"The fight is affected by politics" - Lendl on Djokovic, Nadal and Federer fighting for Grand Slam titles

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

Rafael Nadal is currently the only player with 22 Grand Slam titles with Novak Djokovic being just one behind and Roger Federer trailing by two.

The Big Three keeps collecting the Grand Slam titles and it seems that the 'GOAT Race' is far from being over. At the 2022 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal used his chance when Novak Djokovic was not allowed to play and it seems that he will have a similar opportunity also at this year's US Open. And that is something that bothers Ivan Lendl who would like to see the fight which isn't affected by any external factor.

"I was happy when Nadal increased his Grand Slam titles to 22 as I was with Nole" - Medvedev glad to see Big Three winning
"I was happy when Nadal increased his Grand Slam titles to 22 as I was with Nole" - Medvedev glad to see Big Three winning

"That story is not over yet," Lendl told Croatian channel Nova TV. "It will be finished when all three say goodbye. At the moment, Roger seems to be out of it, because he hasn't played for a long time and he is the oldest. It is fascinating to watch and follow, not only for people from the tennis world, but for everyone else, spectators, fans."

"The only thing I regret a little bit is that the fight is somehow affected by politics at the moment because of the vaccination issue. I only hope that in 20 years we won't look at it through that prism, that we won't be sure who is the greatest because of politics."

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"I think we're getting closer to them" - says Tsitsipas on the challengers to the Big 3

"If Rafa wins one more title, I think he will have to answer the question about the vaccination and the fact that Novak could not play. And I don't think that's fair. I'd actually like to see someone have a two, three, four title advantage at the top," said Lendl.

"I don't care who it is, I don't have a favourite. Just for the sake of answering that question, to be clear, and not to say 'if this man could play, maybe it would be different, your record is not that good'. That is not fair".

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