At 20-19-16 in majors, Federer vs. Nadal vs. Djokovic is still fun

NEW YORK — At some point, of course, Rafael Nadal and the rest of the Big Three will stop winning Grand Slam titles, someone younger will emerge and a shift at the top of tennis will happen.

Just not yet.

And although so much attention in the sport has been focused recently on trying to figure out who will break up the dominance of Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, it just might be more fun to contemplate — from now until the Australian Open in January, at least — how their competition for the most major championships will end when they’ve all walked away from the game.

After emerging with a 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Daniil Medvedev in a memorable seesaw of a U.S. Open final Sunday night, Nadal insisted that, yes, he wants the record by the time he’s done, but, no, it’s not all that matters to him or how he’ll define his happiness.

That’s fine, of course.

To each his own.

But the rest of us can — and should — track it and care.

“He’s in a better position today,” one of Nadal’s coaches, Francisco Roig, said after his man edged Medvedev in a 4-hour, 50-minute epic. “But all of them are still winning tournaments. It’s a long way, but he’s in the best position.”

Here’s the current count: Federer 20, Nadal 19, Djokovic 16.

In 2019, Djokovic and Nadal won two majors apiece, drawing closer to Federer, whose most recent Slam trophy came at the 2018 Australian Open.

Each has a career Grand Slam, too.

Federer’s tally: eight from Wimbledon, six from the Australian Open, five from the U.S. Open, one from the French Open.

Nadal’s tally: 12 from the French Open, four from the U.S. Open, two from Wimbledon, one from the Australian Open.

Djokovic’s tally: seven from the Australian Open, five from Wimbledon, three from the...