'It will be tough for anyone to emerge after Federer, Nadal, Djokovic', says ATP ace

Many members of the Next Gen are looking forward to dominating the men's circuit when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have retired. The Big 3 have continued to monopolize the Grand Slams even after they are over 30, despite having to see how their performances have become more discontinuous than in past years. By winning the US Open, Dominic Thiem became the first player born in the 1990s to win a Major after losing three finals. The Austrian had also come close to the feat at the Australian Open earlier this year, but had to surrender to Djokovic despite a two-set lead. In a lengthy interview with Cyprus Mail, former world number 8 Marcos Baghdatis warned the stars of the future, saying that it will not be easy for three modern sporting legends to happen.

Baghdatis on young Italian Jannik Sinner

“It will be tough for anyone to emerge after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, even though there are great talents around," Marcos Baghdatis said. "One of them is Italian Jannik Sinner, he has everything to become great, including a great team around him and a legendary coach like Riccardo Piatti, which is an extremely important thing, especially at a young age such as his.” So a beautiful recognition for the South Tyrolean, who at Roland Garros had also put his majesty Rafael Nadal in difficulty. Jannik was then confirmed on the indoor hard courts in Cologne, where he reached the semifinals, getting closer and closer to the Top 40. The blue will now go to Vienna for the prestigious ATP 500, where he was drawn against the fearsome Norwegian Casper Ruud. The upper part of the scoreboard is manned by Novak Djokovic, fresh from the blow in the final in Paris, who will see his debut with his friend Filip Krajinovic. Also present were Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev, who complete a scoreboard worthy of a Masters 1000. The Big Three monopolized the top spot in the ATP men's singles rankings from 2 February 2004 to 6 November 2016 and again from 21 August 2017 to the present, for a total of 810 weeks (equivalent to over 15 years) as of 19 October 2020. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 310 weeks, Djokovic, the current number 1, for 291 weeks, and Nadal for 209 weeks. Each player has occupied the top position at the end of the year five times. The Big Three have played each other in 146 matches, including 70 finals. They have clashed 47 times in Grand Slam tournaments, including 23 times in finals.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3kxLg9M