LONDON — We’re in the twilight of the GOAT era. Rafa Nadal‘s body is creaking, Roger Federer hasn’t played a competitive match in a year and Serena Williams‘ next movements are unclear. Novak Djokovic is at the peak of his powers but will likely not play another Grand Slam event until May.
Tennis will likely never see their like again, and the chances to watch them are getting rarer.
Friday’s Wimbledon men’s semifinal round was going to be a blockbuster. Opening with Djokovic against British hope Cam Norrie, then Nadal, now 36 years old, trying to take down mercurial Nick Kyrgios to continue his charge for a calendar Slam. But a tear in a muscle in Nadal’s abdomen robbed us of the second half of that draw.
And with that came the growing feeling of transience in the sport, and that gnawing thought at the back of the mind knowing these players will one day retire was moving closer to the front of the mind.
Kyrgios refers to Nadal, Federer and Djokovic as the “gods.”
He was asked on Friday about whether the players outside of the Big Three will be able to shoulder the responsibility of taking this sport forward when they are no longer playing.
“We’ll never see a competitor like Rafa again,” Kyrgios said. “You’ll never see someone wield a racket like Roger, so effortlessly. You’ll never probably see anyone who just wins and just plays the game just so good as a winner than Djokovic.”
He namechecked the next gen coming through in Brandon Nakashima, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz but reiterated four times in his answer, “I don’t think anyone will fill those shoes” of the famous trio.
Federer, who is 40, has been missed at Wimbledon this year. Early last week when the attendance figures were down on previous years, one theory from inside the walls of the AELTC was the lack of the Federer factor. His supporters gravitate to wherever he’s playing, and while you still see the RF caps and apparel dotted around Wimbledon, he has been missed by fans and players alike.
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Get well soon, Rafa! pic.twitter.com/m2ebAtlIbF
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) July 7, 2022
“My personal relationship with Roger [has] always [been] great, and probably my greatest rival,” Nadal said. “At the same time, all the things that we shared together on court is something difficult to describe, the emotions, all the things.”
“And of course I personally miss him in the tennis tour, and tennis of course miss him, tournaments, fans, everyone,” Nadal continued.
It was Federer’s surprise…
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