On 13th September 2021, the world came crashing down for several Tennis fans as Russia’s Daniil Medvedev took the match point in the US Open final to deny Novak Djokovic of Serbia a chance to create history after a little more than five decades. The Serb not only failed to go past Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in terms of the number of Grand Slams but also lost the chance to secure a calendar slam, which was previously achieved by Rod Laver in 1969. For Djokovic, it was a twin setback and the same was more than apparent through the copious amount of tears being shed by the Serb post the loss on Monday morning. However, Djokovic will not have to wait for too long to overtake the “Other Big Two” in terms of the number of Grand Slams and there are other records as well to keep him going. But, the question is, can he keep excelling even after the exit of Rafa and Fedex from the Tennis arena?
The Big Two
As for Nadal and Federer, they have been reeling under severe injuries that made them miss many tournaments. Rafa is on the verge of recovery from a “difficult” foot injury and played only in the Australian Open, where he lost in the Quarter Final. Now, it remains to be seen when he will take to the court next. With regard to Federer, the Swiss legend this year pulled out of the French Open midway through the tournament, lost in the Quarters of the Wimbledon and chose to abstain from both Olympics and the US Open. His knee has been troubling him for a while and just like Rafa, it is unclear when Federer will take part next in a major tournament. All these developments have led many to come to the conclusion that these two are poised to end their careers anytime soon, which both have vehemently denied. However, it can’t be denied that the duo will be around for too long.
Rafa, Fedex Needed To Challenge “The Joker”
So, it would be interesting to see how the future shapes up for the two players on the wrong side of the thirties. That brings us to the pertinent question: can Djokovic bring out his best in their absence? “As long as Roger and Rafa are still playing, I think there’s going to be a big motivation for Djokovic to keep going. I will be very interested to see what happens with Novak after Roger and Rafa decide to stop. I think if they’re still around he will still have a lot of drive,” said Daniel Vallverdu, the Venezuelan who has coached top-class players like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka etc. Even Todd Woodbridge, Australia’s nine-time Wimbledon Doubles winner, also seconded Daniel’s view by saying that the Serbian needs both Spaniard and Swiss to push him to exceed limits and concluded with a big statement that the era of the “Big Three” is almost over.
Last But Not The Least
Well, these are some viewpoints and it would be erroneous to make any conclusion based on these. Also, in Tennis, or any other game, it is not over until it is over. Federer and Nadal may have reached the end of their careers but the extremely fit “Joker” is not done yet. Apart from getting to the 21st Grand Slam, he can look to go past Margaret Court’s 24 major titles and also eye a calendar slam in the next few seasons. It is, after all, a single loss (US Open final) and the Serbian can easily overcome the defeat to come back stronger. Hence, whether Federer and Rafael keep going for some more time or not, the “Joker” can easily match the likes of Medvedev, Wawrinka, Tsitsipas, the upcoming sensations in the world of Tennis, in terms of fitness, class and consistency and add more feathers to his illustrious cap in the years to come.
