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For many years now, the ‘Big Three’ have dominated the Tennis courts. Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer, the Big Three as they are collectively called, have an established record of being the best in the business and have only rarely allowed other players to win titles and grand slams at their expense.
However, recent events tell a different story, and Djokovic has been the first of the ‘Big Three’ to acknowledge the change that seems to be at the fore on the tennis rankings. Fans had already begun speculating the ‘Big Three’ falling apart after Federer suffered an injury that forced him to stay away from the sport for over a year. Still, Djokovic’s statement means a lot more than that.
Djokovic, aged 33, is the youngest of the three tennis maestros, with Federer and Nadal 39 and 34, respectively. Novak’s statement does not come as a surprise but does carry a lot of weight, considering he is currently ranked number 1 in the tennis rankings.
Recent championships and titles were all won by players outside of the Big Three, and that is a good enough indicator for Novak to make such a prediction. He is uncertain as to when his prediction will materialize, but it is inevitable, and we can’t disagree with Novak on this point.
He is not even certain as to who will be the player to dethrone him or break the Big Three, but some exciting emerging players that he believes have a chance to do the inevitable.
The last four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments displayed a change in trend, with the Big Three unable to secure a single tournament win. Tsitsipas, Zverev, and Hurkacz won the last three Masters events that were held this year, while Medvedev won the Paris Masters and ATP Finals last year to replace Rafa Nadal, the second spot in the rankings.
You must, however, consider that these Masters events are not as prestigious as tennis grand slams, but Djokovic feels that it is not fair that we see these upcoming players dominate in those as well. Out of the four who won the last four ATP Masters events, Tsitsipas is the youngest, aged 22. Medvedev is 25, while Zverev and Hurkacz are both 24 years of age.
In comparison to these rising youngsters, the current Big Three is facing challenges. Federer, aged 39, missed almost fourteen months of tennis due to knee-related problems, and his return didn’t fare well as he lost in only his second match at the Qatar Open, which sent him crashing out of the tournament. So, it will be interesting to see how Federer, who has more or less achieved everything there is to the sport, will cope with his injuries, fitness, and form.
Djokovic has made the prediction, but he isn’t too worried about the rankings. He is more focused on chasing down Federer’s and Nadal’s respective streaks of winning twenty grand slam events. Djokovic has won eighteen so far; the Serbian is just two short of equaling the record.
