GOOD RETURN?

As the sages tell us: be careful what you wish for.

For years, the critics of tennis have been waiting for the next wave of superstars to arrive and remove the establishment from their seats of power. For too long Messrs Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray have been hoovering up the titles and ensuring that the sport’s landscape if free of all serious challengers to their dominance. Or so the argument went.

But as the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals move through up to full speed at London’s O2 Arena, we have a sobering sight of what the future holds for tennis. Sure enough, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the marquee names this week, but there is no Andy Murray and no Novak Djokovic. In their place, we have the likes of Jack Sock, Marin Cilic and David Goffin – good players all, but hardly fan favourites and history makers of the class of the Big Four.

Last year Murray and the Djokovic went toe-to-toe for the end-of-year No1 ranking and the arena was gripped. Twelve months on and Nadal is still hoping – and possibly hopping on that dodgy right knee of his – to win his first Tour Finals crown, while Federer is everyone’s favourite to collect his seventh end-of-year trophy. Somehow, the atmosphere is not quite the same.

Murray and his ailing hip made a brief appearance on Saturday to practice with Dominic Thiem, and the very fact it was reported in the media proves the point that he is sorely missed at this year’s event. But as his brother, Jamie, pointed out yesterday to the BBC, without Andy, the whole of British tennis would be in a parlous state.

“I hope that when me and Andy stop playing that there will be something to show for it, there will be some sort of legacy,” Jamie said. “I mean, right now, if today was our last day playing tennis, I would say that there hasn’t been.

“I hope that people who are

“I obviously hope that when me and Andy stop playing that there will be something to show for it, there will be some sort of legacy”

JAMIE MURRAY