Big-4's rivals desperate not to abandon all hope

David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro have 43 titles and almost $50 million gratefully tucked away in the bank. But with the sole exception of Del Potro's 2009 US Open triumph, Grand Slam success continues to elude them with the sport's big four of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer carving up 33 of the last 34 majors. The clock is ticking loudest for world number four Ferrer, the 31-year-old Spaniard who only made his maiden final at a major at this year's French Open, where Nadal allowed him a paltry eight games. Ferrer's record against the big four makes depressing reading. He has lost 10 of 15 matches with world number one Djokovic, including all five clashes at the majors, and is 4-20 against Nadal, with his last win over his Davis Cup compatriot coming back in 2007. In matches with world number three Andy Murray, Ferrer is 5-7 and an embarrassing 0-10 against Federer over a 10-year rivalry. "I think they have one weapon more than the other ones. I think they are better than me," said Ferrer, who hinted that a major may now be out of his reach. "I made the final at Roland Garros, the first time of my career. I'm very happy for that. My goal is to be top eight and to play the Masters Cup in London. I am on the way," he said. World number five Berdych may be the closest to breaking the stranglehold and will be happy to see defending champion Murray as a potential quarter-final opponent at the US Open. Berdych, who will be 28 in a fortnight, has a 6-4 winning record over the British player, with two of those victories coming in 2013. But he is 2-14 against Djokovic, 3-15 when up against Nadal, with his last victory over the Spaniard coming back in 2006, and 6-11 when facing Federer, although he did have the consolation of beating the Swiss star in the quarter-finals in New York last year. He also got past the former world number one at Wimbledon in 2010 on his way to a runner-up finish, losing in straight sets to Nadal. "I think so far my career goes up and I'm climbing higher and higher, which is good. So it means that every experience I went through, I'm able to manage it for the future. So that's what I did so far from last year," explained the Czech. "I have to be patient on the court. I have a good rhythm, hitting the ball clearly. That's what I need for my game." Del Potro, whose career stalled because of a wrist injury after beating Federer in the 2009 US Open final, believes he is making progress and, at 24, has time on his side. He will need it. He is 3-9 against Djokovic and lost a heart-breaking semi-final to the Serb at Wimbledon this year. Nadal leads the big Argentine 8-3. Murray has a 5-2 edge while Federer boasts a 13-4 stranglehold. "I was close at Wimbledon, but you have really good guys playing much better than me at the moment. They are so good. That's the truth," said Del Potro. Source: AFP