BEST ERA OF TENNIS

“THE BEST ERA OF TENNIS” is widely considered as the rivalry between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Can’t lie , my favourite one is Nadal; but all three have been carrying the prestige of tennis for the past 20 years. Since 2006, these three have been competing amongst each other and there are uncountable memories of great matches between them . The most memorable match that I can remember is of Nadal vs Federer at Wimbledon in 2008. That game is still talked upon as one of the greatest tennis games of all time. All these have their own unique styles: like Federer has an elegant playing style that looks so natural and pleasing on the eye ( feels like he’s coasting his way through these games ) whereas Nadal is known for his aggression and his aggressive playing style. Djokovic on the other hand is touted for having the best mental strength and his defensive game is regarded as one the best of all time. Federer is known for his legendary grass game as stats show in his Wimbledon successes, where he won 8 times and was holding the record of most grand slams in Men’s singles from 2008 till 2022 where he was beaten by none other than Djokovic. ( shocked). Nadal has the record for most titles in a single grand slam competition, French Open in which he’s dominating form led him to win 14 titles out there. He’s often regarded as the King of Clay Court. Novak has shown his dominance in the Australian Open where he won 10 grand slams which has got his total tally of grand slams to 24, which is the current highest. In those last 20 years, many great players have come up against these there but most of them could not hack against them. Players like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin Del Porto tried all their best to compete and claim the top spot in the world rankings. Andy Murray was the only one other than those three who managed to be World №1 in men’s singles for a decent amount of time.His thrilling games against Roger Federer and Novak in those 3–4 spell of Wimbledon during 2012–16 was astounding and a treat to watch.It was a treat to watch such intense games between these three during the peak years of their careers.

Games between these three were never easy; no one could predict the winner, many twists and turns were expected by the fans because they knew the caliber of these players One game that I can never forget was Australian Open 2012 between Rafa and Djokovic where Nadal was defending his crown and Djokovic was looking to win his first Australian open.The match went on to be the longest final in history of tennis. Both of them with their strong mentality did not want to give up but eventually Djokovic prevailed in the final set 7–5 and claimed his first Australian Open title. Another famous one between Federer and Nadal was Wimbledon 2008 where Nadal was looking to win his first Wimbledon title and he had to face one of the best in Roger. Federer was considered the favourite by the media and the journalist to win that title but after a hard fought battle , Nadal survived and lifted his first Wimbledon title. Novak and Federer also had many fierce matches against each other but the most memorable one that everyone remembers is the US open in 2015 where Federer was on the Championship point but still ended up on the losing side. Novak pulled out an extreme performance that match that shocked the whole crowd there and lifted the trophy.

There has been some heated moments between these but definitely there’s no hate between them. But the fans are constantly fighting amongst each other to prove that their favourite players is the GOAT or the best player of all time.

There’s fan clubs of each players arguing with other fan clubs to make their own case and prove their point.People don’t realise that there’s only 1–2 years left for us to see some of them play and compete in competitions. We should cherish these last few years of them playing and competing instead of arguing with others.

The media has also played a major role in portraying some of these players.The media sometimes creates false narratives about these players to make headlines and hype up the matches unnecessarily for their own sake.

Novak is the only one competing right now amongst these three. Rafa’s injuries are killing his playing time which is affecting his consistency and confidence.Federer was the oldest amongst these and he retired two years ago. The new boys like Sinner, Alcaraz , Medvedev are certainly taking over the tennis world right now but it’s not going to be easy to replicate what these three have gone on to achieve.The consistency, achievements and historical moments given by these three can never be forgotten and are even harder to replicate for the younger generation players.

I’m lucky to have witnessed such greats in Tennis watching some legendary matches and I’m hoping that the new era can be as good or even better than the era of Rafa, Roger and Novak.