Federer, Djokovic call the shots

Swiss ace rules in forehand while Serbian star owns best twohanded backhand

NEW YORK: No matter how it might look, regime change really will come to men’s tennis someday, but for now power remains concentrated in very familiar hands.

Four years have passed since the last New York Times survey of the best shots in men’s tennis, and the players who dominated that poll in 2014 continue to dominate the latest one in 2018.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are in their 30s, and Roger Federer is 37. But the three of them remain the sport’s leading figures, even as two of their longtime rivals, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, have fallen far back because of injuries.

“I was surprised how hard it was to choose anyone other than the big three for so many categories,” said Stephen Tignor, a longtime writer at Tennis magazine. “I guess I shouldn’t be.”

The Times polled 10 active men’s players for this year’s survey along with 25 other experts, including coaches, analysts and former players. Each participant was asked to pick a top three in each category, with added weight given to the votes of current tour players and coaches.

Some of the respondents, like big-serving American John Isner, answered off the top of their heads, basing their choices on personal experience. Others like Stephanie Kovalchik, senior data scientist at Game Insight Group at Tennis Australia, relied on detailed statistical analysis.

No matter what the method, there was a lot of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal in the conclusions. Someday, the names at the top will change.

The survey also asked people who they would choose to play for their life and Nadal, who has remained a top competitor even at the age of 32, received maximum number of votes. Djokovic and Federer came second and third, respectively. Murray took the fourth spot.