Few players in the modern era can claim to have shared a court with all three members of tennis's legendary 'Big Three'. I am one of the lucky, and perhaps unlucky, few.
Over a career spanning more than a decade on the ATP Tour, I faced Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. While my record against them is what you’d expect, the experience of playing each was profoundly different.
They are now universally considered the three greatest players of all time, but from across the net, one of them stood out as the most formidable, complete, and mentally unbreakable opponent I have ever encountered.
The Artist: Facing Roger Federer
My first encounter with Roger Federer was on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Walking onto Centre Court is intimidating enough, but then you see him. There’s a serene grace to his warm-up. He doesn’t just hit the ball; he caresses it.
The first thing you notice is the lack of time. His game is so economical. There is no wasted motion. His serve seems to materialize out of nowhere, and his footwork is so fluid he appears to glide. You find yourself hitting what you think is a great approach shot, only to hear the thwump of a perfect passing shot whizzing by you.
Playing Federer feels like being part of a performance. He constructs points with an artist's vision. The crowd is enraptured, and there's a strange sense of privilege, even as he dismantles your game. His weaponry is immense:
- The Serve: Deceptively powerful and impossibly accurate.
- The Forehand: A whip-like, offensive masterpiece.
- Movement: Effortless and perpetually balanced.
The psychological edge was his aura. You were playing the legend, the icon. As one fellow pro once told me, "You play Roger hoping he has an off day, because if he's on, you're just a spectator in his masterpiece."
The Warrior: Facing Rafael Nadal
If Federer is an artist, Rafael Nadal is a force of nature. My match against him was on the clay of Roland Garros, his personal kingdom. The intensity begins during the warm-up. Every shot he hits, even a simple rally ball, has a violent, heavy spin that sounds different coming off the strings.
The physicality is overwhelming. His topspin forehand kicks up so high it feels like you’re playing returns at shoulder height all match. You have to generate all your own pace because he gives you none. He turns every point into a grueling physical battle, a war of attrition he is genetically designed to win.
What stands out most is the relentless pressure. There are no free points. You can win a 25-shot rally, and the next point, he's right back there, grunting, scrambling, hitting that same heavy ball, forcing you to do it all over again. His competitive spirit is palpable. He fights for every single point as if it's match point.
Nadal’s sheer physical and mental fortitude creates a unique psychological challenge: a sense of hopelessness. You realize you have to beat him not once, but over and over again, for three to five hours. As he famously said, which every opponent feels firsthand, "It doesn't matter how much you push me, I am never going to give up."
The Machine: Facing Novak Djokovic
And then there is Novak Djokovic. I faced him on a hard court, the surface where his dominance is perhaps most absolute. The experience was unlike any other. There is no aura of artistry like Federer, no overwhelming physical storm like Nadal. Instead, there is a chilling sense of perfection.
Djokovic is a wall, but a wall that attacks. His flexibility is otherworldly, his anticipation is preternatural. He takes the ball incredibly early, robbing you of time, and his two-handed backhand is arguably the most reliable and dangerous shot in the history of the sport. He has no weaknesses.
But his most devastating weapon is between his ears. Playing Djokovic is a mental puzzle with no solution. He is always present, always focused. You can’t rattle him. You can’t out-think him. He reads your patterns, your serves, your tendencies better than you do. He turns your greatest strengths into liabilities.
In my match, I remember a crucial break point in the second set. I hit what I was sure was an unreturnable serve wide to the deuce court. He not only got it back, but he placed it deep at my feet with such precision that I could only dump the ball into the net. It was in these moments that his greatness was truly revealed. He is the ultimate big-point player.
Why Djokovic Stood Out
So, which one stood out? For me, it was Novak Djokovic. This is not to diminish the sheer genius of Federer or the indomitable spirit of Nadal. Facing any of them is a near-impossible task. But Djokovic presented a unique and, in my opinion, a more complete form of tennis hell.
Federer could be sublime, but on his rare off days, you felt a glimmer of opportunity. Nadal’s game, while brutal, is built on a specific, physical blueprint. On a fast court, you could hope to rush him. But Djokovic’s game has no such caveats. He is the most complete player across all surfaces and conditions.
His combination of physical prowess, technical perfection, and unbreakable mental fortitude is a trinity no other player has ever fully mastered. He doesn't just beat you; he systematically dismantles your game and your will. He makes you feel like you have no viable path to victory.
The numbers now back up what opponents have felt for years. His record number of Grand Slams, his unprecedented double Career Grand Slam, and his dominance at the ATP Finals and as World No. 1 aren't accidents. They are the logical conclusion of facing the most complete, adaptable, and mentally robust player the game has ever seen.
Conclusion: The Ultimate Challenge
To have faced all three is a career highlight I will always cherish. Each match was a lesson in a different facet of greatness. Federer taught me about grace and offensive beauty. Nadal taught me about heart, grit, and never-say-die determination.
But Djokovic taught me what true, unadulterated excellence looks like. He is a machine optimized for winning, a player whose physical and mental games are perfectly synchronized. While the debate over the 'GOAT' will rage on in bars and living rooms forever, from my perspective on the court, one thing was clear: facing Novak Djokovic was the ultimate tennis challenge.
He is the standard. He is the benchmark. And for any player who steps onto the court with him, he is the embodiment of the nearly impossible task of winning a point, a game, a set, let alone a match, against perfection itself.