Djokovic, Federer and now Nadal – the big three chasing a glorious 21st | Simon Cambers

The Spaniard meets Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final aiming to surpass his two great rivals for major wins

There is a nice symmetry that when Rafael Nadal faces Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday, it will be the Spaniard’s turn to try to win a record 21st grand slam title. Roger Federer had his chance at Wimbledon in 2019, when he had two match points in the final against Novak Djokovic but lost in a deciding tiebreak. Djokovic had his chance at the US Open last year when, having won all three of the year’s previous majors, he reached the final in New York but was beaten by Medvedev, denying him the calendar year grand slam.

Now it is Nadal’s time, a fitting moment for the trio who have dominated men’s tennis for more than a decade and whose lives and successes have been inspired by and, in terms of numbers at least, adversely affected by the presence of the other two.