Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominated tennis for nearly two decades. Collectively, they boast 66 Grand Slam championships and have accumulated a combined 947 weeks ranked No. 1 globally. Though Djokovic was originally viewed as the outsider who interrupted the Federer-Nadal rivalry, he now sits atop the record books.

The Serbian icon holds 24 Major championships, the longest tenure at No. 1 among male players, and has secured victories across every tier - Slams, Olympic gold, ATP Finals, Masters 1000s, plus ATP 500s and 250s.

Djokovic has established himself as the GOAT, the greatest of all time. Yet many continue to argue over who was the 'best' among the Big Three, whether judged by statistics, influence, or other criteria. And one of their former opponents has offered his own perspective.

Ex-world No. 15 Juan Ignacio Chela competed against all three throughout his playing days, and he maintains that one possessed superior "talent and class", regardless of what the statistics show.

"Roger's performance was impressive. For me... the thing is that they surpassed him in numbers, but for me, he's the greatest," the retired Argentine told La Nacion last year.

"On top of that, I experienced it firsthand: I'd go into the game and... I mean, I beat Rafa once, [Andy] Murray too, but not Nole, but I had match point. I only won a set against Roger once in Miami, but I couldn't stay on the court.. I was a player who needed rhythm, I needed to get to the sixth or eighth ball, but I couldn't do it with Roger.

"He'd take me off the baseline, he'd make a great serve, he'd hit a drop shot, he'd come at me on a return, or he'd take time with his forehand and then he'd take me off the court..

"Besides, if you ask me to tell ChatGPT to make me the ideal tennis player, I think it makes Roger. Then the others (Djokovic and Nadal) surpassed him in numbers, with other characteristics, but I think no one else has Federer's ease, talent and class."

However, Chela also knew there was no denying that Djokovic was better than the rest when it came to the number of titles he'd won and weeks he'd spent at the top.

"Yeah, he's the greatest. In numbers... It's like they're three superheroes with different powers," he added.. "In my time, [Pete] Sampras had won 14 Grand Slams, and it seemed impossible for anyone to catch him. And other legends had, I don't know, eight, nine, six, seven Grand Slams. These guys passed 20. It's crazy."

A three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist, Chela never managed to defeat Federer or Djokovic. He finished 0-6 against the Swiss legend and 0-2 against the Serbian star.

The former world No. 15 secured just one victory over Nadal across five encounters, prevailing in a deciding-set tiebreak at the 2004 Cincinnati Open.