Between 2008 and 2010, Novak Djokovic and later Andy Murray attempted to end the duopoly of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the top of tennis. They didn't succeed but emerged among all the other players on the circuit. At the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic defeated Federer in the semifinals and reached his first Grand Slam final in Melbourne, ending Federer's streak of ten consecutive finals.

Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had knocked out Nadal in the semifinals, to win his first Grand Slam title. After his success at the Australian Open, Djokovic was the undisputed world number three all season. Meanwhile Murray had continued to rise in the rankings and that year he reached his first quarterfinal in a Grand Slam round at Wimbledon, losing to Nadal. He also won his first two Masters 1000s.

Federer-Nadal remained the main rivalry and the pair met in the finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon. Nadal won both, and Wimbledon has been called one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. In August 2008, after winning singles gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Nadal overtook Federer in the rankings and became the world No. 1, breaking Federer's record of 237 consecutive weeks at the top.

The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, saw all four players reach the semifinals of the same Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Federer defeated Djokovic in the semifinals, while Murray reached his first Grand Slam final after beating Nadal in four sets.

Federer got the better of Murray in the final to win his fifth consecutive US Open title and his 13th Major title overall. After the US Open, Murray entered the top four of the ATP rankings for the first time. All four players qualified for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup, which Djokovic won. Although he had to withdraw from this event due to injury, Nadal finished the year ranked No. 1 in the world, ahead of Federer and Djokovic.

Between 2009 and 2017 there was the era of Big 4 or Fab 4, with Murray who managed, at the end of 2016, to also become world no.1.