End of Big Three Era | Gen Next takes over men’s tennis with Sinner’s win in US Open
Their excellence and longevity can be gauged by a simple statistic - after Wimbledon 2003, the ‘Big Three’ won 66 of the next 84 Grand Slams, with Federer winning 20, Nadal 22 and Djokovic 24 major titles
The US Open has finally ended the reign of the ‘Big Three’ in men’s tennis. As a beaming Jannik Sinner lifted the Trophy in New York, it marked a poignant moment, a changing of the guard in Tennis history.
With Sinner (in pic, below) winning his first crown at the US Open, it was also the first time in over two decades that none of the ‘Big Three’ - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic - had won a Grand Slam title in a calendar year. Ever since Federer won his first Wimbledon title in 2003, the ‘Big Three’ won at least one every year but this magnificent run was eventually snapped at the 2024 US Open.
Sinner lost just two sets in the entire tournament
As World No.1 Jannik Sinner locked horns with home favourite and US No.1 Taylor Fritz in the final at Flushing Meadows on Sunday, it was a high-stakes clash for the two young men. While Sinner was the first Italian in a men’s singles final of the US Open, Fritz was the first American man in 15 years to enter a Grand Slam singles final. But the duo produced a high-quality finale where Sinner triumphed at 6-3 6-4 7-5 in a battle lasting over two hours.
Dawn of new era
This is the first year since 1993 that the four majors have been won by players aged 23-and-under as 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz won the other two Grand Slams this season. The last time Nadal, Federer and Djokovic failed to win a single Grand Slam event in a year was when George Bush was the US President and I-Phone, YouTube and Twitter simply didn’t exist; and current superstars like Alcaraz and Coco Gauff were not even born!
The Roger-Rafa-Djoko domination lasted well over two decades but over the past few years there were clear signs that the Gen Next of Tennis stars was rapidly catching up. What kept the Big Three ahead of the young guns was their performance at Grand Slam events. Though rising stars of Gen Next were winning lots of titles on the ATP circuit, their erratic showing in Grand Slam events enabled the top ranks to stay largely with Federer, Nadal or Djokovic.
For the past five years or so, things began to change as players like Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev zoomed up the tennis ladder and seemed poised to climb to the top. But despite emerging as major contenders, the quartet failed to win consistently at Grand Slam tournaments, which enabled the trio to remain at the top and dominate most Grand Slam events.
Spate of injuries
The march of time and a spate of injuries to the Big Three in recent years, however, have effected a marked change in tennis hierarchy. First Federer, well past his prime, decided to retire. Then last year Nadal, hampered by injuries, slipped in the rankings, hardly won any titles and now seems set to make 2024 as probably his last year on the circuit.
This rapid decline of Roger and Rafa left only Djokovic among the Big Three to hold the fort and in 2023 he was simply superb winning three Grand Slams and reaching the Wimbledon finals. This year, however, Novak made an early exit at the Australian Open and had to retire from the French Open quarter finals due to a knee injury. Though he recovered and reached the Wimbledon finals and even won the Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics, he was strangely off-colour at the US open and crashed out in the third round itself.
Now, at the age of 37, as Novak battles with a serious injury, his hopes of winning another Grand Slam title seem increasingly unlikely. Though sport has a tendency to surprise us, it appears safe to assume that the splendid reign of the trio is almost over. Their excellence and longevity can be gauged by a simple statistic - after Wimbledon 2003, the ‘Big Three’ won 66 of the next 84 Grand Slams, with Federer winning 20, Nadal 22 and Djokovic 24 major titles.
Rising stars
But then there is a nagging query that now faces the tennis fraternity – which rising star can match their legacy?
As things stand today, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz seem to be tightening their hold at the top of the sport, as they’ve equally split the last four majors between them. While Sinner has now won two Grand Slam events, Alcaraz has also been at the top of world rankings and already boasts of four Grand Slam titles in his kitty. Besides being exceptionally talented players, they were also born at the right time which has helped them to avoid the ‘Big Three’ at their best.
Beyond the increasing dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz, a host of other gifted youngsters like Taylor Fritz, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev are likely to enthral tennis fans in coming seasons. In addition, of course, the already established stars like Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas still have a number of years to display their wares and grab big titles. As the Roger-Rafa-Djoko era ends, Gen Next seems set to serve an exciting new era of tennis.
End of domination
Over the past two decades, Federer with 20, Nadal with 22 and Djokovic with 24 Grand Slam titles have created fresh peaks and dominated men’s tennis in a way that seemed unthinkable before. As the era of the ‘Big Three’ is inevitably ending, their feats are bound to inspire the younger set to aim for bigger goals.
As tennis fans look ahead to the next season, it's clear that the landscape of the men's game has changed. However, no matter how talented or dedicated Gen Next superstars may be, records of the ‘Big Three’ will be tough to surpass. The glorious feats and sublime standards of the Roger-Rafa-Djojko trinity are likely to stand the test of time.
