Nadal farewell ceremony at Roland Garros was an absolute nut kick

As a long-time hardcore tennis fan who grew up watching the Big 3 go at each other's throat for years and years. I found myself tearing up watching this.

I still love tennis, but the level and intensity of the Big 3 just isn't there anymore.

For anyone who wants to see tennis at the highest level, check out Djokovic-Nadal in the Madrid semifinal: LINK

We all know Federer-Nadal at Wimbledon in 2008 was unbelievable (even if I'm a Fedfan), but this match doesn't get talked about a lot because it wasn't a Major, but man, the level was insane. Gonna miss these type of matches...

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Didn't realize he was actually friends with Fed and Joker

You think they'd be enemies

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I think he's closer to Federer than he is Djokovic/Murray because they go way back. My guess is he likes Djokovic the least.

I think at first they were huge rivals, but as they aged, they grew to appreciate what each other did for the sport.

Andy Murray being mentioned in those 3’s same breath, is an insult to Federer, Novak, and Nadal.

I get he was around and would have won more had he not played in their era, but he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same light as those 3.

A couple months ago. Rafa talks about what made Roger and Novak tough. Very interesting watch.

I gew up watching these guys and wanting to be like them as an average high school tennis player.

Man time flies.

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Who is there to fill the void?

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Alcaraz, who is fun, but much more inconsistent than the Big 3, week to week.

And then there's Sinner, who is World No. 1. Sinner was caught doping and, long story, but it certainly seems to outsiders that he was given extremely preferential treatment and only received a three-month ban. The story was that somehow, "by mistake," his trainer was using a steroid in an open wound on his hand and he massaged Sinner. Sounds real believable, huh?

So we have two high-level players who are far better than the rest of the field. One of them is just much more inconsistent than the Big 3 and the other engrossed in (deserved) controversy.

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Andy Murray being mentioned in those 3’s same breath, is an insult to Federer, Novak, and Nadal.

I get he was around and would have won more had he not played in their era, but he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same light as those 3.

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No one does, if we’re being honest

Grand slam final appearances since 1950

Djokovic 37
Federer 31
Nadal 30
Lendl 19
Sampras 18
Laver 17
Borg 16
Rosewall 16
Emerson 15
Connors 15
Agassi 15
Murray 11
Wilander 11
Edberg 11
McEnroe 11

In any other era Murray ends up the king (or co-king) of his era and a Top 10 player of all time. He’s not in their tier but it feels off to be offended about a legitimate great sharing the spotlight

That's awesome.

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Thank you for this extra special glimpse into your life

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Just giving perspective how tennis works. When you are a high level junior you become unreal close to your competitors.You don’t have school friends or hometown friends. It’s not really like anything else. Your best friend can be someone who lives 1,000 miles away because you see them more than your neighbor.

As someone who lived that life, I thought it was an anecdote worth sharing on why these 4 guys are so close even though they were “rivals”. They grew up with each other

It’s called respect.