Novak Djokovic, back at the Australian Open on his way to becoming the final boss of men's tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia For about two decades, beating Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the same Grand Slam ruled men's tennis.

Federer never did it, despite two attempts. Nadal was more successful, achieving the feat three times at the French Open in five attempts. Djokovic did it once: he won the 2011 US Open by beating Federer in the semi-finals and then Nadal in the final.

Outside of the Big Three, only four players have ever succeeded. Juan Martin del Potro knocked out Nadal and then Federer at the 2009 US Open; Tomas Berdych defeated Federer and Djokovic a year later at Wimbledon. Stan Wawrinka defeated the same duo at the 2015 French Open, after beating Djokovic and then Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open. The latest player is Marat Safin, who defeated Djokovic and Federer at the 2005 Australian Open, but there is a little asterisk: Djokovic was 17 and playing his very first Grand Slam match.

Most players who had a chance to achieve the double failed. Even though they had the necessary quality and faith to do it, which very few did, they failed to awaken themselves from the physical and emotional toll of beating one to get back up and to beat others.

For Djokovic, the modern-day equivalent of this task looms on the horizon, with a serious challenge in between.

Djokovic will play world number 2 Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday, but Zverev has acknowledged that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are currently the two bosses of men's tennis; The 37-year-old Djokovic still has the strongest claim to finish third. Alcaraz and Sinner shared the four Grand Slams last year, and no one has beaten them both at a major.

Djokovic came within a set of it when he defeated Sinner in the 2023 Wimbledon semi-finals before losing to Alcaraz in the final; Daniil Medvedev knocked Sinner out of Wimbledon in the quarterfinals the following year, but Alcaraz eliminated him in the semifinals. That could change if Ben Shelton, number 21 in America, pulls off a surprise at Sinner on Friday.

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But if Sinner comes through and Djokovic gets past Zverev, Djokovic would face the world No. 1 not only in the hope of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title, but with the chance to become the first man to beats the three best players in the world at the same time. Grand Slam. The last time Djokovic played Sinner in Melbourne, 12 months ago, the Italian broke his perfect record of 20-0 in the semi-finals and finals of the Australian Open with a four-set win.

Djokovic's dethronement by sinners in Melbourne proved to be a turning point. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images)

Now Djokovic must recover from the emotional and physical toll of beating Alcaraz so he can play a few more matches. He suffered an injury in the first set of their match, which Djokovic said he was concerned about after the match. He has a history of struggling in Melbourne, winning the 2023 tournament with a left hamstring tear.

He also has to get used to what could become a more frequent test. Last year, Djokovic was on the opposite side of the draw to Sinner and Alcaraz at three of the four Grand Slams, meaning he was protected from playing both. This time he didn't have that luxury and defeated Alcaraz in a remarkable quarter-final to set up his meeting with Zverev. Unless Alcaraz gets past Zverev to become world number 2, Djokovic could face the same scenario again. He is vulnerable to a draw, which could see him playing against the top three for the first time since he rose to the top three of the world rankings 18 years ago in 2007.

Perhaps more importantly, for the first time in a long time, he'll have to deal with two players on his own alien level. He last faced Federer and Nadal in the same major at the 2012 French Open, when he defeated the former in the semi-finals but lost to the latter in the final. From then on, one of the Big Three, including Djokovic for a short period, was often just so far away that such a scenario could not develop.

In the intervening period, Djokovic was often able to warm up for a final against one of their own with a relatively simple last four match. In Melbourne, three of Djokovic's previous five opponents in the semifinals were No. 28 seed Lucas Pouille, qualifier Aslan Karatsev and then-unseeded Tommy Paul.

The landscape has now changed, and if Djokovic could fend off the new two-headed snake at the top of men's tennis, along with beating the resurgent Zverev who has evolved his game to keep pace with Sinner and Alcaraz, he would be one of achieve its best performance. notable big wins. After living through the era of the most formidable pack the sport has ever seen before finding himself alone for a while, Djokovic is once again dealing with two otherworldly opponents.

To achieve immortality here, he may have to do what he's only done once before: take one out, then balance himself out and do it all again. For now, Zverev and the nature of his injury stand in his way.

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(Top photo: David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)