The ‘Big 3’ have dominated most of the conversations around tennis in the last decade. While Federer and Nadal have been household names for a long time, in the last decade, Novak Djokovic has raced his way and earned tremendous success. At the moment, these three athletes are tied on 20 Grand Slam titles each. 

Rafa’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal spoke about Novak Djokovic failing to win his 21st Grand Slam title. According to the coach, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer must have felt relieved that the Serb was unable to go past them in their Grand Slam tally.  

The 60-year-old coach stated, “I think that both Roger and Rafael will have breathed a sigh of relief (and I suppose Rod Laver will too) and that they should now feel a little stronger to continue with the race next year. Djokovic will accuse such a painful defeat but will raise his head to face the next season.”

(Quotes translated using Google translate)

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be inspired for the 2022 season 

According to Rafa’s uncle, this result at the US Open 2021 will provide Federer and Nadal with some added motivation for the upcoming 2022 season once they resume and return to full fitness. 

The coach further added, “Federer and Rafael will see their spirits renewed to fight for their recovery. And the three of them will continue to give reasons to their millions of followers, still in suspense, to follow and support them for a while longer.”

Reflecting on the season so far, now that all the Grand Slam events are over, it is certain that this season belongs to Novak Djokovic. However, his arch-rivals have played the 2021 season with injuries and complications. We can only hope for a more intriguing battle between The Big 3 next season.

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