Every tennis fan felt compelled to make a choice in the middle of a recent golden era for the sport. Who was the best: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal? By 2012, the three horsemen of men’s tennis won everything,

Nadal won his first Grand Slam in 2005; he won his 22nd in 2022, 17 years later. The player he vanquished for that final major title, Casper Ruud, had grown up idolising Nadal. He was barely at primary school when the Spaniard won his first French Open title 17 years before they met.