NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams, you may have heard, played in what was her last match at the U. S. Open. Rafael Nadal lost in the fourth round. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer (more on them later) weren’t even in the tournament.
These 4 players have ruled and been the main attractions of tennis for decades, accumulating a total of 86 Grand Slam singles titles, each with at least 20. And so, while the quarterfinals began at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday without any members of this quartet. Today, it is logical to ask: is this the end of an era?
Nadal, 36, struck a philosophical note on the subject after being sacked by 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe on Monday 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“Some leave, others arrive and the global one continues. It’s an herbal cycle,” said Nadal, who noted that his wife is pregnant with their first child and therefore doesn’t know when he will play the next one. “It’s the same. The same thing takes several years, others come and we leave, it makes sense.
People wondered, and perhaps worried, about when something new would emerge to take over in men’s and women’s tennis.
This US Open, whether symbolic or de facto sinister, gives an idea of the current and long-term state of the game. except for Iga Swiatek, a 21-year-old Polish woman who is No. 1 on the WTA Tour and has two French Open titles. )
According to the American Tennis Association, this is the first time in the era, dating back to 1968, that his Grand Slam occasion has featured fewer than two former top winners at this time.
As for the men’s group, none of the 4 quarterfinals they will play on Wednesday (seed No. 22 Tiafoe vs. No. 9 Andrey Rublev and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 11 Jannik Sinner) even reached a primary semi-final. . . Rublev, who turns 25 next month, is the oldest of the bunch.
“It’s great,” Tiafoe said, “to see a new era. “
And think about it: it’s been at most 20 years since a Slam champion has advanced to the quarterfinals of a major tournament. The latter happened at Wimbledon in 2003. Who won the trophy?Federer, claiming the first of his 20, who broke the 14-man mark set through Pete Sampras, and has now been overtaken by Nadal’s 22 and Djokovic’s 21 (in addition to Williams’ 23, the highest for any professional tennis player). was).
Federer, 41, has played since Wimbledon in July 2021 and has undergone a series of surgeries on his right knee. He is due to return for an occasion in Switzerland in October and says he hopes to play for the All England Club in 2023. however, little is known beyond what is left.
There’s no reason to think Djokovic, 35, won’t remain a Slam contender for a while, when he can enter the tournament’s host country, of course. He has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, so he was deported. from Australia in January and was also banned from entering the United States.
Djokovic and Nadal combined to win the first 3 primary titles this year and 15 of the last 17 in total. Add the other member of the so-called Big Three, Federer, and that’s 20 of the last 22. Go back further and is 63 out of 76. The only other men with more than one in this era are Andy Murray and Stan. Wawrinka, with 3 each.
Federer’s first win came less than a year after Sampras won the US Open in what would be his match.
“Before this generation, we lost another wonderful generation. Obviously, there will be no Rafa, Roger or Serena. There are ups and downs. But there have been wonderful champions in the afterlife and there will be more. “I’m not worried. It is a component of sport. It’s a component of life,” said Caroline Garcia, a 28-year-old Frenchwoman who beat 18-year-old Coco Gauff of Floridian 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
“Great champions leave and others come,” Garcia said. “You have to give young players time to succeed in the sensible part of the game and mature and everything. The fans also want to be fit for a new generation.
Whether TV executives and tournament ticket distributors agree or not, it’s a popular sentiment among today’s players: tennis will do well.
“Unfortunately for all of us,” Murray said, “the game continues. “
___
More AP tennis coverage from the US Open: https://apnews. com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter. com/AP_Sports