“For me, tennis without Federer is like Shakespeare without Hamlet.” — a Yahoo user comment
Not so long ago, the Cassandras were redicting doom and gloom in the post-Big Three era. Who, they wailed, could possibly replace living legends Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic? After all, these champions have blessed — and spoiled — us with sublime tennis for 15 years. Would we have to settle for a pedestrian champion like Lleyton Hewitt, who reigned briefly between Pete Sampras and Federer?
Though the Big Three are very unlikely to retire during the same year, Judy Murray echoed the sentiments of many fans worried about the impact of their departures. “Oh, wow. That would be massive,” said Judy, Andy’s mother and Britain’s former Fed Cup coach, during the US Open in September. “They’ve been around for so long. They’ve been dominant for so long. It would be a huge, huge blow to the men’s tour to lose them.”
The seemingly endless domination of the Big Three continued at the US Open. When Nadal outlasted Daniil Medvedev in the riveting US Open final, it marked the third straight year the triumphant triumvirate divvied up all four Grand Slam tournaments. All told, they’ve grabbed 51 of the past 60 majors! The Big Three weren’t just getting older. Astoundingly, two of them — Nadal, 33, and Djokovic, 32 — were getting better. They each won two majors this season, and Federer, 38, twice came within a point of capturing Wimbledon in a classic final against Djokovic. Their fervent fans love their exciting games and charismatic personalities and hope their dynasty extends into the 2020s.
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