Time for Zverev, Others to Make the Step Up

At the time of writing, Andy Murray is preparing to make his tennis comeback at the Washington Open. The Brit faces a first round match against Mackenzie McDonald. The result, and Murray could be out of the tournament by the time you read this, will be pretty much irrelevant for team Murray. He will simply be hoping that he comes through the tournament with no aggravation to the hip he had surgery on in January.

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While not facing the just the same level of injury frustration as Murray, Novak Djokovic also had a comeback of sorts when winning Wimbledon last month. The victory, coupled with Djokovic’s subsequent re-entry to the top 10 in the rankings, has caused many to speculate that we will see the Big 4 – Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic – compete at the very top again soon.

Big 4 still dominating Slams

While Murray and Djokovic’s return to the top should be celebrated, it does pose some questions about the level of competition elsewhere on the men’s tour. Sure, the era of the Big 4 may be looked back upon as one of the golden ages of men’s tennis, but it cannot, should not, go on forever.


Since 2015, one of the Big 4 has taken 13 of the 15 Grand Slam titles, with only Stan Wawrinka adding his name to the list in that time. Nobody else has won a Grand Slam title since Wawrinka won the 2016 US Open.

Of course, one player who is regularly touted as the anointed one to break this dominance from the Big 4 is Alexander Zverev. The 21-year-old German has had a meteoric rise on the tour over the last couple of years, making his way to the world number three spot in the ATP Rankings.

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There is a caveat to Zverev’s success though: he has only made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam once, a quarter-final at this year’s French Open. His best record in the upcoming US Open is consecutive second round defeats in 2016 and 2017.

Djokovic favourite at Flushing Meadows

However, it does look like bookmakers have some belief in Zverev being the one to break the dominance of the Big 4 at the Slams. Zverev is priced at 9/1 with 888sport to win his first US Open, but he is still a long way behind Djokovic (11/4 favourite), Nadal and Federer (both 7/2). It should be noted that those odds can fluctuate: for the latest updates, you can see more US Open odds at 888sport.

Certainly, Zverev is not the only hope when it comes to climbing to the top, but a look at the rankings, where five of the top ten players are in their 30s, makes grim reading for those hoping for an explosion of youth into the elite end of the sport. Of course, 21-year-old Borna Coric, a cool 100/1 to win the US Open, looks likely to break the top 10 at some point. We all know that the talent is there with Nick Kyrgios, but questions will remain over the discipline.

Making assumptions about leading sports stars is always a risky business, so it is perfectly possible that men’s tennis gets an unexpected overhaul sooner rather than later. But, for the moment, it looks like the Big 4 will rule for just a little while longer. Can Zverev, Coric and others take the step to make an impact? The answer to that question may be given in New York starting on 27th August.