“Certainly none of them have played at the level that Novak is at in this phase of their careers in a consistent way”: Murray picks Djokovic as most consistent in Big-3's late careers

Andy Murray spoke about the motivation of the big-3 during the latter part of their careers and singled out Novak Djokovic over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The British tennis player, at 36 years old, is one of the authoritative voices when it comes to discussing the big-3 and the rivalry between Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Murray competed against them throughout his career and was the only player to interrupt their dominance in the tennis world between 2004 and 2022.

Between 2016 and 2017, Murray accumulated a total of 41 weeks as the world No. 1. Furthermore, in his career, he won 3 Grand Slam titles and reached eight other Grand Slam finals. Out of these 11 finals, he played against a member of the big-3 in 10 of them.

According to Murray, what sets the big-3 apart is their ability to maintain motivation to continue winning tournaments. In this regard, he particularly highlighted Djokovic for his achievements in recent years, despite being 36 years old.

“The motivation & energy to keep winning & keep performing at that level is brilliant. Of all of them, Roger, Rafa, they have all had long careers, but certainly none of them, I think, have played at the level that Novak is at in this phase of their careers in a consistent way.”

Murray has also showcased his competitive spirit after recovering from various injuries and surgeries. Despite his hip problems, he continues to compete at the highest level.

“I got up to my highest ranking (No.36) a few weeks ago since I had the hip operation so that’s positive and shows that although it’s not as fast a trajectory as I would have liked, I’m still going in the right direction.”

“I’ve got an opportunity with these last five or six tournaments at the end of the year to have a strong finish, so that’s what I’m hoping for here,”

The former world No. 1 is currently competing in the ATP 250 Zhuhai Open. In the first round, he defeated the local player Ye Cong Mo and is set to face Aslan Karatsev in the round of 16:

“I really enjoyed my last visit to Zhuhai. It’s a beautiful city and a great city with great fans. It’s great to be playing tennis in China again and I am really looking forward to coming back to play at the Hengqin International Tennis Centre.”