ATP: The changing of the guard can only take place in the case of a major
The ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo has brought the next new winner with Stefanos Tsitsipas. Whether the new generation can really take the reins in hand will only be seen at the next Grand Slam tournaments.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Apr 19, 2021, 03:11 pm
Two Masters 1000 tournaments have been completed on the ATP Tour in 2021, neither of which was won by Novak Djokovic , Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer . In Miami this was clear from the start, the big three decided not to appear for various reasons. The fact that Stefanos Tsitsipas won in Monte Carlo is not a big sensation after the collected results of the Greek. Yes, with his eleven victories, Nadal has also set a mark in the Principality that can never be even remotely matched. But then again, the Spaniard is not virtually invincible in Monte Carlo, as in Roland Garros. Especially with the conditions that prevailed last Friday in the match against Andrey Rublev . It must be noted that the Russian had also shown an outstanding performance mentally - after Nadal's comeback in the second set, there was again a lot in the direction of the record champion.
With Novak Djokovic things were different, the performance against Daniel Evans had something of the Sonego experience in Vienna: The best player in the world had not started his job, Djokovic made mistakes that he made in a Grand Slam tournament guaranteed not to be undermined in this multitude.
Focus on the majors
And that is still the crux of the matter: Djokovic was just as safe at the Australian Open 2021 with the exception of a short phase in the quarter-finals against Alexander Zverev as Nadal without exceptions in Roland Garros in autumn 2020. The circumstances at the US Open a few weeks before that are known , Djokovic would have been difficult to beat in terms of play, too.
Wins in 1000s are still popular, see Djokovic last year in Cincinnati / New York and Rome. And see maybe the upcoming major events in the Caja Magical and the Foro Italico. The priority for Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is more than ever on the majors.
Pete Sampras led the way on his hunt for Roy Emerson's existing record. Sampras wanted to outbid the Australian's twelve Grand Slam titles, and he succeeded with a total of 14. Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have long since passed this dimension. It is now important to break the stalemate at the top or, from the Serbian perspective, to get close to his big rivals except for one title.
Nadal number two again in Paris?
The tournaments could become important in the coming weeks for one reason above all: Rafael Nadal is currently still in third place in the ATP world rankings. If it stayed that way until the French Open, last year's finalists Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the semifinals. Not a particularly nice view for either of them. For players like Tsitsipas, Rublev, Zverev and, above all, Dominic Thiem, it is an opportunity to get to a major endgame on a slightly easier route.
The good news for Nadal, however: Daniil Medvedev, who is not a luminary anyway, has to sit out until further notice due to a positive corona test. The Russian is currently second in the world rankings and doesn't have many points to defend. If he doesn't write to Roland Garros at all, Rafael Nadal will most certainly clean up the tableau from the bottom up. And put very, very big obstacles in the way of those who want to change.