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Changing of the guard, or more of the same?
In men’s tennis, The Big Three have dominated for so long that it is almost half a literal generation (15 years) that they have been in charge.
Roger Federer turns 40 in August, Rafael Nadal turns 35 in June, and Djokovic will be 34 in May.
Traditionally, these guys would all be deemed past it —- but we’re not talking about normal tennis players here.
Enter Djokovic, who spoke to Eurosport after his semi-final win over Aslan Karatsev.
There has been a lot of talk about the New Generation coming and taking over the three of us, but realistically that isn’t happening still. We can talk about it all day if you want, but with all my respect about the other guys, they still have a lot of work to do.
Of course Dominic Thiem winning a Grand Slam title is fantastic. These guys are very strong, play high-quality tennis, without a doubt. Certainly they will be the leaders of the future of tennis, without a doubt, but I’m not going to stand here and hand it over to them. I’m going to make them work their ass off for it.”
When Thiem won the US Open last year, he did so without beating one of the Big Three. So the question is – will Medvedev fire the first shot for the Next Gen, and what will it mean if he does?
Medvedev goes into tonight having won his last 20 matches. However Novak Djokovic has played eight Australian Open finals — and won them all. Straight sets or marathons, he finds a way to win.
Something’s got to give.
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