Australian Open: Rafael Nadal ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in GOAT race

Not only was Rafael Nadal playing for the Australian Open title on Sunday, he also had the chance to move clear in the race to be crowned the GOAT of men's tennis.

The number of Grand Slam titles is the most obvious and easiest metric for those who wish to determine - and not everyone does - who is the Greatest Of All Time, reports BBC.

Spaniard Nadal, 35, won in Melbourne to land his 21st major title, moving him one ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic after all three were tied on 20 Grand Slam singles victories.

Beating Daniil Medvedev for his second Australian Open title may prove to be pivotal in the race.

For some, the GOAT discussion is frivolous and does a disservice to the achievements of each player in their own right.

Looking purely at the numbers does not tell the full picture. It is not possible to quantify their different playing styles, how they have adapted their games, their physical and mental strength, nor how they have overcome the tough moments that have peppered all of their careers.

But it does provide the framework for the debate. Here, BBC Sport crunches the statistics for you to consider, and gives you the chance to have your say in the comments section at the bottom.

From a clear frontrunner to a three-horse race

The race to be crowned the GOAT - in terms of major titles, at least - is tighter between the top three men than many thought it would ever be.

When Federer overtook Pete Sampras' previous best mark - winning his 15th Grand Slam title, aged 27, at Wimbledon in 2009 - few thought he would ever be caught.

At that stage, 23-year-old Nadal had won six majors and 22-year-old Djokovic had not added to his maiden title at the Australian Open in 2008.

After winning at least one major in every year from 2003-2010, Federer's trajectory began to plateau in 2011, the year Djokovic took his game to new heights.

Another Wimbledon title followed for Federer in 2012 but then, thanks to a combination of his rivals' brilliance and his injuries, the Swiss player did not win another major for four years.

Most wrote him off as Nadal and Djokovic closed on his tally, before Federer's renaissance in 2017 - when his rivals stumbled because of injury and loss of form - kept him at least three titles ahead.

That was until 2019, when Nadal and Djokovic shared the four majors equally between them, leaving the trio closer than ever.

Then Federer had company - for the first time since he was briefly level with Sampras in 2009 - after Nadal's win at Roland Garros in 2020.

Djokovic, 34, pulled level too after winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2021.

But he missed the opportunity to add to his nine triumphs in Melbourne when he was deported from Australia in a visa row connected to him not being vaccinated.

The Serb is a year younger than Nadal and has time on his side compared with 40-year-old Federer, who did not play in Melbourne because of a knee injury.

How do they compare on different surfaces?

Some argue that Nadal's utter dominance on the Roland Garros clay means he is perhaps not as complete an all-round player as Federer and Djokovic.

The 'King of Clay' has won 13 of his 21 major titles in Paris. Neither Federer nor Djokovic has been as dominant at one place, although nor has any other player - male or female - in the history of the sport.

But Federer and Djokovic do each have a Grand Slam they have bossed over the years, and at which they hold the record for the number of men's titles won.

Djokovic has claimed nine of his 20 victories on the Australian Open hard courts, while Federer has won eight of his 20 majors on the Wimbledon grass.

However, Federer has not achieved what Nadal has now joined Djokovic in doing - winning at least two Slams on each surface.

By beating Medvedev, Nadal has become the second man in the Open era - and fourth in history - to win each of the four majors twice. Federer, meanwhile, has won just once in France.