Sport is in good hands! ‘Big Three’ hail future stars of the game
>> LONDON: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have hailed the fast-rising next generation of players, saying the future of tennis is “in good hands” ahead of the start of the ATP Finals.
The “Big Three” remain the men to beat at the season-ending tournament in London — as they were when they first all played together at the event in 2007.
But the eight-man field at the O2 Arena contains a crop of exciting young players who have their eye on smashing the dominance of the old guard.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who triumphed last year, is joined by Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Italy’s
Matteo Berrettini.
Dominic Thiem of Austria, at 26 slightly older than his young rivals, completes the field at the tournament featuring the year’s best players, which starts today.
Medvedev, 23, has been the trailblazer for the next generation this year, winning two Masters 1000 titles, reaching the final of the US Open and climbing to No.4 in the world.
Top seed Nadal, 33, who won the French Open and beat Medvedev in the final of the US Open, said it was an exciting moment for tennis. “That’s the normal cycle of life,” he said at the pre-tournament press conference on Friday. “It’s healthy for the sport and I think they are super good.”
“It will be a good rivalry for our sport,” he added. “I will be happy hopefully to keep competing with them for a while but then I will be happy to watch it on TV.”
Federer, at 38 the veteran in the field, said he was looking forward to watching the rivalries unfold, describing Zverev’s win last year in London as a catalyst for the rest of the group. “What I like about the young guys qualifying for the first time, it goes away from just saying we’ve got some talented players on the Tour,” he said.
“There’s a difference between that and actually being a national hero in your country already and being a top 10 player in the world in tennis, which is not easy to achieve.”
There has long been speculation over who would step up to challenge Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, who have dominated men’s tennis for 15 years.
Djokovic, the 2019 Australian Open winner and Wimbledon champion, said he and his two great rivals were still glad to be in the mix but that the sport was “in good hands”.
“These guys are great guys off the court,” he said. “They understand and respect the sport. They show good values. Of course we’re going to enjoy cheering them on after we’re done with our careers.”