbledon final and eighth title win. This led to the Big Four being the ATP top four again.[130] Djokovic announced in late July that he would be skipping the rest of the 2017 season to recover from his elbow injury,[131] and Murray would not play another tournament in 2017 as well due to a hip injury.[132] Federer reached the final of the Montreal Masters but sustained a severe back injury in the final, which essentially took him out of contention for the US Open and the No. 1 ranking. Although Nadal did not reach the semi-finals of either North American Masters events, he managed to reach No. 1 over the inactive Murray. Nadal then defeated Kevin Anderson in the US Open final. This was the fourth time that Nadal and Federer had won all four slams in the same year, following their sweeps in 2006, 2007, and 2010. Additionally, on 11 September 2017, Nadal and Federer were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, which was the first time since 20 March 2011 that they held the top two spots in the ATP rankings.

Federer returned to Shanghai, and won his second title there, defeating Nadal in straight sets in the final. This was his fourth win out of four meetings with Nadal in 2017, as well as his fifth consecutive. In 2017, Nadal had his best year since 2013, winning two majors and four other titles. Federer finished the year at world No. 2 behind Nadal and overall had his best year since 2007, having his highest number of titles won since that year, winning two majors for the first time since 2009, and ending the year with a winning percentage of 91%, his highest since 2006. Djokovic and Murray both finished with their lowest year-end rankings since 2006, at No. 12 and 16 respectively.

At the start of 2018, Murray underwent hip surgery for the injury that had kept him off the Tour since the previous summer. Djokovic and Nadal lost early at the Australian Open. Federer, however, went on to win the tournament in a five-set final against Cilic, and by doing so equaling Djokovic and Roy Emerson's record of six Australian Open titles, and becoming the first man to win 20 major titles. Soon after, by reaching the semi-finals in Rotterdam, Federer overtook Nadal to return to world No. 1. By doing this, he became the oldest ATP No. 1 ranked player (since 1973).

Federer then reached the final of Indian Wells, losing to Juan Martin del Potro. Federer's early loss in Miami resulted in the loss of the No. 1 ranking with Nadal overtaking him by 100 points. Federer announced that he would again skip the entire clay-court season. Nadal won his eleventh title in Monte Carlo, repeating the feat a week later for an 11th Barcelona title, winning both without dropping a set.[133] Nadal's loss to Dominic Thiem in the Madrid quarter-final handed the No.1 ranking back to Federer for one week until Nadal won the title in Rome.

Following Djokovic's early exit from the Australian Open, the Serb underwent surgery for the wrist injury that had been causing him issues through the previous year. He returned to the Tour at Indian Wells, and initially struggled much with form, failing to reach the quarter-finals of any of first five tournaments since his return to the tour. He showed promising signs by reaching the semi-finals of Rome where he was highly competitive in a match against Nadal, losing in two tight sets. He then reached the quarter-finals of the French Open but lost to unseeded Marco Cecchinato. Nadal went on to win the tournament, defeating Dominic Thiem in the final to claim a record-extending 11th French Open title and his 17th major overall.

Federer returned to the Tour for Stuttgart and won the title there which saw him return to the #1 ranking for a record 310th week.

At Wimbledon, Federer lost to Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals after suffering a hand injury at the start of the grass season, despite holding a two-sets-to-love lead and holding a match point in the third set.[134] Djokovic and Nadal, meanwhile, made the semi-finals, where Djokovic defeated Nadal in five sets to reach his first major final in nearly two years. He then defeated Anderson in the final to win his fourth Wimbledon title, his first major title in over two years.

At the US Open, Murray competed in his first Grand Slam since the previous year's Wimbledon, losing in the second round. Both Djokovic and Nadal made the semi-finals where Nadal retired against Juan Martin Del Potro after being two sets down due to a knee injury he had been sustaining throughout the tournament. Djokovic, on the other hand, defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets to make his eighth US Open final where he beat del Potro for his 14th Grand Slam title. He then followed this up with victory at the Shanghai Masters.

Nadal withdrew before his first match at the Paris Masters, thus yielding the No. 1 ranking to Djokovic, one day shy of exactly two years since he was dethroned. Djokovic and Federer set up a clash in the semi-finals where the Serb won a three-set encounter that lasted three hours. Djokovic was defeated by Karen Khachanov in straight sets in the final. Nadal then announced his withdrawal from the ATP Finals in order to undergo surgery for an ankle injury, as well as recovering from the abdominal injury that caused him to withdraw from Paris. At the ATP Finals, Federer and Djokovic were both defeated by champion Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals and final, respectively. The year ended with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer occupying the top-three positions in the rankings, while Murray's long periods of absence from the Tour led him to finish the year at world number 260.

At the start of 2019, Djokovic made a run to the semi-finals of Doha before being stopped by Roberto Bautista Agut who went on to win the tournament.

Murray, who was making his comeback in Brisbane, lost to Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Before the start of the Australian Open, Djokovic comfortably beat Murray in a practice match. In a press conference the next day, Murray announced his retirement from professional tennis stating that he hopes to be able to play his last event at Wimbledon that year,[135][136] but added that he could already retire following the conclusion of the Australian Open should his injury prove to be too painful to continue playing.[137] Murray lost in the first round to Bautista Agut; however, he exceeded expectations with his performance by extending the match to five sets. Following the match, he speculated that he could possibly return to tennis following a major hip operation. However, with the speculation that this could be the last match of his career, following the match a tribute montage from fellow tennis players was broadcast, with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic being among those to laud Andy for an illustrious career. Federer was upset in the fourth round by 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas in a tight four-setter. In the final, Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets to claim a record-winning seventh Australian Open championship and increased his Grand Slam tally to 15. By his Australian Open win, he was trailing Nadal by only two Grand Slams. In the week following the Australian Open, Murray underwent hip surgery.

Federer rebounded from his early loss at the Australian Open by winning his 100th title in Dubai. He followed this with a runner-up finish at Indian Wells and a title in Miami.

After withdrawing from Indian Wells due to injury, Nadal initially struggled, relative to his usual dominant standards, upon returning for the European clay-court season, losing in the semi-finals at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. However, he then returned to form in Rome, defeating Djokovic (who had won the title in Madrid the previous week) in the final to win his ninth crown at the Italian Masters 1000 event. The win also broke the tie he had with Djokovic as they co-held the record for most Masters 1000 titles.

At the French Open, Federer returned to play at the tournament for the first time since 2015, making it to the semi-finals where he was defeated by Nadal in straight sets. Djokovic also made it to the semi-finals, doing so without losing a set, but was beaten in five sets by Dominic Thiem in a match that was spread over two days due to rain. In the final, Nadal prevailed over Thiem for a second consecutive year, winning the tournament for a record-extending 12th time. This win would also push Nadal to 18 Grand Slam titles, just two behind Federer's record of 20.

Murray announced that he would compete in doubles at Queen's with Feliciano López. He also stated that he was hopeful of returning to singles action by the end of the year. Murray and López won the title; the first title Murray had won since Dubai in 2017 and a record sixth title (including singles and doubles) in Queen's for him. Federer, meanwhile, won a record tenth title in Halle, making him the only player in the Open Era besides Nadal to win ten titles at a single event.

At Wimbledon, Murray participated in both the men's doubles tournament with Pierre-Hugues Herbert and the mixed doubles tournament with Serena Williams, losing in the second and third rounds respectively. In singles, Nadal and Federer again faced off in the semi-finals, their first meeting at Wimbledon since the 2008 final which Nadal won. Federer defeated Nadal in four sets. He and Djokovic advanced to the final, where Djokovic defeated Federer in the longest Wimbledon men's final in history. For the second consecutive year, Djokovic would go home with multiple Grand Slams and brought his tally to 16, only trailing Federer's 20 and Nadal's 18.

Nadal returned to action in Montreal where he defended his 2018 Canadian Open title, defending a title on a surface other than clay for the first time in his career. Additionally, this would be Nadal's fifth Canada Masters title, which is just one shy of Lendl's record of six. It was also Nadal's tenth Masters 1000 title on hard courts, along with his three at Indian Wells, and one each at Cincinnati and Madrid (indoors). Following his victory, he decided not to play in Cincinnati once again. Murray, meanwhile, continued his comeback to tennis through doubles, playing with his brother Jamie in Washington and with Feliciano López, with whom he won the title in Queen's, in Montreal. In both tournaments, he and his partner failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals. However, he decided he was ready to return to singles in Cincinnati where Murray lost in the first round to Richard Gabriel Gasquet in straight sets, Federer was upset in the third round by Qualifier Andrey Rublev in straight sets, and Djokovic was upset in the semi-finals by the eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in three sets.

Murray is the only one not to participate in the US Open. He instead participated in Challenger Mancor, Es, where he lost to Mateo Viola in three sets during the round of 16. At the US Open, Djokovic retired against Wawrinka in the fourth round due to a shoulder injury, and Federer was upset by Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. Nadal advanced to his fifth US Open final while dropping just one set to 2014 US Open champion, Marin Cilic, in the fourth round. In the final, he met Daniil Medvedev, whom he defeated in the Canada Masters final just two weeks prior. However, after going up two sets to none, Medvedev found another gear or two and forced the match to a fifth set. Nadal would go on to defeat Medvedev 6–4 in the fifth set, thereby notching his fourth US Open title and 19th Grand Slam singles title, leaving him just one behind Federer's record.

Nadal ended 2019 being ranked No. 1 for the fifth time, despite not making it to the semi-finals of 2019 ATP Finals.[138] In the 2019 Davis Cup, Spain won their sixth title (their first since 2011), defeating Canada in the final 2–0. Nadal received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for his performance in the tournament after he won all eight matches in which he participated.[139] This was Nadal's fifth Davis Cup title.[140]

At the 2020 Australian Open, Djokovic won his eighth title (a record for men's singles) and his 17th Grand Slam title overall. He became the first man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title in three different decades.[141]

Andy Murray won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2012, defeating Roger Federer in the final.

Since the 2005 Australian Open the Big Four have won all three Olympic Games singles tournaments, all but five majors[142] and all but four Tennis Masters Cups/ATP World Tour Finals/ATP Finals.

The dominance does not just consist of winning the events either, with all four members regularly making it to the latter stages of the tournament. Out of 60 majors between the 2005 French Open and 2020 Australian Open, the only final not to include any member of the Big Four was the final of the 2014 US Open. They occupied ten consecutive major finals (winner and runner-up) from the 2010 US Open to the 2013 Australian Open. Since 2008, they have occupied all four semi-final spots on four occasions, at the 2008 US Open, 2011 French Open, 2011 US Open and 2012 Australian Open, as well as taking three of the four spaces on nine other separate occasions. In 2011, they occupied 14 out of a possible 16 Grand Slam semi-final slots. In the same period, only twice have two or more not made the semi-final stage (2009 and 2010 French Open), while in 2012 they took 13 out 16 Grand Slam semi-final slots. At the Olympics, members of the Big Four took five of the nine available singles medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and also including doubles have a total of five golds, two silvers and a bronze from these Games.[143][144][145] Murray has three Olympic medals, whilst Nadal and Federer have won two Olympic medals each. Murray is the only one to have won two medals at the same tournament, taking both the singles gold medal and the mixed doubles silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is also the only player of either gender to win two gold medals in the singles event. Djokovic is the only member not to have won a gold medal in any event so far, although he did win the singles bronze medal in 2008.

The Big Four, along with Rod Laver, Tony Roche and Ivan Lendl, are the only men in Open Era history to reach the semi-finals at all four Majors in a single calendar year.[146][147] Federer has achieved this a record five times in his career so far and Djokovic four times. However, this feat was accomplished many more times in the pre-Open Era. Similarly, the Big Four make up four of the seven players (along with Andre Agassi, Ken Rosewall and Ivan Lendl) to have made the semi-finals three or more times at each of the four Majors.[148] Additionally, the Big Four make up four of the ten players to have reached the final at each of the four Majors. Finally, prior to 2009, no man had made 20 Grand Slam singles finals, with Ivan Lendl leading the way with 19. However, since then, Federer (31), Nadal (27) and Djokovic (26) have each surpassed this mark.

Similarly, ATP Masters/ATP Masters 1000 events have been dominated by the Big Four. Nadal leads with a record 35 titles followed by Djokovic (34), Federer (28) and Murray (14). They have won a combined 109 titles (making 123 finals). Between the 2005 Indian Wells Masters and 2017 Madrid Masters they collectively won 96 out of 112 events (85%), however their most dominant period was from the 2011 Indian Wells Masters to the 2017 Madrid Masters where they won 54 out of 58 (93%). This includes all 9 in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Moreover, from the 2014 Cincinnati Masters to the 2016 Canada Masters, they won 18 consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events. From the beginning of 2013 through the first six events of 2017, they had a streak of 42 consecutive Masters 1000 events where at least one of the four reached the final, winning a combined 37 titles. Strangely, only three times (2009, 2011 & 2012) did all four win at least one event during the same calendar year. Since 2003 no other player has won more than 3 titles. Nadal (385), Federer (381) and Djokovic (355) have won more matches than any other player (Jimmy Connors is a distant fourth with 261). Murray (213) stands seventh.

¹Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009–present.
²Held as Stuttgart Masters until 2001, Madrid Masters (hard-court) from 2002–08, and Shanghai Masters 2009–present.

The four have met one another at least twice in Masters 1000 finals. Their head to head records are: Federer 5–7 Nadal; Federer 3–5 Djokovic; Federer 0–2 Murray; Nadal 6–7 Djokovic; Nadal 1–1 Murray; Djokovic 5–5 Murray.

No.	Year	Surface	Tournament	Winner	Runner-up	Score
1.	2005	Hard	Miami	Roger Federer	Rafael Nadal	2–6, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–3, 6–1
2.	2006	Clay	Monte Carlo	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	6–2, 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
3.	2006	Clay	Rome	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	6–7(0–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5)
4.	2007	Hard	Indian Wells	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	6–2, 7–5
5.	2007	Clay	Monte Carlo	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4
6.	2007	Clay	Hamburg	Roger Federer	Rafael Nadal	2–6, 6–2, 6–0
7.	2007	Hard	Canada	Novak Djokovic	Roger Federer	7–6(7–2), 2–6, 7–6(7–2)
8.	2008	Clay	Monte Carlo	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–5
9.	2008	Clay	Hamburg	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	7–5, 6–7(3–7), 6–3
10.	2008	Hard	Cincinnati	Andy Murray	Novak Djokovic	7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)
11.	2009	Hard	Indian Wells	Rafael Nadal	Andy Murray	6–1, 6–2
12.	2009	Hard	Miami	Andy Murray	Novak Djokovic	6–2, 7–5
13.	2009	Clay	Monte Carlo	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	6–3, 2–6, 6–1
14.	2009	Clay	Rome	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	7–6(7–2), 6–2
15.	2009	Clay	Madrid	Roger Federer	Rafael Nadal	6–4, 6–4
16.	2009	Hard	Cincinnati	Roger Federer	Novak Djokovic	6–1, 7–5
17.	2010	Clay	Madrid	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	6–4, 7–6(7–5)
18.	2010	Hard	Canada	Andy Murray	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–5
19.	2010	Hard	Shanghai	Andy Murray	Roger Federer	6–3, 6–2
20.	2011	Hard	Indian Wells	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
21.	2011	Hard	Miami	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
22.	2011	Clay	Madrid	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	7–5, 6–4
23.	2011	Clay	Rome	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	6–4, 6–4
24.	2011	Hard	Cincinnati	Andy Murray	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 3–0 ret.
25.	2012	Hard	Miami	Novak Djokovic	Andy Murray	6–1, 7–6(7–4)
26.	2012	Clay	Monte Carlo	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	6–3, 6–1
27.	2012	Clay	Rome	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	7–5, 6–3
28.	2012	Hard	Cincinnati	Roger Federer	Novak Djokovic	6–0, 7–6(9–7)
29.	2012	Hard	Shanghai	Novak Djokovic	Andy Murray	5–7, 7–6(13–11), 6–3
30.	2013	Clay	Monte Carlo	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	6–2, 7–6(7–1)
31.	2013	Clay	Rome	Rafael Nadal	Roger Federer	6–1, 6–3
32.	2014	Hard	Indian Wells	Novak Djokovic	Roger Federer	3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
33.	2014	Hard	Miami	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	6–3, 6–3
34.	2014	Clay	Rome	Novak Djokovic	Rafael Nadal	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
35.	2015	Hard	Indian Wells	Novak Djokovic	Roger Federer	6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
36.	2015	Hard	Miami	Novak Djokovic	Andy Murray	7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–0
37.	2015	Clay	Madrid	Andy Murray	Rafael Nadal	6–3, 6–2
38.	2015	Clay	Rome	Novak Djokovic	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–3
39.	2015	Hard	Canada	Andy Murray	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 4–6, 6–3
40.	2015	Hard	Cincinnati	Roger Federer	Novak Djokovic	7–6(7–1), 6–3
41.	2015	Hard (i)	Paris	Novak Djokovic	Andy Murray	6–2, 6–4
42.	2016	Clay	Madrid	Novak Djokovic	Andy Murray	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
43.	2016	Clay	Rome	Andy Murray	Novak Djokovic	6–3, 6–3
44.	2017	Hard	Miami	Roger Federer	Rafael Nadal	6–3, 6–4
45.	2017	Hard	Shanghai	Roger Federer	Rafael Nadal	6–4, 6–3
46.	2018	Hard	Cincinnati	Novak Djokovic	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4
47.	2019	Clay	Rome	Rafael Nadal	Novak Djokovic	6–0, 4–6, 6–1

The four Grand Slams, the ATP Finals, nine ATP Masters 1000s and the Summer Olympics, make up the 15 most coveted top-level tournaments in men's tennis. Although no player has won each of these 15 events in men's singles, Djokovic is the closest to achieve all 15 tournaments, missing only the Olympic title. Murray is only the second player in the Open Era after Agassi to have won a Major, Masters title, Tour Finals, Davis Cup and Olympic Gold.

Federer and Nadal are two behind Djokovic. Nadal has also achieved a Career Grand Slam and a Career Golden Slam, but has thus far fallen short of winning the Tour Finals, the Miami Open and Paris Masters. Federer has also achieved a Career Grand Slam, but is missing the Olympic Gold in singles, the Monte-Carlo Masters and Italian Open. Murray has won 11 of the 15 events.

Federer and Nadal have reached the final of each of the 15 elite tournaments. Djokovic has reached the final of all of them except the Olympics. Murray has yet to play in the final at Monte Carlo.

This table is current as of 3 February 2020

Player	Grand Slams				ATP Finals	ATP World Tour Masters 1000									Olympics	SR	W–L (%)	Total[149]
	AO	RG	WIM	USO		IW	MIA	MON	MAD1	ROM	CAN	CIN	SHA2	PAR
Novak Djokovic	W (8)*	W (1)	W (5)	W (3)	W (5)	W (5)*	W (6)*	W (2)	W (3)	W (4)	W (4)	W (1)	W (4)*	W (5)*	B (1)	14 / 15	687–140 (83.1%)	56 / 188 = 29.8%
Rafael Nadal	W (1)	W (12)*	W (2)	W (4)	F (2)	W (3)	F (5)	W (11)*	W (5)	W (9)*	W (5)	W (1)	W (1)	F (1)	G (1)	12 / 15	687–134 (83.7%)	55 / 188 = 29.3%
Roger Federer	W (6)	W (1)	W (8)*	W (5)*	W (6)*	W (5)*	W (4)	F (4)	W (6)*	F (4)	W (2)	W (7)*	W (3)	W (1)	S (1)	12 / 15	815–189 (81.2%)	54 / 238 = 22.7%
Andy Murray	F (5)	F (1)	W (2)	W (1)	W (1)	F (1)	W (2)	SF (3)	W (1)	W (1)	W (3)	W (2)	W (4)*	W (1)	G (2)*	11 / 15	430–140 (75.4%)	20 / 158 = 12.7%

¹Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009–present.
²Held as Stuttgart Masters until 2001, Madrid Masters (hard-court) from 2002–08, and Shanghai Masters 2009–present. Djokovic holds the Open-era record of 4 wins, while Murray also won the tournament in 2008 when it was held as the Madrid Masters.
*Denotes open-era tournament record.

This table is current as of 2020 Australian Open[150]

Player	AO			RG			WIM			USO
	Titles	Finals	Match wins	Titles	Finals	Match wins	Titles	Finals	Match wins	Titles	Finals	Match wins
Roger Federer	6	7	102	1	5	70	8	12	101	5	7	89
Rafael Nadal	1	5	65	12	12	93	2	5	53	4	5	64
Novak Djokovic	8	8	75	1	4	68	5	6	72	3	8	72
Andy Murray	0	5	48	0	1	39	2	3	57	1	2	45

Rank	Player	Grand Slams	WTF/YEC	Masters 1000	Olympic Gold	Career Slam	Tier 1 Total	Point Value Equivalents
1	Novak Djokovic	17	5	34	0	2016	56	75,100
2	Rafael Nadal	19	0	35	1	2010	55	73,750
3	Roger Federer	20	6	28	0	2009	54	75,800
4	Pete Sampras	14	5	11	0		30	45,500
5	Andre Agassi	8	1	17	1	1999	27	36,300
6	Andy Murray	3	1	14	2		20	25,500
7	Jim Courier	4	0	5	0		9	13,000
	Gustavo Kuerten	3	1	5	0		9	12,300
	Thomas Muster	1	0	8	0		9	10,000

The biggest tournaments since the reorganization of the ATP World Tour in 1990 are the four Majors, ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, WTF/YEC and the Olympics. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are the only players to have won 50+ tier 1 tournaments. There have been 101 Big Four Top Tier finals. Boldface indicates an Open era record.

The Big Four have collectively won 59 Major titles (with Federer a record 20, Nadal 19, Djokovic 17, and Murray 3). The only other active players who have a Major title to their name are Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open), Stan Wawrinka (2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, 2016 US Open) and Marin Čilić (2014 US Open). Starting with the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, their combined record at Grand Slam tournaments against everyone else is 707–62.[151] Moreover, only six times has a player outside the group beaten two of them in the same Grand Slam (Safin at the 2005 Australian Open, Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open, del Potro at the 2009 US Open, Berdych at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and Wawrinka at the 2014 Australian Open and the 2015 French Open). Stan Wawrinka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomáš Berdych are the only players to have beaten each member of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event.

Wins over each member of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event

• Stan Wawrinka, 9 wins (defeated Murray at the 2010 and 2013 US Open and 2017 French Open; Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open; Federer at the 2015 French Open; and Djokovic at the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open and 2016 and 2019 US Open).
• Tomas Berdych, 6 wins (def. Murray at the 2010 French Open; Federer at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and 2012 US Open; Djokovic at the 2010 and 2017 Wimbledon Championships; and Nadal at the 2015 Australian Open)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 5 wins (defeated Murray and Nadal at the 2008 Australian Open; Djokovic at the 2010 Australian Open; and Federer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and at the 2013 French Open)

Wins over three members of the Big Four at a Grand Slam event

• Fernando Verdasco, 4 wins (def. Djokovic at the 2005 US Open; Murray at the 2009 Australian Open and 2018 US Open; and Nadal at the 2016 Australian Open)
• Andy Roddick, 3 wins (defeated Nadal at the 2004 US Open; Djokovic at the 2009 Australian Open; and Murray at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships)
• Marin Čilić, 3 wins (defeated Murray at the 2009 US Open; Federer at the 2014 US Open; and Nadal at the 2018 Australian Open)

Only four players have defeated 3 of the Big Four at the same tournament. Two of these players are members of the Big Four: Nadal who defeated Murray in the round of 16, Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Federer in the final to win the 2008 Hamburg Masters; and Federer who defeated Murray in the round robin round, Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Nadal in the finals to win the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals. The only two other players to have achieved this trifecta are:

• David Nalbandian (defeated Nadal in the quarter-finals, Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Federer in the finals to win the 2007 Madrid Masters)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (defeated Djokovic in the round of 16, Murray in the quarter-finals, and Federer in the finals to win the 2014 Canada Masters)

Only two players have beaten a member of the Big Four in a major final. The first to do so was Juan Martin del Potro when he defeated Federer in the 2009 US Open final. Wawrinka defeated Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final, and Djokovic in the 2015 Roland Garros final and the 2016 US Open final. In all four cases, they defeated the world No. 1 in the process.

The Big Four have played in 100 tournaments where all four have competed. Collectively they have won 88 of these 100 tournaments (88%). Of the 12 tournaments they failed to win, they were runner-up in six of them, and five of these 12 tournaments occurred prior to them first being seeded as the top four players (post-US Open 2008). Since this time in 2008, the Big Four have won 59 of 66 tournaments (89%). And starting with the 2010 Rome Masters, they had won 31 consecutive tournaments where all four were present, until the 2014 Australian Open.[152]

Only seven players have managed to win a tournament where all four of the Big Four have competed:

• Andy Roddick (2006 Cincinnati Masters, 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships, 2010 Miami Masters)
• David Nalbandian (2007 Madrid Masters, 2007 Paris Masters)
• Nikolay Davydenko (2008 Miami Masters, 2009 ATP World Tour Finals)
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008 Paris Masters)
• Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open)
• Ivan Ljubičić (2010 Indian Wells Masters)
• Stan Wawrinka (2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open)

The Big Four's dominance ratio is also high when only three of the Big Four have competed in the same tournament. Of the 49 events where this has occurred, they have won 43 of them (88%). Since 2008, they have won 32 of 37 tournaments (86%).

Only 14 players have recorded at least one victory over each member of the Big Four.^[hth] Of these players, eight have recorded ten or more victories in total, one has a positive record against two members (both are 2–1 win-loss records), and none have a positive record against all four combined.

Top-Level tournament records 2005–present

^ As of 2020 Australian Open.

Before 2005, Murray and Djokovic had not competed in a Grand Slam tournament. Nadal had made four appearances during 2003 and 2004, reaching the third round at 2003 Wimbledon and 2004 Australian Open. Federer had been competing in Grand Slam tournaments since 1999, and had won Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004, as well as the 2004 Australian Open and 2004 US Open. The last time a Grand Slam semi-final did not feature Federer, Nadal or Djokovic was the 2004 French Open. Only two Grand Slam finals since the 2005 Australian Open have been contested without any of the big three, the 2014 US Open and the 2016 Wimbledon.

Tournament	Big Four								Big Three
	2015				2016				2017				2018				2019				2020
	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FRE	WIM	US	AUS	FREP	WIM	US
Roger Federer	3R	QF	FMD	FD	SFD	A	SF	A	WN	A	W	QF	W	A	QF	4R	4R	SFN	FND	QF	SFD	A	NH	A
Rafael Nadal	QF	QFD	2R	3R	1R	3R	A	4R	FF	W	4R	W	QF	W	SFD	SF	FD	WF	SFF	W	QF		NH
Novak Djokovic	WM	FNM	WF	WF	WFM	WM	3R	F	2R	QF	QF	A	4R	QF	WN	W	WN	SF	WF	4R	WF		NH
Andy Murray	FD	SFD	SFF	4R	FD	FD	W	QF	4R	SF	QF	A	A	A	A	2R	1R	A	A	A	A		NH

^D indicates the player met Novak Djokovic at that tournament.
^F indicates the player met Roger Federer at that tournament.
^M indicates the player met Andy Murray at that tournament.
^N indicates the player met Rafael Nadal at that tournament.
^P indicates the tournament was rescheduled to September 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tournament	35				36				37				38				39
	2016, 2021, 2022				2017, 2022, 2023				2018, 2023, 2024				2019, 2024, 2025				2020, 2025, 2026
	AUS	RG	WIM	US	AUS	RG	WIM	US	AUS	RG	WIM	US	AUS	RG	WIM	US	AUS	RG	WIM	US
Roger Federer	SFD	A	SF	A	WN	A	W	QF	W	A	QF	4R	4R	SFN	FND	QF	SFD
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray

^D indicates the player met Novak Djokovic at that tournament.
^F indicates the player met Roger Federer at that tournament.
^M indicates the player met Andy Murray at that tournament.
^N indicates the player met Rafael Nadal at that tournament.

Between 8 September 2008 and 28 January 2013, the top four positions in the ATP Rankings were occupied by all members of the Big Four for all but 16 weeks. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic were consistently in the top four for this period, with Andy Murray dropping to no. 5 during all 16 of those weeks. The only two other players who entered the top four in this period were Juan Martín del Potro (3 weeks) and Robin Söderling (13 weeks). This run was ended when David Ferrer replaced Nadal in the top four following a period of injury for Nadal, and retained his place in the top four for much of 2013 as Roger Federer dropped down the rankings due to his own back injury problems.[lower-alpha 2]

All four have been world number one. Federer first reached number one in 2004 after winning his first Australian Open, whereas Nadal did in 2008 following his Olympics victory after three straight years of ending the year ranked world No. 2, behind Federer.[161] Similarly, Djokovic achieved world No. 1 status following his Wimbledon victory in 2011, after four consecutive years at No. 3, in a season which is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport.[162][163][164] Murray reached the number one position after the Paris Masters on 7 November 2016, towards the end of a season in which he had made three Grand Slam tournament finals (winning one, Wimbledon), as well as winning the Olympic Games and three Masters tournaments.[165]

They have held:

• The first two places in the ATP Rankings continuously since 25 July 2005 (exclusively by Federer and Nadal from July 2005 to August 2009). As of 3 February 2020, this represents 759 weeks.
• The first three places in the ATP Rankings continuously from 13 August 2007 to 7 July 2013.
• The top four places in the ATP Rankings for all but 16 weeks from 8 September 2008 to 28 January 2013.

ATP Rankings (singles) as of 9 March 2020[166] # Player Points Move† Tours 1  Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,220 18 2  Rafael Nadal (ESP) 9,850 18 4  Roger Federer (SUI) 6,630 16 129  Andy Murray (GBR) 412 7

Singles Race Rankings as of 9 March 2020[167] # Player Points Move† Tours 1  Novak Djokovic (SRB) 3165 3 4  Rafael Nadal (ESP) 1110 3 9  Roger Federer (SUI) 720 1 N/A  Andy Murray (GBR) 0 0

†Change since previous week's rankings

* Statistics correct as of 16 March 2020.

Player	Start date	End date	Weeks	Total
Roger Federer	2 February 2004	17 August 2008	237	237
Rafael Nadal	18 August 2008	5 July 2009	46	46
Roger Federer (2)	6 July 2009	6 June 2010	48	285
Rafael Nadal (2)	7 June 2010	3 July 2011	56	102
Novak Djokovic	4 July 2011	8 July 2012	53	53
Roger Federer (3)	9 July 2012	4 November 2012	17	302
Novak Djokovic (2)	5 November 2012	6 October 2013	48	101
Rafael Nadal (3)	7 October 2013	6 July 2014	39	141
Novak Djokovic (3)	7 July 2014	6 November 2016	122	223
Andy Murray	7 November 2016	20 August 2017	41	41
Rafael Nadal (4)	21 August 2017	18 February 2018	26	167
Roger Federer (4)	19 February 2018	1 April 2018	6	308
Rafael Nadal (5)	2 April 2018	13 May 2018	6	173
Roger Federer (5)	14 May 2018	20 May 2018	1	309
Rafael Nadal (6)	21 May 2018	17 June 2018	4	177
Roger Federer (6)	18 June 2018	24 June 2018	1	310
Rafael Nadal (7)	25 June 2018	4 November 2018	19	196
Novak Djokovic (4)	5 November 2018	3 November 2019	52	275
Rafael Nadal (8)	4 November 2019	2 February 2020	13	209
Novak Djokovic (5)	3 February 2020	Present	7	282
Total Weeks	2 February 2004	Present	842

Represents ATP rankings record.

* All statistics correct as of 16 March 2020.

Time span Big 4 held the top 1 ATP Ranking position.

After Federer became number 1 on 2 February 2004, the Big 4 member holding the no. 1 ranking changed 19 times.

Time spans Big 4 held the top 2 ATP Ranking positions.

Spans per pair :