After a prolonged break, Grand Slam tennis is set to return on 31st August with the US Open event at Flushing Meadows. For years fans have been wrongly predicting the decline of the ‘Big Three’ (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) but the enforced break may bring hope to the younger generation, needing less time to get back up to speed. Father Time must win out eventually and the US Open may finally signal a changing of the guard.
Roger Federer, the man with the most Grand Slams (20) and holder of 5 US Open titles, will not be competing this year following knee surgery. The Swiss maestro won’t be back on court at all until 2021 and with his 39th birthday approaching in August, time at the top level could finally be up for the player many consider to be the greatest of all time.
Djokovic and Nadal, however, still appear to be in close to top form. The Serb won the Australian Open at the beginning of February, the only Grand Slam played so far this year, and shows little sign of slowing down despite his relatively advanced years in tennis terms. At 33, he still appears to be as hungry as ever to succeed but has expressed doubts over competing in the US Open this year dependent on its protocols. Furthermore, such is his general dominance, a return of two US Open victories from the past eight tournaments also indicates that this is far from his favourite event.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, is the current holder of this Grand Slam and also won the event back in 2010, 2013 and 2017. Many thought his knee injury issues would have prevented him from competing at the highest level in his later years, but at the age of 34 he is still going strong. There are some doubts surrounding this year’s event, however, as the Spaniard has expressed reservations over the proximity between this tournament and the French Open at the end of September. The King of Clay, who will undoubtedly be the clear favourite in tennis betting to win at Roland Garros for a mind-boggling 13th time, will always prioritise his favourite surface and this may offer a psychological advantage to any challengers.
Daniil Medvedev, for example, only narrowly lost in a 5-set final to Nadal at last year’s US Open and may feel it would only require small margins to go one step further this year. The gutsy Russian showed his psychological strength in last year’s tournament after fighting his way to the final despite consistent boos from the partisan crowd. Alongside him, Stefanos Tsitsipas continues to threaten to upset the established dominance of the Big Three, having already defeated Djokovic and Federer during his career. At just 21 and playing on his favourite surface, the young Greek may feel confident of going deep into the tournament.
Alexander Zverev also deserves a mention, his best performance in the US Open remains only the fourth round with questions surrounding his ability to close out matches. Still only 23, however, the young German still has huge potential and a developing maturity which may come just in time for this year’s tournament.
With the Grand Slam set to be played to empty crowds in unusual circumstances, the tournament may result in the unexpected happening; certain players may thrive off the lack of crowd pressure or vice versa. Coming into the tournament following a prolonged rest rather than at the tail-end of the season could also give players, who have usually depleted all of their energy reserves by this point, the opportunity to attack with everything they have. We may just see the first Grand Slam winner from outside of the Big Three since 2016.
