Is there more depth in men's tennis today than in 2002?

[buscemi]

There have been multiple discussions on here (including in the Roddick AO vs Thiem AO thread) about whether there's more depth in the men's game now than there was in years past, including 2002. As a result, I thought I'd do a post on the current players ranked #20, #30, #40, #50, #60, #70, and #80 vs. their counterparts in 2002:

#20​

2024: Nicolas Jarry: 28 years-old, 3 titles and 2 other finals, all on clay. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=2R/4R/3R/3R​

2002: Sjeng Schalken: 9 titles on clay/hard/grass and 3 other finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=4R/3R/QF/SF​

​

#30​

2024: FAA: 23 years-old, 5 titles, all on indoor hard courts, 9 other titles. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=QF/4R/QF/SF​

2002: Tommy Robredo: 12 titles on clay and hard, 11 other finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=QF/QF/4R/QF​

​

#40​

2024: Sebsatian Ofner: 27 years-old, 0 titles, 0 finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=1R/4R/3R/2R​

2002: Jarkko Nieminen: 2 titles and 11 other finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=QF/4R/QF/4R​

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#50​

2024: Zhizhen Zhang: 27 years-old, 0 titles, 0 finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=2R/3R/1R/1R​

2002: Agustin Calleri: 2 titles and 6 other finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=2R/3R/2R/3R​

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#60​

2024: Dominik Koepfer: 29 years-old, 0 titles, 0 finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=2R/3R/3R/4R​

2002: David Sanchez: 2 titles, both on clay. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=2R/3R/1R/2R​

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#70​

2024: Gael Monfils: 37 years-old: 12 titles on clay/hard, 22 other finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=QF/SF/4R/SF​

2002: Antony Dupuis: 1 title, 1 other final. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=2R/3R/2R/2R​

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#80​

2024: Bernabe Zapata Miralles: 27 years-old: 0 titles, 0 finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=1R/4R/1R/2R​

2002: Mark Philippoussis: 11 titles on hard/grass/clay, 11 other finals. Best results at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open=4R/4R/F/F​

Obviously, the 2024 crew still have time to add to their accomplishments. Curious to hear what people think about the comparison.

 

[nolefam_2024]

So all these players had these number of titles in 2002?

It will be huge effort but since you made this thread please put their title and match hold in 2002 not for full career.

 

[buscemi]

So all these players had these number of titles in 2002?

It will be huge effort but since you made this thread please put their title and match hold in 2002 not for full career.

I'll see if I can find time to do the full list at some point.

But, starting at the top, Schalken had 7 titles and 3 other finals by the end of 2002. In 2002 specifically, he won Rosmalen on grass, made the final in Moscow on carpet, lost 7-5 in the fifth set to eventual champion Hewitt in the Wimbledon QF, and beat Gonzo and Guga back-to-back at the U.S. Open before losing to eventual champion Sampras in the SF, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2.

 

[RS]

If the right posters come.....

 

[Neptune]

Please add #647, and no need for full list effort.

 

[buscemi]

Please add #647, and no need for full list effort.

Ha! I won't do that, but the #100 player was noted in that thread as a possible point of comparison.

#100 now is 27 year-old Quentin Halys: 0 titles, 0 finals, 2R/2R/3R/1R at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open​

#100 in 2002 was Robby Ginepri: 3 titles on hard/grass, 4R/4R/4R/SF at AO/French/Wimbledon/U.S. Open​

 

[RS]

Well who could prove if today is stronger or weaker than 1969-2006 tennis. There isn't a measurement.

 

[socallefty]

Has there ever been so much depth in tennis where the #649 ranked player in the world has 22 Slams?

 

[Crocodile]

I think someone who has directly been involved with the pro tour between 2002 and now could have a real sense of what is going on right.
Normally when people talk about teams, countries and sports having depth they are usually using some definition to make their statements. For example in the 1960’s Australian men’s tennis had great depth because at one stage 9 out of the 10 top 10 players were Australian. So from a team Davis Cup team selection, Australia would have had a great depth of players to choose from. As a counterpoint though some could argue that in the 1960’s you didn’t have as many countries really engaging in tennis then you do now. The Europeans really got into biomechanics research in the 80’s and moved up in the world.
I have two things to add here;
1. It’s very hard to compare different eras due to the many variables that you have to consider;
2. I tend to get the feeling that as time moves on things get better including biomechanics, physiology and equipment. I think clay court tennis players of different eras can be a good comparison. Say go Borg, then Muster, then Gustafson K, Nadal and let’s now probably say Alcaraz and you get a some snapshot. It’s harder to make analysis with grass court players because there are only 7 percent of tournaments that opt for grass and the type of grass used at Wimbledon is a different grass and it’s slower. I guess you could compare McEnroe with Cash, Becker, Edberg, Stich, Rafter, Sampras and Roger and you kind of get a sense of evolution and standard there: