The four men to beat world No 1, 2 & 3 at the same tournament: Novak Djokovic looks to repeat feat at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has broken nearly every record in tennis – the most Grand Slam titles, finals, semi-finals, quarter-finals, and overall matches played.
After comfortably claiming all of these records, and more, it would be easy for the 24-time Grand Slam champion to lack some motivation at the end of his career. However, a record is on the horizon that would sit near the top of that illustrious career mountain.
If Djokovic beats Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner – should the Italian make the 2025 Australian Open final – he will make history as the first player to beat all of the top three ranked players in the world at the same Grand Slam.
This opportunity arises after his simply sensational 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, an opponent who is 16 years younger. The win also further extended his head-to-head lead, with the Spaniard now trailing with three victories to the Serb’s five.
With Zverev and Sinner making up the rest of the elite trio, it would be foolish to count out Djokovic’s chances of doing what no other man has done and claim this record for himself.
However, whilst no male singles player has ever beaten the top three ranked players in the world at Grand Slam level, four players have done so at ATP level – including the Alcaraz-conqueror himself.
-
Boris Becker – Stokholm 1994
In 1994, legend Boris Becker entered the Stockholm tournament as the world No 6, but the ever-dangerous German proved to have one of the most impressive weeks of his career.
In the quarter-final and semi-final, Becker beat world No 3 Michael Stich 7-6(3), 6-3 and World No 1 Pete Sampras 6-4, 6-4 respectively.
Having reached the final without dropping a set, the six-time Grand Slam champion would next face world No 2 Goran Ivanisevic. During the championship match, which was best-of-five-sets, Becker dropped the opening set, but rallied back to claim the title 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4).
The German was the first man in the Open Era to win a singles tournament, whilst defeating the World No 1, 2, and 3 along the way.
-
Novak Djokovic – Montreal 2007
18 years ago, whilst his level was evident, Djokovic possessed no Grand Slam titles and was ranked outside the world’s top three.
However, playing on his beloved hard court and seeking the gain form for the US Open, the Serb became the second player to beat all of the world’s three top-ranked players in the same tournament.
In the quarter-finals, Djokovic defeated world No 3 Andy Roddick 7-6(4), 6-4 to claim his first win over the 2003 US Open champion.
When four remained, the Serb would then clash with his biggest rival, world No 2 Rafael Nadal. The then-world No 4 overcame the Spaniard 7-5, 6-3 to move into his first final in Canada.
Coming into the final, the 20-year-old was on a four-match losing streak against world No 1 Roger Federer, including two losses at the start of 2007. However, Djokovic would not let the odds be proven correct, prevailing in a nail-biting 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2) final and claim back-to-back hard court Masters 1000 titles.
Australian Open News
John McEnroe’s ‘injury’ theory directed at Novak Djokovic could have big consequences
‘I can’t believe people are pointing to Novak Djokovic when Jannik Sinner did that the day before’
-
David Nalbandian – Madrid 2007
Just a few months after Djokovic broke the 13-year streak, world No 25 David Nalbandian entered the Madrid tournament in poor form.
Having dropped out of the world’s top 20 for the first since 2003, the Argentine suffered multiple physical issues throughout the first half of the year. Nonetheless, Nalbandian had an impressive run to the quarter-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open, including beating world No 7 Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro.
In the quarter-finals, he would meet world No 2 Rafael Nadal for the first time in his career. Not only did the Argentine manage to make it a successful first outing by getting the victory, but he also dominated the 22-time Grand Slam champion 6-1, 6-2.
After Djokovic’s victory in Canada and appearance in the US Open final, the Serb was now inside the world’s top three. Nalbandian would have a tougher time against Djokovic, but a 6-4, 7-6(4) was enough to reignite his career into another final.
Awaiting in the final, unsurprisingly, was the defending Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open champion – world No 1 Roger Federer. In the showpiece match, the Swiss got off to the best possible start, claiming the first set 6-1. However, Nalbandian overcame all the odds, raising his level whilst facing adversity, and was victorious in the second and third sets 6-3, 6-3.
If defeating the three top-ranked players in the world was not impressive enough, beating all of the ‘big three’ takes the record to another level.
-
Daniil Medvedev – Nitto ATP Finals 2020
Similarly to the gap between Becker and Djokovic, 13 years would go by after Nalbandian’s heroic effort to become the third man to collect the record. The year-end championships present a unique formula, with only players ranked inside the top eight allowed to participate – unless there are withdrawals.
In the most disrupted year of the tennis Open Era, and played without a crowd, Russian Daniil Medvedev became the most recent player to win a tournament by defeating the world No 1, 2, 3 along the way.
The former US Open champion defeated world No 1 Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 in his second round-robin match to qualify for the London semi-final. In that semi-final, Medvedev was just one game away from a straight-set loss to world No 2 Rafael Nadal, who had the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Instead, Medvedev broke back and won the match 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3.
In the final, the Russian would have to do it the hard way once again, going down a set to world No 3 Dominic Thiem – who had just won the US Open a few months earlier. However, a second-set tiebreak would prove crucial, helping Medvedev lift the ATP Finals trophy for the first time – 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.
Read Next: 5 times Novak Djokovic has been accused of faking injury after McEnroe claim: ft. Federer & Roddick