Paris: Forgive Novak Djokovic if he’s just a little tired of hearing about it and asked to address how long he, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer can still stay at the top of tennis.
Or put another way, whether a younger generation of men is finally ready to consistently win Grand Slam titles.
‘I mean, I’ve said it a thousand times. I do not know how many times people want me to repeat it. Of course, the Next Gen ”, a marketing slogan pushed by the ATP, gets there, whatever. But here we are still winning the biggest tournaments and Slams. I do not know what to tell you, other than that, “Djokovic said.
‘I do not focus on the Next Gen’, even though I know … it creates a story. People like to talk about it. Well. The guys are there. They are already establishing themselves in the Top 5, Top 10 of the world. Nothing new, ”he continues, and then proudly remarks:“ But we are still there. ”
When the French Open begins in Paris on Sunday, it will in some ways feel as if order has been restored after the 2020 edition was changed in two important ways due to the coronavirus pandemic: Only 1,000 spectators were allowed in Roland Garros per day, and the competition started in September instead of May.
Back in place on the calendar – well, with a week delayed due to Covid-19 worries, but close enough – and with about 5,300 fans allowed in each of the first ten days, then 10,000 or more each of the last five days, could the clay championship set the scene for a symbolic change of guard? Or, to Djokovic’s point, will the older men remain at the helm?
“A lot of people underestimate the time and the era in which we play, with by far the three best players in the history of the game,” said Dominic Thiem, whose US Open title in September last year was the only major men’s for men. . champion since 2014. “It’s more than clear that it’s incredibly difficult to win Grand Slam tournaments, and mostly have to beat two of them.”
A look at dominance: 15 of the last 16 Grand Slam tournaments have been won by the Big Three, starting with the French Open in 2005, and they have collected 54 of the last 63 major titles. In the same team, 23 Slam finals involved one of these matches: Djokovic vs. Nadal, Djokovic vs. Federer, or Nadal vs. Federer.
That can not happen at Roland Garros, as they are in the same half of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. No. 1 Djokovic can Federer no. 8 in the quarterfinals; one of them was able to meet Nadal number 3 in the semifinals.
The other half includes no. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas and no. 6 Alexander Zverev, who is one of the twenty who consider men as candidates to win a first major trophy, along with no. 2 Daniil Medvedev (though he would not even admit in Paris). where he has been 0-4 so far) and no. 7 Andrey Rublev.
Things look completely different in the women’s competition, where the question is which player can extend the recent success of the younger set in women’s tennis. For example, Iga Swiatek won the French Open last year at the age of 19 (she turns 20 on Monday). Other relatively recent Slam champions include Ash Barty (25), Sofia Kenin (22) and Bianca Andreescu (20).
And then there’s someone like Coco Gauff, still just 17, who raises the WTA rankings. She is, like 19-year-old Jannik Sinner in the men’s match, seen as part of a group of possible future stars, ready to retire as Serena Williams, who is 39, moves on to the top men.
As in all sports – or, truly, in any business – there is ultimately turnover. Must be natural.
The puzzle game in tennis was about who breaks through and when.
With Federer turning 40 in August, Nadal turning 35 next week and Djokovic now 34, there seems to be recent evidence that such a shift could take place, including in the rankings, where Medvedev is the first man other than the Big Three or Andy Murray will be in the Top 2 position in 15 years.
Source: Telangana Today