Onus on new players to challenge Big Two
The year 2017 might be a crucial year for men’s tennis as the onus and focus shifts to those under-25 to see whether any of them have it in them to challenge the dominance of the big two — Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Personally, it has been an intense period for me to once again resume my role as an expert in the media after being on the road as Djokovic’s coach.
It was an unbelievable three years and I come back to Melbourne as defending champion in many ways. I hope the years as part of the modern game will give me a better and more informed perspective when I am in the commentary box.
Coming back to the men’s circuit, the Australian Open starts with two favourites — the defending champion Djokovic and the world No. 1 Murray. The question is whether any of the younger players have it in them to win a big one just yet. All of Australia is rooting for Nikolas Kyrgios and he is one of the players who have been showing promise for quite some time. However, I am yet to see anyone who has the consistency to win year-in and year-out. That is the true hallmark of a champion and one that the younger batch are yet to prove.
It’s also wonderful to see two all-time greats gearing up for the Australian Open. Roger Federer is looking very good at the moment and the break seems to have made him feel and play better. Rafael Nadal, too, is back after a long break and seems to be enjoying his game. As he said recently, he would not be playing if he did not feel he had some quality tennis still left in him. However, it remains to be seen if either have the staying power and fitness to go the distance.
Gifted athlete
Which brings me to top seed Murray. He would be the first to say that he is not the most naturally gifted athlete. It’s thanks to hard work and dedication that he has reached the pinnacle of the sport. He has great temperament and has worked incredibly hard on his fitness. He really ended the last year on a high with the Olympics gold and would want to continue in the same vein. His groundstrokes look good and he has been in wonderful form for quite some time now.
As for Novak, it will take a braver man than me to write off the defending champion. He has a tough first-round match, but thereafter he has a relatively smooth run. I see him go very far in the tournament. Apart from them, there is Stan Wawrinka who as usual stays below the radar till he reaches the last stages of the tournament.
That’s the challenge for the younger lot, to emulate the abilities of these quality players and last out the whole tournament. It’s not enough to play one excellent match. It’s that day-in-day-out consistency that marks some players out as champions.