Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are three extraordinary athletes, in addition to having written pages that will be engraved forever in tennis history. The ability to preserve the body through careful planning has allowed the Big 3 to remain competitive even after they are over 30 years old.
Federer is back from a 2020 past off the circuit, with the Swiss phenomenon’s last official appearance dating back to the Australian Open nearly a year ago. The former world No. 1 also had to suffer the hook of eternal rival Nadal in 20 Grand Slams, after the 34-year-old Spaniard won his 13th Roland Garros (fourth without giving up a single set).
Djokovic has 17 Majors in his window, but the Serbian has a good chance of breaking the all-time record of weeks at the top of the ATP rankings thanks to the new ranking system. In the course of a recent interview with L’Equipe, former European 110-meter hurdles champion Stéphane Caristan explained how the three holy monsters have the physical characteristics necessary to do well even in some athletics competitions.
Caristan praises the big 3
Stéphane Caristan believes that Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have the physical attributes to do well in some of the track and field events. He was of the opinion that the big 3 could do well in disciplines that don’t require the use of height, while also being able to execute the shortest jumps in decathlon events.
“Nadal, Federer and him could have expressed themselves in very technical events,” Caristan said. “The height, no, because they don’t necessarily have the size. But in the decathlon they would have been very good jumping 2.00 m, 2.05 m ”.
In just over a month, the Australian Open will begin, the first major event of 2021. The organizers of the Happy Slam have decided to use “hawk-eye” technology instead of the linesmen at Melbourne Park. In almost all the tournaments that took place after the closure, there was a substantial reduction in the number of people on the field in order to reduce the risk of contagion.
On the other hand, not much has happened since the infamous accident that happened to Novak Djokovic during the US Open (which resulted in the disqualification of the world number 1). Believe it or not, this is a clear indication that tennis is slowly moving towards the hawk’s eye.
Although it takes time, it gives precision and each player will eventually learn to accept the verdict given by the hawk’s eye. If it becomes a success at the Australian Open 2021, the day is not far off when it will rise to prominence even on clay surfaces.
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