The tennis hasn’t stopped with Rafael Nadal’s retirement. It may have stopped for some of his fans—those who lost the will to follow the sport without him. But others have moved on. They still enjoy tennis, to some extent. Of course, they miss Rafa, but they’re continuing to watch and appreciate the game.
Two new stars who are currently shining and claiming Grand Slam titles are Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. These two seem to be in a league of their own compared to the rest of the field. Novak Djokovic is still doing his best to keep up, but at his age, it’s no easy task. Even so, he remains a top player and is still capable of beating most opponents on tour.
Wimbledon 2001 champion Goran Ivanišević, in an interview with Clay, pointed out that people are too quick to forget just how dominant Rafa was at his peak. Here’s an excerpt from that interview:
– Now that the dust has settled, where would you rank that Roland Garros final — one of the top five matches ever?
– It’s hard to say. Comparing different eras is silly. Tennis then and now — it’s not the same. Fifteen, twenty years ago, cars were worse… back then, when you had those ’fat’ tires, you thought, wow, and now those tires go on bikes. For me, that was the best match in Roland Garros history. The intensity, quality, drama — it had everything! There was that 2013 semi between Novak and Rafa, when Novak touched the net… I see people saying Nadal would have no chance against Alcaraz or Sinner, but that’s nonsense. I’d bet on peak Nadal against either Carlos or Jannik. Playing Nadal is different — he’s a lefty, the ball bounces differently… But to answer your question — the Roland Garros final is definitely top five of all time for me.
– Novak, Rafa, and Roger changed how the new generation thinks about tennis. Alcaraz and Sinner are already planning to play past 35, which never used to happen. How many Slams do you think they can win?
– A lot, because they’ll split them between the two of them. The question is how long Novak plays — he’s the only one who can make life hard for them. But they’re young, they’ll play another 10 years. And they have no competition. Now it’s just about the numbers — I don’t know if they can catch the Big Three, but anything is possible — records are made to be broken. And like I said, they have no competition, so it’ll be easier. The Big Three had each other, plus Murray, Wawrinka, Del Potro… Who’s the competition for Sinner and Alcaraz?
Source: claytenis.com