Djokovic Ready To Graze In Grass As Search For New Big Three Begins

Novak Djokovic was a little tetchy in the early stages of the French Open final against Casper Ruud. Perhaps it was understandable given that a victory would elevate him to the plinth of greatest of the tennis greats, or at least in terms of the number of Grand Slam singles trophies accrued. Is life at the top all about the majors? It is for the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Djokovic. Only the latter is currently in commission. The record 23-time major winner insisted it was for others to form an opinion on who is the GOAT. Djokovic just likes beating people. Period.

The 24-year-old Norwegian had the temerity to go 3-0 ahead in the first set before Djoker law and order was restored. By the time the Serb had obliterated his young opponent 7-1 in a tiebreak after 80 minutes of close tennis, there was only one result possible. The crowd kept watching but the tension had evaporated.

This was no dereliction of duty by Ruud. The three-time Grand Slam finalist played some scintillating tennis and still end up losing the set. That’s sport. It’s unfair. Ask Federer about the 2019 Wimbledon finale against Djokovic when the Swiss won on every metric bar the scoreline.

This is what the Belgrade barrier does to competitors. They are in the match one minute and then dismantled gradually over time by the whiplash of a moving wall. A raw Jannik Sinner had the cheek to go two sets up on the reigning Wimbledon champion last summer in the quarter-finals at SW19. Did anyone doubt the result? The Italian won just seven more games in the next three.

At Roland Garros, the world knew history was going to be made as Nadal’s 22 Slams soon slipped down to the silver medal podium. Ruud could console himself with quite a hefty runner-up prize of $1,248,019 after the total pot at Paris rose by almost 14 per cent. It’s the only upward mobility opponents have when stepping onto the same court as the world number one.

The 36-year-old has won the last 99 Grand Slam matches after taking the first set. The last time he lost from such a position was against a truly inspired Stan Wawrinka in the 2015 Paris final. It was only Wawrinka’s inspirational hitting that drove the Serb to tears that day. Djokovic rarely wilts, but when he does lose it tends to produce beautiful moments like the reception at Flushing Meadows after Daniil Medvedev prevailed.

The gracious loser speech isn’t one that this man of steel has to give often. Djokovic has had ten winning streaks of at least 20 matches in his career, including an unbeaten 27 at Melbourne where he has claimed ten titles. In another month, he may even equal Federer’s record of eight at Wimbledon. It can’t go on forever but there’s still plenty of life in those elastic limbs.

When he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in January, it was the least-watched men’s Australian Open final in the US for a decade on ESPN, down a whopping 36 per cent on Nadal’s stunning comeback against Medvedev the year before. It is telling that without the surefire spectator swingometer of Serena Williams and Federer, both now retired, and the early exit of the Spaniard, there wasn’t enough celebrity juice for the audience.

As tennis changes to a new breed of twentysomethings, organic rivalries will take time to grow. More encouragingly, ESPN’s telecasts showed a small increase in the 18-49-year-old category of viewers. As the second series of Netflix’s
NFLX
Break Point hits the screens – or streams – the search to elevate the sport into the hearts and souls of a new generation continues. The Nick Kyrgios Wimbledon story was a rollercoaster that missed the perfect ending.

As Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Sinner and Iga Swiatek become more successful, there’s still a lukewarm appreciation of them. Tennis matches need to be a visceral experience powered by the characters and tribalism invested on either side of the net. The BBC’s recent Gods of Tennis documentary illustrated the rich content for front and back pages. Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert was a match made in heaven for the media as was the former’s beef with Arthur Ashe. Likewise, Borg and McEnroe’s fire and ice routine was riveting. Rune versus Ruud or Alcaraz versus Fritz doesn’t quite stir the emotions or have a compelling narrative.

With the pending retirement of Nadal, the new breed are filling the space in finals. Alcaraz won the US Open but was keeping Djokovic’s seat warm. Alexander Zverev has had his moments. Medvedev is a maverick, capable but only when his wires are not crossed. Frances Tiafoe possesses star quality and is just the third Black American to enter the top 10. Tennis needs him at the business end of a 14-day tournament.

The brutality of four and five-hour epics with the Fedal Empire is over. As the Big Three becomes the Big One, the next generation needs to step up to the plate before the GOAT eats all the main courses. Djokovic has won 11 out of his last 13 major finals. Centre Court grass tastes nice.