Tennis’ “Big Three” has been such a constant in the sport for so long that any preceding era seems like a lifetime ago.

We’ve known for quite some time that the era of the Big Three has been coming to an end.

2024 has confirmed that the end is not just nigh, it’s here.

For over two decades, men’s tennis has been Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Yes, there’s been some interlopers, primarily in the shape of Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Stan Wawrinka but one thing has been consistent over the past two decades and that’s that the Big Three.

Every single year since 2003, one of the Big Three has won at least one grand slam title.

It’s difficult to appreciate just how long their stretch of dominance, as a trio, was but to give an idea, I was still at university, Tony Blair and George W Bush were prime minister and president of the UK and US respectively, Michael Jackson dangled his baby son off a balcony and, for the first time ever, a mobile phone had a camera built into it.

These landmarks all seem an age ago, but that’s how long tennis’ Big Three endured.

It was Federer who arrived first, winning his maiden grand slam title in the summer of 2003, at Wimbledon.

Federer was the first o the Big Three to win a grand slam title, in 2003

The previous year, it was the likes of Pete Sampras and Lleyton Hewitt who were winning........

© Herald Scotland