Djokovic looks to end dominance of his two main rivals

But by the climax of the French Open, there was no doubting Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will remain on collision course for a good while yet.

Federer and Nadal have won 26 grand slam titles behind them – weighted 16-10 in Federer’s favour – and can claim with some confidence to be contesting the greatest two-way tussle for supremacy that the men’s game has seen.

Nadal has already got his Wimbledon campaign underway; today is the turn of Federer and the only man to threaten that duopoly, Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic’s emergence as a serious challenger has led to the coining of a new sporting term: the trivalry.

In another era, perhaps Djokovic would already be established as one of the greatest players of all-time, but having had Federer and Nadal block his route to grand slam titles for many years, only in recent months has he begun to disrupt their dominance.

“If you want to call it trivalry or rivalry, whatever you want to call it, I don’t know,” said Djokovic recently. “I just try to focus on what I do. Of course Roger and Rafa are the two biggest rivals that I have.”

Having come off a recent winning run of 41 matches, Djokovic begins today against Jeremy Chardy as many people’s favourite to win the tounament.

But others see him still as third in line, behind the established guard.

Nadal, fresh from his sixth French Open victory, and grass supremo Federer – who plays Mikhail Kukushkin today – are the two that everyone will want to beat in London, but that should not detract from Djokovic’s amazing six-month unbeaten run, which came to an end in Paris.

Had he not lost to Federer in their French Open semi-final at Roland Garros, Djokovic would have equalled John McEnroe’s record of 42 straight wins for the start of a season, and gone into Wimbledon as world No 1.

The winning streak included a morale-boosting end to Djokovic’s three-year wait for a second grand slam – his previous win came at the Australian Open in 2008 – and broke up Nadal and Federer’s dominance at the top of the rankings.

Djokovic’s towering frame and powerful ground strokes are perhaps better suited to the hard courts or clay, but he is determined to bounce back at Wimbledon after seeing his run come to an end.

“It was the best few months of my life,” Djokovic said.

“I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period. It had to end somewhere. I knew it was coming. Unfortunately, it came in the bad moment. It was a big match but, look, it’s the sport. I will keep on working hard.”

Eight-times grand slam winner Andre Agassi admires the way Djokovic has sought to end the Nadal-Federer domination of the sport and is confident that defeat in Paris will make him even more determined to win his first Wimbledon crown.

“He is playing better than anyone else this season,” the American said.

“He will be back to winning ways at big tennis events. There are two more grand slam tournaments before the end of the season.

“If I was in his place, I would start thinking ahead to Wimbledon; I think he will be even better there and hungrier for success.”

Djokovic has performed better in the other slams, but his record at Wimbledon is decent.

Injury forced him to retire hurt during a semi-final against Nadal in 2007 which prevented him from having a crack at Federer in the final that year.

Last time out Djokovic faltered again in the last four, gifting 12th seed Thomas Berdych a place in the final after a disappointing performance on Centre Court.

Federer’s focus may still be on Nadal, with the Mallorcan closing in rapidly on his 16 grand slam wins.

“Who cares where you stand?” he responded, when asked if he thought Nadal could catch him.

Federer clearly cared when he had a bespoke jacket prepared for when he won his 15th title at Wimbledon in 2009 – at a tournament Nadal missed through injury.

A 17th grand slam title, and a seventh at SW19 to equal the modern-day haul of Pete Sampras would be a popular victory because Federer has been a wonderful champion.

Federer at his best plays the game with an economy of effort which was bewitching to behold. He was a master of finding angles, a thinking man’s sportsman blessed with natural athleticism and subtle power.

His dominance in an era of frantic competition places him above Pete Sampras and Rod Laver in the pantheon of greatness.

Federer may turn 30 in August – only three players in the last 30 years have lifted the famous gold trophy at the age of 29: Goran Ivanisevic when he became the first wild card to win the title in 2001, Sampras when he defeated Pat Rafter in 2000 and Jimmy Connors when he beat John McEnroe in a five-set epic in 1982 – but he cannot be ruled out. He still retains the hunger to win trophies so his children can witness his greatness and he moves beautifully on a slick surface which rewards fluidity and an all-court game.

Federer caresses the ball where Nadal bludgeons it. He glides where Djokovic stamps. He does not batter his body like so many of the rest and grass and Federer have always been in the sweetest synchronicity.

That is a big advantage when the grass season lasts for little more than a month, leaving players not as disposed to the surface with little time to prepare.

While sure to praise Nadal after his Paris triumph, Federer also made another remark that suggested the rivalry is no longer one built only on friendship.

“It’s always me who’s going to dictate play and decide how the outcome is going to be,” the 29-year-old Swiss said. “If I play well, I will most likely win; if I’m not, that’s when he wins.”

The emergence of Djokovic had not only relegated Federer to third on the bill, it also threatened to take the No 1 ranking away from Nadal.

Federer arguably played better at Roland Garros than he did when winning there in 2009 and the three of them soaring towards a Wimbledon final will be a sight to behold this next two weeks. [email protected]