At what age do you think Rafa and Djoker could decline?

[sportsfan1]

The age at which tennis players decline is said to be late 20s. Roddick retired at 30, but had faded. Edberg, Becker etc tailed off winning slams or started fading. Sampras was fairly burnt out by about age 30. Agassi of course went longer but he had some breaks in between.

With Wawrinka winning his first slam at close to 29, and more players over 30 such as Haas and Robredo playing top 20 tennis, do you think Rafa and Djoker will have a slower decline and continue winning slams well into their 30s, or could there be a sharp decline in the next year or so? It would also depend on whether a Janowicz, Dimitrov or Raonic starts dominating and that could hasten it. Predictions?

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Improvements in medical technology and the changing nature of the tennis should allow athletic primes to be extended. I expect Djokovic to be a great player for many years to come.

Nadal might last on the tour for a while but I don't think he can have consecutively brilliant seasons. Actually… that's never been in his nature

2008 brillant
2009 crappy
2010 brilliant
2011-12 lagged off
2013 brilliant
2014 see the pattern here

Although I *never* thought Nadal would be #1 in the world again after his injury lay off in 2012. So it's not like he hasn't proved me wrong before.

 

[Maximagq]

Djokovic can win majors until 2017 I think. Nadal has one year left.

 

[Goosehead]

no reason why djokovic cannot go on for a few years at his level now (world no 1-3 going deep/winning big tourneys)..

rafa ?..no idea, when he was 22-23 and his knees were a bit dodgy no one was thinking he would be still around at the top now..in fact I ran across some old threads from 2006/7/8 where folk were thinking he would have burnt out by now.

 

[chjtennis]

I think Nadal has declined a bit this year. It may have started for him. Novak's only 1 year younger, so I think he'll follow Rafa in 1-2 years. The youngsters have improved quite a bit, so that will only make them look worse sooner.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Both this year.

 

[Wynter]

Yeah 1-2 years is a fairly safe bet.

 

[Roddick85]

I think it already started to be honest. Djokovic had 1 truly great year, 2011 followed by a good 2012-2013 but nowhere near as dominant. Nadal started to decline in 2011 imo, he had a great 2013 thanks to the big break, but after a full year on tour his results this year ain't great either.

Given how dominant these guys have been in the last 7 years, they can afford to slightly decline, yet still be above the rest of the field. It's no secret that among the current crop of youngsters, there's no early bloomers like Nadal/Djokovic were, so that extends Nadal/Djokovic/Federer reigns as top guys even if they are slowly declining. I think this year is the first time we see them being pushed by the future generation, so it might be 2 years or so from seeing them truly decline.

 

[NatF]

Nadal and Djokovic will be in decline by the end of next year IMO.

 

[tennisaddict]

Murray and Delpo injured. Any semblance of resistance at majors is gone.

Even if they play below average it is 100 times better than any of the competition.

Weak era at its best.

 

[Tatenda]

these guys are all about conditioning, and as long as their feeling gud physicaly and mentaly there will always be hard to beat even if their 35,

 

[mike danny]

Federer when he was Nadal's age in 2009 was still in prime form. He reached all 4 slam finals winning 2 and finished the year ranked no.1. It was in 2010 that his real decline started and age began to show its roots.

I think Nadal will decline somewhere in 2015. That will also be the year he will struggle to make slam finals

 

[Fiji]

Late twenties

 

[Vcore89]

Let's make this brief. Rafa, as soon as he's done winning RG, maybe immediately or 3 more RGs later but the moment he loses at RG, he'll lose that edge. Nole has a long ways to go by the looks of it.

 

[Service Ace]

Nadal is already in decline

 

[Phoenix1983]

I think their gradual decline has already started.

The problem is, it isn't really noticeable because no-one from the young generation can step up to the plate and become a champion.

 

[THESEXPISTOL]

Djoko has a some good years in front of him.
Prime Nadal is gone. He's not in decline yet, but we're already seeing some signs that it might be very close.
I guess Nadal decline will mean his retirement, because i can't see Nadal playing if he isn't always winning tournaments. Also, he's always talking about how much he wants to enjoy life after tennis...

 

[heninfan99]

Djoker will start declining at 47.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Djoker will start declining at 47.

I think he'll still be beasting till he's 48.

 

[noball]

Ralph is immune to declining, he has unlimited stamina and thus can never decline. :lol:

 

[tennis_pro]

Late twenties

Djokovic is already 27, Nadal 28.

Looks like "late 20's" to me.

 

[torpantennis]

Nadal is already declining. Djokovic is a late bloomer in terms of peak, so we'll see.

 

[ultradr]

Players ages are getting old. It's kinda unclear how long top players can last.
Games are much slower now compared to 90's.

"Declining" is a relative term.

Federer must have declined due to aging.
Human body start aging once you hit 20.
It is also due to Djokovic and Murray who got stronger last a few years.
They were already challenging Federer and Nadal in their early days.

I do not see promising younsters who can challenge top players now.

 

[syc23]

Look at David Ferrer, well into his 30s and hasn't declined that much yet. Look for the top guys to remain dominant for another 6 years.

 

[RunDatGame]

They will dominate for a long time, they are MUCH talented and better then others. Federer declined but his game is still better then 99% of the field, and he would still winning majors if there is no Nole and Nadal. So...
They are going to win majors in 30s coz no one will beat them regularly from today's competiton... Their B game is enough for this field...

 

[chjtennis]

Everyone's saying players remain active much longer these days but if you think about it, former no. 1s of early 2000s have retired around 30. Safin has retired, Roddick has retired and Ferrero has retired as well. Federer, Youzhny, Robredo, Davydenko and Haas are just exceptional cases. There have been players who stayed active a lot longer than his contemporaries in the past, Connors being the prime example, and I don't think it's a general pattern that players stay active much longer than before.

 

[sportsfan1]

Look at David Ferrer, well into his 30s and hasn't declined that much yet. ...

But Ferrer, 32, disagrees with you :

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/04/ferrer-missing-physical-edge/51080/

"I've noted a small physical slip, especially this year," said Ferrer, who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday. "It's costing me more to play my best tennis. It seems that it's costing me more to react, or recover. I play a good match and the next day I find it harder to react."

But in general, your point is correct that players are able to play longer and into their thirties.

 

[Start da Game]

nadal has already declined a lot when you compare his current form to that of 2008......just that nadal fans don't use lame "past his prime" excuse like federer fans......

 

[reaper]

I think players often decline when tennis ceases to be an all consuming focus. Federer is now balancing family with tennis and is not as sharp as he once was. I think Nadal will stay very competitive at the top of the game until he claims the grand Slam record. He might have peaks and troughs, but anyone who writes him off because he's half a step slower to the ball is a fool. He wins a lot of matches by force of will. I think Djokovic might decline earlier than Nadal. To my mind he has a little less to play for. He can never attain the record for most grand Slams. If he wins the French Open he might have a good year, but the next time after that his level drops i think it might be terminal....I just don't see a motivating force for him in the longer term.

 

[cork_screw]

Good question. I cannot imagine rafa losing another Roland Garros for a long time. Every year I wait and see and every year he seems too strong for any competition. I think you'll see a major decline when he starts to do poorly n clay.

 

[Chico]

Nadal is already in decline. Djokovic will start declining at 30-31.

 

[Omega_7000]

nadal has already declined a lot when you compare his current form to that of 2008......just that nadal fans don't use lame "past his prime" excuse like federer fans......

So you're saying Ralph has declined but claim to not using the "past his prime" excuse? :-?

 

[jg153040]

Will? I think they already do decline. I mean Nole went from 3 majors / year to winning 1 major in more than 2 years.

Rafa went 7 months off. They both lost to Wawrinka at AO for god's sake.

Fed is old and Nole lost one match and barely won a close tie-break in Wells.

The decline already shows. It's like Fed in 2008/09.

 

[jg153040]

So you're saying Ralph has declined but claim to not using the "past his prime" excuse? :-?

Good point. Some fans crack me up. Rafa declined after 2008 and yet Fed being almost 5 years older was still in his prime after 2010?

I mean, lol.

 

[Fiji]

Will? I think they already do decline. I mean Nole went from 3 majors / year to winning 1 major in more than 2 years.

Rafa went 7 months off. They both lost to Wawrinka at AO for god's sake.

Fed is old and Nole lost one match and barely won a close tie-break in Wells.

The decline already shows. It's like Fed in 2008/09.

Exactly. They are both declining already. Prime Nadal and Nole don't lose to wawa at a slam for crying out loud! Anyone who can't see this is blind. Losing to a player like wawa is bad omen for both.

It's like Roger losing to Del Potro at the USO in 2009. IMO next year Nole will seriously decline. Nadal is serously declining now and might not win slams from now on. Next year Nole might start going slamless. Losing to Wawa was bad for both like when Roger started losing to Del Potro, Soderling, Berdych and Tsonga at the slams. That's when Roger had a hard time winning a slam. Only one slam every two years or so....

 

[Smasher08]

The age at which tennis players decline is said to be late 20s. Roddick retired at 30, but had faded. Edberg, Becker etc tailed off winning slams or started fading. Sampras was fairly burnt out by about age 30. Agassi of course went longer but he had some breaks in between.

With Wawrinka winning his first slam at close to 29, and more players over 30 such as Haas and Robredo playing top 20 tennis, do you think Rafa and Djoker will have a slower decline and continue winning slams well into their 30s, or could there be a sharp decline in the next year or so? It would also depend on whether a Janowicz, Dimitrov or Raonic starts dominating and that could hasten it. Predictions?

28 for Nads. 29-30 for Djok since he was a late bloomer.

 

[cc0509]

Nadal is already in decline. Djokovic will start declining at 30-31.

Yep, Nadal is in serious decline. That is why he is number one in the world and won more ATP titles in 2013 than he has won in his entire career. Do people actually read some of the nonsense they post?

 

[Fiji]

Yep, Nadal is in serious decline. That is why he is number one in the world and won more ATP titles in 2013 than he has won in his entire career. Do people actually read some of the nonsense they post?

We are not in 2013 anymore.

 

[cc0509]

We are not in 2013 anymore.

Well in 2014, he made the final of the one slam we have had so far. Did Djokovic or Federer?

In fact in 2014, he has entered five tournaments and made the final of four. Does that seriously sound like big decline to you?