Slammed out — spare a thought for the lost generation of men’s tennis

The men’s US Open in 2014 was considered seminal at the time because it was the first Grand Slam final in 10 years that did not feature someone whose surname was Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray.

The lanky, big-serving Croatian Marin Čilić won the encounter, defeating Japan’s Kei Nishikori. It was a year that produced two new men’s Grand Slam champions – Stan “The Man” Wawrinka won the 2014 Australian Open, defeating Rafael Nadal in the final.

A new page in the history of the men’s game seemed to be turning, serving notice to the next generation that the “Big Four” were human after all and the court of play was opening up. In reality, there was only a “Big Three”, but Andy Murray was often included in those days.

The subsequent pages of tennis history turned out to be in many ways carbon copies of the decade that preceded the 2014 US Open final.

It was another six years, at the US Open in 2020, before a men’s Grand Slam final would have two players whose surnames were not Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray.

And that would probably not have been the case had Novak Djokovic not been defaulted out of the tournament in the fourth round when he hit a ball towards the baseline in frustration, accidentally smacking a line judge in the throat in the process.

In that final five-set thriller, Austria’s Dominic Thiem rallied from two sets down to defeat Germany’s Alexander Zverev. Thiem was 27 at the time, Zverev was 23, and Djokovic – the youngest of the Big Three counting Nadal and Federer – was 33.

The “next generation” finally had a Grand Slam winner, and it looked like only a matter of time before the hugely talented Zverev would also lay claim to that title.

The other players who had won Grand Slams during the heyday of the Big Three – Murray and Wawrinka with three apiece, Čilić with his 2014 US Open title and Argentina’s Juan Martín del Potro with a 2009 US Open final victory over Roger Federer – were all part of the same generation.

The pages of tennis history, it seemed, were turning again to a new chapter that opened up prospects for the next generation, which showed immense promise. The definition of a “tennis generation” is fluid and not set in the crushed stone of a clay court, but a period of five to 10 years or so sounds about right.

Viewed from that vantage point, the generation that followed the Big Three can only be seen as a lost one. Their time on the court is not yet over, but they have only managed to conjure up one other Grand Slam winner – Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Djokovic in the US Open final in 2021.

Medvedev went on to suffer the indignity of being the only player to blow a two-sets-to-love lead in a Grand Slam final twice – against Nadal at the 2022 Australian Open and Italy’s Jannik Sinner at the same tournament in 2024.

Djokovic, meanwhile, was in all four Grand Slam finals in 2023, losing only one – to Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

Skipped generation

The torch has skipped an entire generation and been passed from the Big Three to Sinner and Alcaraz – aged 24 and 22 respectively. Between them they now have 10 Grand Slam titles, five times the total of the lost generation.

Aside from Thiem, Medvedev and Zverev, the lost generation includes the likes of Norway’s Casper Ruud, Russia’s Andrey Rublev, and senior among them Bulgaria’s 34-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, once known as “Baby Fed” because his graceful one-handed backhand mirrored that of the Swiss wizard’s.

One of them could yet win a Grand Slam – but they have to get through Sinner or Alcaraz, whose rivalry now recalls the early days of Federer and Nadal’s before a certain Serbian came along.

There are many factors behind why this generation lost its way when it comes to Grand Slam finals, the pinnacle of a gruelling sport. But the most obvious is fairly simple. The Big Three have an astonishing 66 Grand Slam titles among them: Federer has 20, Nadal 22 and Djokovic 24, and he has an eye on still another.

In terms of winning the sport’s ultimate prize, they have shown that they know how to do it and can dig deep to make the clutch serves or points when it has always counted the most.

It is testimony to their character and skills: Federer’s artistry, Nadal’s raw power and determination, especially on the clay courts he ruled, and Djokovic’s ability to turn on a dime and return serves that were destined to be aces.

The same is true of Alcaraz and Sinner – they have grit and what it takes to be a winner. An Alcaraz drop shot is a thing of breathtaking beauty; a Sinner forehand is a guided missile that seldom misses its mark.

Once in a generation, a trio or pair of players like this comes along and conquers the courts. But in this case, a generation missed out. Djokovic, the last man of the Big Three standing, is like an oupa now yielding to his grandchildren.

So, as the Australian Open looms, spare a thought for this lost generation. As a tennis fan, I have huge respect for many of its players and have followed their careers for years.

I feel a pang of sympathy for them – overshadowed by the previous generation and now overwhelmed by the new kids on the block. Their era has been bookmarked by a greatness they could never achieve. DM

Ed Stoddard is a Daily Maverick contributor.

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.