Tennis' 'big three' leave slim pickings for rest of field

At the majors it comes down to the top three seeds on the men's side as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have won 28 of the past 29 grand slams.

Between Novak Djokovic, above, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, there have been few slam titles available to the rest of the field. The 'big three' have won 28 of the past 29 grand slams.

LONDON // Any men's competitor not named Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer might just as well stay clear of the All England Club for the next six weeks.

Dozens of bit-part players will be determined to break up the domination enjoyed by the "big three" in men's tennis, but the evidence suggests the challengers will be left nursing sore egos and broken dreams not once but twice.

The golden trio have won 28 of the last 29 grand slams. The only blemish was Juan Martin del Potro's upset of Federer in the 2009 US Open final; no one else has come close to ending that reign.

The leading contenders have taken a relaxed approach to the back-to-back titles up for grabs on the hallowed All England grass: first Wimbledon.

Djokovic shunned the warm-up events and opted for rest and relaxation after Nadal thwarted his bid to win a fourth successive grand slam tournament in the French Open final.

Nadal lost early in a warm-up tournament in Halle, Germany, then retreated home to sunny Mallorca, Spain for some golf and fishing.

Federer did reach the final in Halle, which now boasts a street bearing his name, and he would like nothing better than to see his name engraved on the Wimbledon trophy for a record-equalling seventh time.

But despite all the talk of the big three, Federer knows that he has been trailing in third place recently. Djokovic and Nadal have shared the last nine grand slam titles and have contested four straight major finals.

Djokovic, the Serbian world No 1, said fans should cherish this era as it was not often that any sport would have so many supreme athletes competing at the same time.

"The sport is experiencing some really good times now," he said. "We're attracting a lot of attention to men's tennis because we have these two great players and [Andy] Murray, and myself.

"We really have some great players, some charismatic players, a lot of personalities. This is good for tennis."

Murray will be heartened to learn the world's best player counts him that highly, but reality suggests he has faded since losing a nerve-shredding, five-set semi-final to Djokovic at the Australian Open in January.

Other players with an outside shot at the tile include Tomas Berdych (2010 Wimbledon finalist), Andy Roddick (three-times Wimbledon runner-up) and Del Potro.

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