Big Three give no free passes to the Next Gen

Is men’s tennis’ old guard finally going to give way to the next generation? That seems to be the talk around the camp fire after Stefanos Tsitsipas, 21, won the ATP World Finals in London last weekend.

Expectations are high that the Greek sensation is finally ready to carry the flag for the young guns and to break Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s dominance in 2020.

The three of them collectively hold 55 Grand Slam titles and have completely closed shop over the last three years by winning 12 of the 12 Grand Slam titles on offer.

It’s amazing to think, the last time someone outside the Big Three won a major title was Stanislas Wawrinka, when he won the US Open back in 2016.

And, being 31 at the time, the Swiss star was anything but a spring chicken.

The bad news for Tsitsipas is that he is not the first member of the so-called Next Gen to raise expectation of a new dawn.

Last year, Alexander Zverev walked away with the honours at the yearend showpiece and a year later his Grand Slam tally is sitting at a perfectly round zero, like it did 12 months ago.

Dominic Thiem, who lost to Tsitsipas in the final last weekend, has also been tipped for future glory and he is 26 already, with no breakthrough yet.

Two years ago Grigor Dimitrov won the ATP World Finals, aged 26, at a time when the tennis fraternity had almost given up on him as the flag bearer for the next generation.

The reality for the current bunch is that they are not the first group expected to lead the new dawn.

The Big Three’s domination has already blanked out a generation or two of players that could easily have won a handful of Grand Slams in another era.

The likes of Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick’s careers halted just as Federer and Nadal opened their Grand Slam accounts.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga never got a chance to break through, while Gael Monfils will always be remembered for his wasted talent.

Tomas Berdych, David Nalbandian, Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori hold two Grand Slam titles each, while Andy Murray was also much better than the three titles behind his name.

Counting in the current bunch of hopefuls’ favour is the Big Three’s age. Federer is 38, Nadal 32 and Djokovic 31 – and not even they can play forever.

“... we are not getting any younger,” Federer admitted last weekend. “So chances increase, not because we are getting worse but because they are getting better, I believe.”

Tsitsipas realises that it will be anything but a free pass, even by the time the Big Three are in wheelchairs.

They know how to win Grand Slams, something the others must still figure out.

“For it to happen, I will have to go through a lot of pain, a lot of struggle and a lot of hustle.

“I know I’m going to have to figure out things better than them,” Tsitsipas confessed after his win.

Last year, Federer pushed Djokovic to deep into the fifth set in an epic Wimbledon final and Nadal showed remarkable endurance by outlasting Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final in a five-setter.

Yes, the young guns are getting better. But are they good enough to outclass the classy oldies in 2020?

Don’t hedge your bets.