Tennis legend Boris Becker hopes the younger generation of players upstages Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic when the they are still at the top, not when they are past their prime.
In a podcast with with Eurosport Germany’s Vocal Athletes, Becker said that there are a number of reasons why Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are still the top players in men’s tennis.
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“This is the one million dollar question, we have discussed this at every Grand Slam since 2017,” said the German six-time Grand Slam champion.
“Dominic Thiem has already been to a Grand Slam final three times, Alexander Zverev has reached the semi-finals and Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals, too. But none of them has reached the great success yet. Why? This is a full evening topic.”
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Becker said that the ‘Big Three’ have been “strong and consistent for 15 years” and that the younger generation “may not be good enough”.
“In my generation, there were 20 and 21-year-olds who won Grand Slam tournaments,” said the 52-year-old.
“I’d like to see this change happening while the big three are still strong, not when they’re old and fragile and have retired from tennis. If the US Open or Roland-Garros still take place this year, I would like to see another final of Nadal against Thiem. Maybe then the Austrian will win. I would like to see that.”