I wonder if Roger Federer, as great as he is, already knew in the early 2010s that both of them will surpass him down the road. It would have taken immense grit and determination to then still work on, improve and try to fight a losing battle, just for the love of the game.
And you are right, if Federer never happened to do what he did, I don't think Nadal would ever win a slam outside of clay and Djokovic would be rolled once he won a few.
Sorry I'm late to this, Sanjeet -- I have to imagine that Federer thought his records were safe at one point. In 2010, he still had 16 majors to Djokovic's one! But by the end of 2013, Nadal looked likely to catch him, and after that 2019 Wimbledon final, Djokovic looked likely to as well. I agree with you; it's amazing that Federer stuck around so long to try to hold them off. I'm really glad he did, because those late battles were a lot of fun.
I still think Federer's tears in 2009 were, at least sub-consciously, because he knew deep inside that his era of dominance is coming to it's end. I maintain his 2017 surge was one of the most impressive things I've seen in tennis - considering Fed was the most reticent to change out of the Big 3, and how specific his game is (and how glaring it's faults are to the other two).
I wonder if Roger Federer, as great as he is, already knew in the early 2010s that both of them will surpass him down the road. It would have taken immense grit and determination to then still work on, improve and try to fight a losing battle, just for the love of the game.
And you are right, if Federer never happened to do what he did, I don't think Nadal would ever win a slam outside of clay and Djokovic would be rolled once he won a few.
Sorry I'm late to this, Sanjeet -- I have to imagine that Federer thought his records were safe at one point. In 2010, he still had 16 majors to Djokovic's one! But by the end of 2013, Nadal looked likely to catch him, and after that 2019 Wimbledon final, Djokovic looked likely to as well. I agree with you; it's amazing that Federer stuck around so long to try to hold them off. I'm really glad he did, because those late battles were a lot of fun.
I still think Federer's tears in 2009 were, at least sub-consciously, because he knew deep inside that his era of dominance is coming to it's end. I maintain his 2017 surge was one of the most impressive things I've seen in tennis - considering Fed was the most reticent to change out of the Big 3, and how specific his game is (and how glaring it's faults are to the other two).