Andy Murray. Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer. Four names have dominated men’s tennis since the start of this century. The four leaders of the all-time ATP rankings. Over 300 career titles between them, including 69 Grand Slam titles since the 2003 Australian Open.
Only three of those were won by Murray, who should perhaps consider himself unlucky for being of the same generation as the other three, especially Nadal and Federer. The Scot even had the misfortune of playing each man on their favoured surface; Nadal on Clay and Federer on grass.
The respective rivalries between all four men are considered to be some of the greatest of all time. Altogether, they have played 235 matches against each other, 74 of which were at Grand Slam events. This includes 33 Grand Slam finals, as well as 26 Grand Slam semi-final meetings, more than any other group of four players.
Murray ultimately only ended up winning three Grand Slam titles (the US Open once and Wimbledon twice). However, he was regularly knocked out of major tournaments by Federer and Nadal – and would likely have won far more silverware had he not been competing in an era so stacked with talent.
While Federer and Nadal were fiercely competitive with one another, Murray didn’t manage to keep things quite as tight. The Brit had nine meetings with Nadal on clay over the years, and only came out on the winning end twice, both at the Madrid Open.
His record against Federer on grass is not as bad by comparison, but they have only met three times on the surface. Murray won one of those meetings to Roger’s two.
| Andy Murray’s Grand Slam results | |
|---|---|
| Grand Slam | Best result |
| Australian Open | F (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016) |
| French Open | F (2016) |
| Wimbledon | W (2013, 2016) |
| US Open | W (2012) |
Federer was the victor in the pair’s most high-profile meeting on the surface, as he defeated Murray to win the Wimbledon title in the 2012 final. Andy would have his revenge just a few months later, however, when he recorded an upset victory over Roger in the final of the London 2012 Olympic tennis tournament.
The duo’s final clash on grass came in the semi-final of Wimbledon in 2015. Federer would beat Murray in four sets, before going on to lose the final to Djokovic.
