The three Grand Slams of 2018 have been won by 37-year-old Roger Federer, 32-year-old Rafael Nadal and 31-year-old Novak Djokovic. Three of the members of the “Big Four”, the name given to Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray for their dominance over the top trophies in tennis, continue to rule the roost in the ATP rankings despite their age and various injury setbacks.
Federer and Nadal in 2016 and Djokovic in 2017 ended their seasons early and climbed up the ranks again, returning to the top with Grand Slam trophies. Murray, however, is still on a tentative comeback.
There has been much talk about how men’s tennis is getting older with the generation of players over 30 still dominating the top tiers of the game. At the recently concluded Wimbledon, all four semi-finalists were over 30 years of age. At the French Open, 24-year-old Dominic Thiem became the youngest men’s singles Grand Slam finalist since Kei Nishikori at the 2014 World Cup.
Nadal, when asked why the older generation continues to dominate the game, said it could be due to one of two reasons.
“There are two options to explain the fact that three players are dominating the [tennis] circuit for so many years, and that we are in the top positions in the ranking for so many years,” Nadal said.
“Either we have been special, or the emerging players have not been special enough. I cannot say which is correct,” Nadal was quoted as saying by Express.co.uk.
However, the world No 1 was sure that there will be a succession in tennis sooner or later.
“A generation with special players [is coming], either because they will be better than us in a short time, or because of our age,” he added.
Of the younger generation, 21-year-old Alexander Zverev was considered the heir apparent. But despite his three Masters titles in a year, he best result at a major is a quarter-final at Roland Garros. Juan Martin del Potro remains the last young male player to become a first-time Grand Slam finalist when he won the US Open in 2009.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion is all set to host an ATP Challenger trophy bearing his name in his home town of Manacor. The Rafa Nadal Open will be held from August 25 to September 2, at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
