The dominance of the Big Three over the last two decades has been one of the most incredible things we have witnessed in the world of sports. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal have won the most tournaments they have played, they have held the record for weeks at the top of the ATP rankings (few have been first in their place) and they have collected a total of 63 Grand Slam titles.
Over the years, several athletes have tried to break the dominance of the Big Three, think of Murray and Wawrinka who were the ones who created the most headaches for the best version of the three when the NextGen was born.
NextGen means in the ATP circuit the next generation of tennis players, those who are entering the present of the circuit but who are destined to make history in the future. The first version of the NextGen did not work that well, the various Zverev, Tsitsipas and even Medvedev or Thiem beat the big three but almost never in big events, especially in clashes with Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Thiem won in New York, but it was an atypical tournament in which for different reasons the three phenomena were prevented from competing, Medvedev was the only one in recent history to have beaten a Big Three in a Slam final, surprisingly winning Novak Djokovic at the US Open and preventing the Serbian from achieving the coveted Grand Slam.
Now things, in this final 2022, seem to have changed absolutely. In this 2022 the star of Carlos Alcaraz has exploded. The Spanish tennis player has come full circle on the circuit, first winning ATP 500 and Masters 1000 and ending the season by winning the US Open.
Nole was forced to miss two Majors
Although Novak Djokovic has found quite a lot of success this season, it hasn’t been the best year for the Serb. “I am going to Paris, preparing for the last two tournaments of the year, the Masters in Paris and the ATP Finals in Turin,” Djokovic said.
“I feel good. These last two competitions, in Astana and Tel Aviv, and the titles won, raised my level of self-confidence as well as motivation. It’s kind of natural and normal that when you win, then you want to play more and continue that streak.
I hope I can finish this season in the best possible way because this year was very unusual, different, and quite challenging mentally and emotionally for me,” he continued. “I’m glad that I’m feeling good again on the court and I’m satisfied with my game.”
