20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, current World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 12-time Major winner Novak Djokovic and former WTA No. 1 Serena Williams’ Grand Slam achievements will be extremely hard to match, BBC tennis expert Russell Fuller said.
Since 2005, only four players, namely Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic have managed to stop Federer, Nadal and Djokovic from winning a Grand Slam tournament, while Serena last year surpassed Steffi Graf to become the most successful women’s Grand Slam champion in the Open Era with her 23rd Major title in Australia.
“This is the trouble with the men’s generation when you are comparing them to the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal,” Fuller told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You just have to pinch yourself to remind yourself what has been going on in professional tennis over the past 10 or 15 years.
“This is not normal to have so many multiple Grand Slam champions in the men’s and Serena Williams in the women’s. It’s got to be a good thing, ultimately, for the sport for these champions to play as long as they can.
“Yes, there will probably come a period where we lose a lot of these names, maybe at the same time and it is hard for the sport to sell itself to people who are not devoted fans.
“Those behind the scenes can worry about that and they can make plans for that day but for now let’s just embrace it, enjoy it and see which of these young players are able to keep beating the big names consistently – and I think that might happen in the women’s draw.”
