Everyone knows that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are getting closer and closer to the epilogue of their extraordinary careers. The Big 3 not only hold almost all records in men’s tennis, but have also played an important role in attracting fans and sponsors.
The Swiss phenomenon, which returned to the field last week after a break of more than a year in Doha, will turn 40 next August and 2021 could be its last ride. The speech regarding Rafa and Novak is different, with the latter set to play a major role for a few more seasons.
There is no doubt that the ATP Tour needs new stars who will not make the three sacred monsters regret too much in the years to come. Suffice it to say that Dominic Thiem had to wait for the 2020 US Open to become the first player born in the 90s to bring a major into play.
In a recent interview with Reuters, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi showed that he is not too worried about the future.
Gaudenzi is confident for tennis after the Big 3
“I’m not at all worried about our sport if we’re doing the right thing.
And that doesn’t mean taking anything away from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. They are probably the best players our sport has ever had and maybe they will be for a very, very long time “- explained Andrea Gaudenzi.
Gaudenzi drew parallels with how when Pete Sampras retired, men’s tennis lost an icon, but then Federer, Nadal and Djokovic slowly emerged. Likewise, he expects someone else to show up when the Big 3 retires.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult to get these kinds of records, even though I said the same thing when Pete Sampras retired. I thought there’d never be anyone who beats Pete’s records.
Here we have three people doing that. So never say never ”. He views this as a normal cycle where legends retire and new champions emerge to advance tennis. “We have to be realistic, even when you look back, you know you build these personalities over the years.
We were concerned after Sampras retired. And it’s not that when Roger started winning straight away we said, “Oh! This is the guy who’s going to save us. He’s grown at it. We’re going to be able to build new personalities, new champions, that will attract the attention of fans. ”
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