Tennis: a changing of the guard?
Since January, men’s tennis has been stuck in a time warp, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. For the first time since 2010, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have dominated the sport, winning two grand slams apiece. And at the ATP Finals, Federer was expected to finish the season on a high: with the other members of the “Big Five” – Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka – injured, there were no obvious challengers in sight. Yet far from being a coronation for Federer, it turned out to be “a coming of age” for Grigor Dimitrov, a player “so reminiscent” of the Swiss that he is known as “Baby Fed”. The Bulgarian defeated David Goffin (who saw off Federer in the semis) in three sets. For the first time in the history of the event, the two finalists “could not boast a grand slam title between them” – but their thrilling encounter proved that tennis can thrive without the “Big Five”.
If this really was a “changing of the guard”, then Dimitrov is the right man to “step up”, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. He has long been “the most fascinating and charismatic figure outside the ranks of grandslam winners”. Too often written off as “a playboy”, he is one of the most stylish men’s players: his one-handed backhand is a wonder. And like Goffin, Dimitrov is a “top-class technician”, equally comfortable at the net and baseline.
Watching the event, Murray could look back on a miserable 2017, said Kevin Mitchell in The Observer. This time last year, he won the ATP Finals and ended the season as world No. 1. But this year, he has failed to make it beyond the semi-finals of a grand slam. Laid low by a hip injury, he hasn’t played since Wimbledon and has “tumbled” to No. 16 in the rankings. Now, in a further sign of his malaise, he has split – for the second time in his career – with his coach, Ivan Lendl. “It is hard to repel the worrying feeling that tennis is leaving Murray behind.”