Former world No 1’s latest French Open win suggests he is in comparable shape to Alexander Zverev and Grigor DimitrovOn a day of rapidly swirling weather and fortunes, Novak Djokovic emerged from a second perfunctory win against a qualifier to stay in the conversation about who is good enough to stop Rafael Nadal winning his 11th French Open. He could get to the quarter‑finals; once there, he might even find another gear or two, which was his trademark in his pomp.Certainly the former champion is in shape comparable to that of younger contenders in Alexander Zverev, who took five sets to defeat the world No 60 Dusan Lajovic, and Grigor Dimitrov, who survived a tempestuous battle over four hours and 19...
Rafael Nadal’s early departure, added to the absences of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka et al, shows just how stiff the price for qualifying is – but it means so muchWhen Rafael Nadal signed off early from the ATP World Tour Finals this week with a hearty: “Thank you, and merry Christmas everyone,” it was tempting to shout out after the Spaniard as he limped home to the warmth and comfort of the Spanish sunshine: “And thanks for coming.”It was the sixth time in 14 qualifications for this event that Nadal’s body has given up on him – the previous five of those before a ball was hit – and few players are more committed to the cause than...
Few expect revolution as grand slam committees meet in London, but world No2 accepts his sport must start considering theories of evolution if it is to survive beyond modern eraTennis has been drifting inexorably towards a crossroads for at least five years, and rarely has that been more clearly underlined than in events 700 miles apart this weekend. In Milan, the conclusion of the inaugural Next Gen tournament, packed with innovations such as the shot clock and shortened points, celebrated the arrival of the best of the young prospects in the game, while in London those left standing among the established elite dragged their tired bones to the white line for their final showdown of the season.There is a decent...
The inaugural Next Gen ATP finals will showcase the talents of Andrey Rublev and his like but will not paint a definitive picture of the future of men’s tennisWhen Andy Murray threw the US Open into mild disarray by pulling out injured two days before the start of the tournament, the hype surrounding Alex Zverez inevitably went up a notch. Much as the resurgence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had captured the imagination, challengers to their retro dominance looked alarmingly thin on the ground after Murray joined Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka on the list of absentees. Men’s tennis needed a jolt from a tyro like Zverev.It felt as if the exciting young German’s time...
The Spaniard’s victory at the US Open for his 16th grand slam title was a tribute to his enduring commitment and he reacted to the triumph with typical graceIn three words, Rafael Nadal captured the essence of his tennis career and his life: “Very happy, no?”It was getting late at Flushing Meadows, a place where the Spanish clay-court supremo was never supposed to thrive but where he has appeared in four finals, won three titles and won 53 of 64 matches. Only a few hours earlier, he had neutered the power of the big South African Kevin Anderson to take his tally of majors to 16, again only three behind Roger Federer. Related: The US Open showed black women have...