'It's natural that Federer, Nadal, Djokovic slowed down significantly', says legend

Tennis has shown that it can overcome the pitfalls related to the Coronavirus, managing to thrill millions of people, through the performance of professionals. 2020 was a turning point for the world of sport, an unthinkable year, dismayed by unforeseen events, adverse events, multiple difficulties. The protagonists of the ATP and WTA circuits have tried, and succeeded, to bring joy to the homes of the fans, offering the best (or worst) of their repertoire. Turning to the Grand Slam titles, honorable mentions are inevitable for Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, winners of the Australian Open and Roland Garros respectively. The Serbian and Spaniard are no longer in the news, but it's always a surprise to consider their self-denial, even in a gloomy time for the world of sport. Djokovic and Nadal represented sport in the world, just when it seemed to be only a distant memory. It is also impossible to forget the exploits of Dominic Thiem, who obtained the first Slam title in his career: heroic victory against Alexander Zverev and Us Open on the showcase, with the realistic hope that he may not be the last. During a recent interview, Nikola Pilic elaborated on these setbacks to Roger Federer's legacy. The 81-year-old opined that the World No. 5 will find it 'very difficult' to win any more Slams given how tough the competition has become during his twilight years on tour.

Pilic on the gap between the ‘Big 3’ and the NextGen

Nikola Pilic believes that the gap between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and the NextGen has been greatly reduced already, and that it will eventually cease to exist. But he claimed that all three of them are still too good to fade away into oblivion. "It is a natural process that the Big 3 slowed down significantly," Pilic continued. "However, that will surely happen. The difference between them used to be measured in miles, and now it's about centimeters. The old guard still has something to show." The 20-time Grand Slam champion has withdrawn from next year’s first Major on grounds of fitness. Next year will mark the first time that Federer won’t feature in the men’s singles draw at the Australian Open. It’s a huge disappointment for his fans as they had set their hopes on him returning at the Grand Slam that he has won six times. At an awards night in Switzerland some weeks back, Federer said he was unsure of competing at the Australian Open as his recovery from a second knee surgery this year was still behind schedule.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3n8XRRh