With many pundits in tennis predicting that 2020 will be the year where the dominance of the Big Three in grand slams will come to an end, the current world No.1 is taking it all in his stride.
Rafael Nadal leads the illustrious pack of players, who currently occupies the top three spots in the ATP rankings. The other members are Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Between them, they have won 51 out of the last 59 grand slam tournaments. Only twice in the last 59 major events has a final taken place without one of the Big Three featuring in the final.
Despite their dominance, there is a growing indication that those hoping to take over are gathering momentum. This season has seen both Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev score their maiden Masters titles. Meanwhile, at the end-of-year ATP Finals, it was Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas who was victorious.
“It’s normal that there’s a buzz around them and it will get louder because we’re getting older every day and they’re getting better every day.“ Nadal said during a recent interview with as.com.
“Every year they’re improving. I think that they can win the biggest tournaments, like Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Thiem did this year. I think that (Dennis) Shapovalov is going to make a big step up this year and (Jannik) Sinner’s trajectory is incredible. They’re here to stay.”
Nadal got a taste of the threat he could potentially face in the new year at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. In the final of the exhibition event, the Spaniard required more than three hours to see off Tsitsipas 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(3). On the ATP Tour, he leads his Greek rival 5-1 in their head-to-head.
“I took the game as though it was a tournament game and I do the same with every game I play in.” Said Nadal.
“Tsitsipas left it all out there on the court as well and he was furious at the end.”
“For me it was basically a competitive game.” He later added.
Whilst he is facing tougher battles on the court from his younger rivals, Nadal continues to win them. At the age of 33, he is nearing the closing stages of his career. However, he is still five years younger than rival Federer and there is currently no talk about retirement.
It is very much a waiting game to see what will occur in 2020 with the new generation. However, Nadal admits that change will eventually happen. Whether if he likes it or not.
“We’re still around but the cycle of life is brutal and at some point that’s going to change, and sooner rather than later.” He stated.
“There’s obviously some reason we have 20, 19 and 16 Grand Slams between us. We’ve been able to find a way to remain competitive and to keep being successful.”
Nadal will kick-off his 2020 season at the ATP Cup, which will start on January 3rd.
