Expresso platform: big games | Injuries and Andy Murray. Take that away and it was an almost perfect decade for three particular world tennis monsters

Tennis is an individual sport, although it can be played in pairs, but the truth is that the careers of these three players have benefited more from the fact that they belong to the same generation than from their disadvantages. It is the old story of opponents who make each other better for the simple reason that they are so good.

Over the past decade, and even before that, three names have dominated the sport for the men’s team: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. They are the monsters of a generation who have become the monsters of tennis.

Between the highs and lows, they remained in the top positions in classification ATP, be it all three or just one. But with age and injuries complicating the lives of two of them, questions arise regarding the possible end of this sheer dominance – one that everyone has been late in answering.

Looking at the history of each of the three athletes, between 2011 and 2021, there were several times each of them were disqualified from the podium in the overall standings. Federer has had the most complications lately. And last year he underwent two operations on his right knee, so it’s no surprise that February 2020 was the last time he was in the top three. Shortly thereafter, Austrian Dominic Thiem took office.

In early 2019, Federer was also off the podium, but eventually regained his position in May.

For Djokovic, the past decade wasn’t always perfect either, but it was close. The current world number one, at the beginning of 2021, reached a historic mark, by being the tennis player with the most weeks in first place. classification ATP, remember it belongs to Federer.

The first time the Serbian reached the top of the table was on July 4, 2011. Since then, until the moment he broke the record, he took first place in classification Over five different periods, they totaled 311 weeks. One more than Federer.

The last time Djokovic lost his place on the podium was in 2018, when Argentine Juan Martin del Potro climbed to third. Nadal and Federer finished first and second, respectively.

The most consistent of the three recently, in terms of podium, has been the Spaniard.

Until last Monday.

Nadal hasn’t been off the podium since May 2017, but an unexpected quarter-final defeat in Washington saw him drop to fourth. In third place is the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. The lead is still in Djokovic and in second place is Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.

Like Federer, who is currently ninth, the Spanish tennis player has recently had an injury. The problem is on his back and he left Nadal out of some tournaments earlier this year.

However, it’s not just injuries that are causing problems for the three tennis giants. Along the way, another tennis player was stealing all the attention.

In November 2016, Andy Murray defeated Djokovic to reach number one in the classification, where he stayed until August of the following year. It was Nadal who removed him from the top of the list. At that time, the tennis player was 29 years old, so he became the second oldest tennis player to win the position.

The British tennis player was the only player in the last decade capable of challenging Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Murray is currently ranked 105th out of classification.