A New World Number 2: End of an Era?

A New World Number 2: End of an Era?

Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic

On the 15th of March, 2021, there was a “New World Number 2” other than the “Big 4” after nearly 16 years. Daniil Medvedev became world number 2 on 15th March. For the first time since July, 2005, a player holds a rank of number 2 other than the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Daniil Medvedev

The Rise of Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev has performed extremely well in the recent past. The 25 year old won the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals, 2020 in which he had beaten the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem.

Medvedev was on a 20 match winning streak which was broken by Djokovic in the Australian Open final. The scoreline of the match was 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

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After winning 20 matches continuously, the Russian joined an elite group which consists of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro.

The Juggernaut of the Big 4

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Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

The BIG 4 dominance is something that will be discussed for a while in the sporting world. Maintaining such a high level of game for a considerate amount of time is really tough but the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have done a commendable job by maintaining the level.

There have not been many players who have been able to dominate tennis in the era of big 4. Andy Murray is currently struggling with his hip injury and is trying to make a comeback to play at the highest level.

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Presently, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are defying the odds by playing at such a high level at their age.

The tennis players generally are not in their prime when playing the game after 30 years of age but the big 3 are setting up an example on how to maintain the level of mental and physical fitness.

Is this the Beginning of the End?

Stefanos Tsistsipas, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev

In the last decade, it was felt by the people that the juggernaut of the big 4 will be stopped by the likes of Stanislas Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Juan Martin Del Potro but it was not to be.

They came close several times, even beating the big 4 occasionally but could not make an authoritative statement that there are here to dominate.

Players with the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev are here to challenge the big 3 right now. They have been able to beat them quite frequently. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in the near future.

So, is this the beginning of the end? Can the next generation displace the big 3? All these questions are unanswered right now but will be answered soon.

Also Read: “He shouldn’t have said this,” says angry Toni Nadal after Benoit Paire makes a bold claim