Question for Big 3 fans, who are you going to champion after the Big 3 retire?

Djokovic ain't retiring anytime soon, but when he retires we will probably have new heirs to the throne. Until then many things can happen.
 
At this rate @Meles will be talking with himself in the GPPD section
GFRRs6o.png
 
What is needed is a NEW RIVALRY. People will start watching MORE and get invested when there is good competition and some compelling narratives.

Tennis is not hard that way. When Sampras retired, I was devastated and never thought I would think of the game the same way. But then Fedal happened and their epic matches. And then Murray/Novak as well.

Tennis needs some of these next gen to get more consistent. Maybe a Med vs Zed rivarly or Zed vs Titsp rivalry etc etc. We could live with a top 4 of Med, Titsp, Zed, Thiem -- doesn't sound bad at all.
 
TennisFan3 said:
He's not going to do anything at a slam level bro. I think the others might win a slam before he does. Watching him lose another slam final in the UsOpen.
Click to expand...
Yeah so the player that wins masters when the big 3 aren’t around is 4-2 in last 6 meetings against Djokodal and lost 2 slam finals to both won’t win one when they are not around.
He was poor at the AO in the final but had 20 HC wins in a row. If Djokovic or big 3 weren’t there who beats him ?
 
TennisFan3 said:
He's not going to do anything at a slam level bro. I think the others might win a slam before he does. Watching him lose another slam final in the UsOpen.
Click to expand...
Djokovic is his biggest obstacle for him to overcome. No doubt about that. Still he has a great chance against everyone else and also against Djokovic in New York. You keep underrating the guy bro but currently he’s the 2nd best player on hard courts after djoko. If he wins the us open he’d become the man to beat.
 
DjokoLand said:
Yeah so the player that wins masters when the big 3 aren’t around is 4-2 in last 6 meetings against Djokodal and lost 2 slam finals to both won’t win one when they are not around.
He was poor at the AO in the final but had 20 HC wins in a row. If Djokovic or big 3 weren’t there who beats him ?
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Right now it’s just Djokovic in his way. If he loses early or out of form in final then meddy can win it for sure. Only other player who may stop him is an in form Zverev. Still the German is inconsistent but he’s capable if he’s on.

As for the rest well Fed is finished, Rafa might not play us open and he’s probably too declined on hard courts to stop him now and thiem is gonna take some time to get back to a high level. Meddy has Tsitsipas number on hard courts and I’d take him against anyone else in the field.
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
Djokovic is his biggest obstacle for him to overcome. No doubt about that. Still he has a great chance against everyone else and also against Djokovic in New York. You keep underrating the guy bro but currently he’s the 2nd best player on hard courts after djoko. If he wins the us open he’d become the man to beat.
Click to expand...
I actually see Med losing to a peak Zed or Titsp or even peak Thiem. Med lacks the weapons. I mean he is more consistent sure and will win more.
But peak to peak - Titsp, Zed, Thiem have far BIGGER games. Their A games are better than Med's.

At the end of the day, Med can play his defensive stay back consistent sort of a game, and it works unless the other player redlines. Novak exposed this big time in AO 2021, Thiem did in AO 2020 and UsOpen 2020.
It's pretty plain. Med's just NOT good enough at PEAK level. That is why he loses to a HOT player in slams.
 
TennisFan3 said:
He's not going to do anything at a slam level bro. I think the others might win a slam before he does. Watching him lose another slam final in the UsOpen.
Click to expand...
I mean most of the other young ones are even worse chokers. The only one that seems more solid in the head to me is Matteo B, but he has big weaknesses and is injury prone.
 
TennisFan3 said:
I actually see Med losing to a peak Zed or Titsp or even peak Thiem. Med lacks the weapons. I mean he is more consistent sure and will win more.
But peak to peak - Titsp, Zed, Thiem have far BIGGER games. Their A games are better than Med's.

At the end of the day, Med can play his defensive stay back consistent sort of a game, and it works unless the other player redlines. Novak exposed this big time in AO 2021, Thiem did in AO 2020 and UsOpen 2020.
It's pretty plain. Med's just NOT good enough at PEAK level. That is why he loses to a HOT player in slams.
Click to expand...
Med also has his own zoning moments, and because his shots are so flat/penetrating they can be quite scary

The way he made Novak look like a fool last WTF was delicious
 
TennisFan3 said:
I actually see Med losing to a peak Zed or Titsp or even peak Thiem. Med lacks the weapons. I mean he is more consistent sure and will win more.
But peak to peak - Titsp, Zed, Thiem have far BIGGER games. Their A games are better than Med's.

At the end of the day, Med can play his defensive stay back consistent sort of a game, and it works unless the other player redlines. Novak exposed this big time in AO 2021, Thiem did in AO 2020 and UsOpen 2020.
It's pretty plain. Med's just NOT good enough at PEAK level. That is why he loses to a HOT player in slams.
Click to expand...
You have a point but currently some of those guys you mention aren’t at peak form, injured or not as good on surface. Thiem is obviously struggling with injury and been out of form for ages. Tsitsipas peak level on hard isn’t that great and meddy has his number there. The Greek is the clay man but not on hard courts. Nadal isn’t what he was for a few reasons and Feds basically retired now. The rest of the field Meddy can handle on hard courts.

Zverev I agree with that he may have a slightly higher peak when on but Meddy is much more consistent. Therefore it would be close if they meet currently. Like I said currently looking at the field Meddy big threats are Zverev and Djokovic as they do have high peaks and will be tough for Russian if they find it.

However, if either are just slightly out of form then that’s all it takes for meddy to win and his hard court peak is pretty impressive itself but it’s his consistency that’s better.
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
You have a point but currently some of those guys you mention aren’t at peak form, injured or not as good on surface. Thiem is obviously struggling with injury and been out of form for ages. Tsitsipas peak level on hard isn’t that great and meddy has his number there. The Greek is the clay man but not on hard courts. Nadal isn’t what he was for a few reasons and Feds basically retired now. The rest of the field Meddy can handle on hard courts.

Zverev I agree with that he may have a slightly higher peak when on but Meddy is much more consistent. Therefore it would be close if they meet currently. Like I said currently looking at the field Meddy big threats are Zverev and Djokovic as they do have high peaks and will be tough for Russian if they find it.

However, if either are just slightly out of form then that’s all it takes for meddy to win and his hard court peak is pretty impressive itself but it’s his consistency that’s better.
Click to expand...
Good post. To me it's simple:
  • Thiem: Has the Biggest game of all. But gets injured and loses motivation. Could have been Novak/Nadal successor.
  • Titspas: Has fundamental weaknesses on faster surfaces. Plus mentally suspect. CANNOT be a dominant #1 given lack of grass and fast HC chops.
  • Zed: Not consistent enough, and bad 2nd serve. Gets red hot but does NOT stay there. Never played 7 slam matches at peak level. Mentally suspect as well.
  • Med: Most consistent day in and day out. But doesn't have the PEAK level and BIG tennis to beat a IN FORM player. Keeps plugging though.

Right now, until Novak retires, there is NOT much in this. Novak even at 34/35 is VASTLY superior to everyone (except maybe Thiem).
For Med to win a slam, he just needs to hope that Novak is retired/injured AND Zed/Thiem are NOT on FIRE.

As it relates to the UsOpen: Novak, Zed, Med, Titsp -- are favorites in that order. Obviously a HUGE gulf between Novak and Zed.

I have this feeling, that Med will NOT win a slam until Novak is finished AND then he may get lucky with the other next gen being off. In the meantime he will vulture 250/500/1000 HC tournaments to maintain his ranking.
 
aldeayeah said:
The way he made Novak look like a fool last WTF was delicious
Click to expand...
That was WTF and you know Novak won't give 100% there.
But in the slams Med has ALWAYS been beaten by a RED HOT player like Novak in AO 2021, Thiem in UsOpen 2020 and AO 2020, Titspas in F.O 2021.
Point is when someone is on FIRE - Med has no answers at slam level.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Then they're nothing but glory hunters and there's a plethora of them on TTW. Legit tennis fans don't stop watching tennis when their boy retires, which proves they never were tennis fans to begin with. Just people living vicariously through a stranger. Very common in the social media age.
Click to expand...

Not always true. The Big 3 are all charismatic enough that they've brought people into tennis that would have otherwise never been interested in the sport. Federer did that for me in particular. It isn't automatically about 'glory hunting' or 'vicariously living through people' although plenty do that too.

Statements like this are why so many people find tennis fans to be snobby and elitist.

No offense but who cares what anyone's definition of a 'legit tennis fan' is. People can watch (or not watch) for whatever reason they please.

Edit: And to add onto this, I've seen people get into tennis because of Nadal or Djokovic as well in my own real life circle. It happens more than one might think. Whether they're sticking around the sport after that I do not know. Leaving the sport after they're done is an easily explainable choice though. We root for individuals in tennis, not teams. So when there aren't any individuals to root for, it's pretty hard to still watch, no? When players retire in individual sports, they're gone forever. It's not like a sports franchise that's very likely to stand the course of one's entire life.

I'm not going to just pick someone on a whim and pretend to root for them out of some sense of duty to being thought of as a 'legit tennis fan'.
 
Last edited:
I will support Thiem and Medvedev.

Once all of the Big 3 have hung up their racquets for good, I can see myself losing a bit of interest in following mens tennis.

We have just been so spoilt by these three players for the last 15-20 years. These three pushed each other to become better players and I am very grateful to have witnessed some epic matches they have played against each other in the slams and MS1000 tournaments.
 
TennisFan3 said:
Good post. To me it's simple:
  • Thiem: Has the Biggest game of all. But gets injured and loses motivation. Could have been Novak/Nadal successor.
  • Titspas: Has fundamental weaknesses on faster surfaces. Plus mentally suspect. CANNOT be a dominant #1 given lack of grass and fast HC chops.
  • Zed: Not consistent enough, and bad 2nd serve. Gets red hot but does NOT stay there. Never played 7 slam matches at peak level. Mentally suspect as well.
  • Med: Most consistent day in and day out. But doesn't have the PEAK level and BIG tennis to beat a IN FORM player. Keeps plugging though.

Right now, until Novak retires, there is NOT much in this. Novak even at 34/35 is VASTLY superior to everyone (except maybe Thiem).
For Med to win a slam, he just needs to hope that Novak is retired/injured AND Zed/Thiem are NOT on FIRE.

As it relates to the UsOpen: Novak, Zed, Med, Titsp -- are favorites in that order. Obviously a HUGE gulf between Novak and Zed.

I have this feeling, that Med will NOT win a slam until Novak is finished AND then he may get lucky with the other next gen being off. In the meantime he will vulture 250/500/1000 HC tournaments to maintain his ranking.
Click to expand...
Good summary bro. We will see what happens but Djokovic won’t always be at his best especially at 34 plus. He’s the favourite though and I hope he can win a few more slams before he retires. Still the likes of medvedev, Zverev, thiem and Tsitsipas are all in the mix and will have chances. Then even more when Novak ages and slows down more. Will be fascinating to see how it plays out.
 
TennisFan3 said:
That was WTF and you know Novak won't give 100% there.
But in the slams Med has ALWAYS been beaten by a RED HOT player like Novak in AO 2021, Thiem in UsOpen 2020 and AO 2020, Titspas in F.O 2021.
Point is when someone is on FIRE - Med has no answers at slam level.
Click to expand...
The draw at the us open will be crucial too. I think Novak will definitely prefer Tsitsipas on his side than Zverev. Likewise for meddy as he would prefer Tsitsipas too.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
Not always true. The Big 3 are all charismatic enough that they've brought people into tennis that would have otherwise never been interested in the sport. Federer did that for me in particular. It isn't automatically about 'glory hunting' or 'vicariously living through people' although plenty do that too.

Statements like this are why so many people find tennis fans to be snobby and elitist.

No offense but who cares what anyone's definition of a 'legit tennis fan' is. People can watch (or not watch) for whatever reason they please.

Edit: And to add onto this, I've seen people get into tennis because of Nadal or Djokovic as well in my own real life circle. It happens more than one might think. Whether they're sticking around the sport after that I do not know. Leaving the sport after their done is an easily explainable choice though.
Click to expand...
You're too smart for this forum. Leave before it ruins you. You can still be saved.
 
Nole Slam said:
You're too smart for this forum. Leave before it ruins you. You can still be saved.
Click to expand...

How will I be considered a legit tennis fan if I leave now? My 9 years of service here has clearly not been enough.

My Federer and Del Potro rooting interests will be permanently sullied if I don't latch onto some young player and offer them my allegiance and time.

It is my duty as a legit tennis fan to do this.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
Not always true. The Big 3 are all charismatic enough that they've brought people into tennis that would have otherwise never been interested in the sport. Federer did that for me in particular. It isn't automatically about 'glory hunting' or 'vicariously living through people' although plenty do that too.

Statements like this are why so many people find tennis fans to be snobby and elitist.

No offense but who cares what anyone's definition of a 'legit tennis fan' is. People can watch (or not watch) for whatever reason they please.

Edit: And to add onto this, I've seen people get into tennis because of Nadal or Djokovic as well in my own real life circle. It happens more than one might think. Whether they're sticking around the sport after that I do not know. Leaving the sport after they're done is an easily explainable choice though. We root for individuals in tennis, not teams. So when there aren't any individuals to root for, it's pretty hard to still watch, no? When players retire in individual sports, they're gone forever. It's not like a sports franchise that's very likely to stand the course of one's entire life.

I'm not going to just pick someone on a whim and pretend to root for them out of some sense of duty to being thought of as a 'legit tennis fan'.
Click to expand...
Your steak was too cheap. I am disappointed.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
How will I be considered a legit tennis fan if I leave now? My 9 years of service here has clearly not been enough.

My Federer and Del Potro rooting interests will be permanently sullied if I don't latch onto some young player and offer them my allegiance and time.

It is my duty as a legit tennis fan to do this.
Click to expand...
You have to root for the new player with the same passion if you truly like tennis. I'm gonna force myself because I care about tennis.
 
By the way, FWIW - I have always said I'm more of a Federer fan than a tennis fan. I didn't even know how many slams he had won when I first started watching him. I liked the way he played the game and liked his speech after losing to Nadal at Wimbledon 08. You guys can keep the 'legit tennis fan' title for yourselves. No skin off my nose.

Just know it's not uncommon for the Big 3 to have brought people into the sport that otherwise wouldn't have been watching tennis. And in my personal opinion, that is cool.

And it will happen with this generation of players too. Just for a younger demographic.

Poisoned Slice said:
Your steak was too cheap. I am disappointed.
Click to expand...


 
Federer and Del Potro said:
By the way, FWIW - I have always said I'm more of a Federer fan than a tennis fan. I didn't even know how many slams he had won when I first started watching him. I liked the way he played the game and liked his speech after losing to Nadal at Wimbledon 08. You guys can keep the 'legit tennis fan' title for yourselves. No skin off my nose.

Just know it's not uncommon for the Big 3 to have brought people into the sport that otherwise wouldn't have been watching tennis. And in my personal opinion, that is cool.

And it will happen with this generation of players too. Just for a younger demographic.




Click to expand...

You're not a real United fan unless you get the new manscaped range and a Goldbridge tattoo on your left butt cheek.
 
Poisoned Slice said:
You're not a real United fan unless you get the new manscaped range and a Goldbridge tattoo on your left butt cheek.
Click to expand...

Well United is different. United is a team. Bigger than any one man or player. It would be different if you're just hopping to Barcelona or Real Madrid etc because United haven't been as good post SAF. Then the 'legit soccer fan' equivalent might actually hold some water.

I'll always support United no matter how good or bad they are. Sadly Federer cannot clone himself and do it all over again, so once he leaves he is no more. There is no 'Federer' after that unless his kids play. But even that isn't the same.

Individual sports - once they're gone they're gone. Makes every moment bigger in a way. They are around for such a small, finite amount of time.
 
I'm going to root for whoever is the first NextGen to win a slam. Who will that be? Consider this:

Rafa won Olympic gold and eventually won his first YE#1 in 2008.
Murray won Olympic gold and eventually won his first slam in 2012.
Murray won Olympic gold and eventually won his first WTF and YE#1 in 2016.
Zverev won Olympic gold and eventually won his first _____ in 2021. He's already won his first Masters and WTF, so that leaves either his first slam or YE#1...or both.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
Well United is different. United is a team. Bigger than any one man or player. It would be different if you're just hopping to Barcelona or Real Madrid etc because United haven't been as good post SAF. Then the 'legit soccer fan' equivalent might actually hold some water.

I'll always support United no matter how good or bad they are. Sadly Federer cannot clone himself and do it all over again, so once he leaves he is no more. There is no 'Federer' after that unless his kids play. But even that isn't the same.

Individual sports - once they're gone they're gone. Makes every moment bigger in a way. They are around for such a small, finite amount of time.
Click to expand...

I agree. (y)

lol.jpg
 
Djokovic_is_the_best#1 said:
Totally agree. Right now it’s just Djokovic in his way. If he loses early or out of form in final then meddy can win it for sure. Only other player who may stop him is an in form Zverev. Still the German is inconsistent but he’s capable if he’s on.

As for the rest well Fed is finished, Rafa might not play us open and he’s probably too declined on hard courts to stop him now and thiem is gonna take some time to get back to a high level. Meddy has Tsitsipas number on hard courts and I’d take him against anyone else in the field.
Click to expand...
Yeah exactly. If Djokovic isn’t around he will definitely be winning HC slams. Yes he can have a upset but most players do we have just been spoiled by the big 3 going deep every slam.
Med is close to Djokovic level these days. I would put him ahead in masters etc but behind in slams. Which is not really a insult as Djokovic is HC goat
 
Will Rarely watch Maybe just my favorite slams AO and USO. .. After Sampras/Agassi/Fed/Nadal/Djokovic there is nowhere to go but down. When a 34 year old was in position to potentially win a golden slam, you aren't worth watching as a new generation of players. LOL
 
Last edited:
Sampras-Bruguera 1993 said:
Will Rarely watch.. After Sampras/Agassi/Fed/Nadal/Djokovic there is nowhere to go but down. When a 34 year old was in position to potentially win a golden slam, you aren't worth watching as a new generation of players. LOL
Click to expand...
This. While Fed and Djokovic(at slams) are still top level at 34 IMO it’s going to be a big drop off.
RG21 Djokodal was the best match of the year by a mile with the 2 of them playing nowhere near there prime yet it is like a different sport compared too next gen.
 
DjokoLand said:
This. While Fed and Djokovic(at slams) are still top level at 34 IMO it’s going to be a big drop off.
RG21 Djokodal was the best match of the year by a mile with the 2 of them playing nowhere near there prime yet it is like a different sport compared too next gen.
Click to expand...


Yep. I have a feeling thousands of people will tune out too once the big 3 retire. The future of the game is in serious trouble IMO. Theres no way any generations is going to surpass the competiveness/level etc. the Big 3 had on these surfaces. It will be all pretenders to throne. It will be "mehhh Ive seen this before but to a much higher level with the Big 3, No reason to watch"
 
Sampras-Bruguera 1993 said:
Yep. I have a feeling thousands of people will tune out too once the big 3 retire. The future of the game is in serious trouble IMO. Theres no way any generations is going to surpass the competiveness/level etc. the Big 3 had on these surfaces. It will be all pretenders to throne
Click to expand...
I don’t know if I’d tune out but Djokodal matches from 2010-2016 where something. Most next gen are big servers bad returners, can’t rally or last 5 sets which is going to make for some horrible tennis soon enough.

Fedovic was also great there whole careers and these matches are finished now. This era is never over and the only way is down. Some say it will be more interesting but the level will be nowhere near.
We have been spoiled since 2001
 
I will watch tennis a LOT less (already have this and last year, actually, with Fed sitting out). Of the nexgen, Tsitsipas is probably the one I would keep the tv on to watch. Medvedev is #2. I think both have good court strategy and move well so you see a good mix of offense and defense. I don’t enjoy watching Shapo much despite his speed and firepower Bc he’s prone to too many errors and mental lapses. Zverev just has a boring game. Sinner reminds me of Murray and I don’t like watching either one. Yeah it’s going to be a dark stretch for tennis on the men’s side…
 
Truly great players find you, not the other way around. I think that’s how you become a true fan of new players in individual sports - just continue watching the game, take an interest in a new player… you learn more about them and suddenly you’re on the edge of your seat watching them play a SF match.

what’s the quote? Slowly, then all at once.

I think a lot of the responses show that being a fan of the Big 3 is objectively detrimental to your mental and sometimes financial or even physical health. Obviously it’s rewarding but I’ve had discussions with people who truly wish they could just glance at a Nadal or Federer result and go on with their day. Tennis has burnt a generation of fans out. The emotional investment in such high stakes drama is so hard to recover from especially while the “GOAT” debate still rages unceasingly.

so if being a fan is like love - then why are we expecting Big 3 fans to rebound immediately to a new player after such an emotional long-term love affair? It doesn’t make much sense when you think about it tbh.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
Not always true. The Big 3 are all charismatic enough that they've brought people into tennis that would have otherwise never been interested in the sport. Federer did that for me in particular. It isn't automatically about 'glory hunting' or 'vicariously living through people' although plenty do that too.

Statements like this are why so many people find tennis fans to be snobby and elitist.

No offense but who cares what anyone's definition of a 'legit tennis fan' is. People can watch (or not watch) for whatever reason they please.

Edit: And to add onto this, I've seen people get into tennis because of Nadal or Djokovic as well in my own real life circle. It happens more than one might think. Whether they're sticking around the sport after that I do not know. Leaving the sport after they're done is an easily explainable choice though. We root for individuals in tennis, not teams. So when there aren't any individuals to root for, it's pretty hard to still watch, no? When players retire in individual sports, they're gone forever. It's not like a sports franchise that's very likely to stand the course of one's entire life.

I'm not going to just pick someone on a whim and pretend to root for them out of some sense of duty to being thought of as a 'legit tennis fan'.
Click to expand...
In my view, neutrality would be pretty nice too. Don't really care who wins most of the time.
 
Federer and Del Potro said:
How will I be considered a legit tennis fan if I leave now? My 9 years of service here has clearly not been enough.

My Federer and Del Potro rooting interests will be permanently sullied if I don't latch onto some young player and offer them my allegiance and time.

It is my duty as a legit tennis fan to do this.
Click to expand...
Did you literally join after the Fedpo Olympic SF?:laughing:
 
BeatlesFan said:
Then they're nothing but glory hunters and there's a plethora of them on TTW. Legit tennis fans don't stop watching tennis when their boy retires, which proves they never were tennis fans to begin with. Just people living vicariously through a stranger. Very common in the social media age.
Click to expand...

Nah, there's no arbitrary line here on who's a "legit" tennis fan and who isn't. At the end of the day, tennis is really just entertainment. When it stops fulfilling that purpose (for whatever reason) it's fine to move on. Heck there are plenty of people who play tennis very regularly (more so than the majority of TTW) but barely watch any tennis whatsoever except for maybe slam finals or big 3 matches, it would be a stretch to argue they're not "legit" or whatever.

Also it's a failure on the part of tennis authorities/sport itself that they fail to attract better athletes and develop modern stars, the only people who care about guys like Med or Tsits are hardcore fans, you need more than that. Imagine if Lebron was the only great player/star in NBA for example, it wouldn't be a good look. Every sport needs star power, people aren't really keen on watching who's gonna be the tallest midget.
 
At the moment none of the current players really interest me enough for me to root for them. Will probably still watch and keep an eye on what's happening but tennis will definitely take a backseat for me. Maybe eventually I'll find some interest in one of them. But I'm definitely not going to pick a player and force myself to root for them just to be considered a "legit tennis fan", lol.
Sephiroth said:
At this rate @Meles will be talking with himself in the GPPD section
GFRRs6o.png
Click to expand...
100% would log on to TTW just for this
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Milehigh5280
  • Poll Poll
Which generation will be dominant after the Big 3?
Replies
20
Views
895
toby55555
toby55555
Sparlingo
Opinion: When the changing of the guard occurs in the 2020's there will be a renaissance in tennis.
2
Replies
61
Views
3K
tennisaddict
tennisaddict
BGod
Worst ways for Big 3 to retire?
Replies
9
Views
680
SonnyT
S
Krish872007
"I have no plans to retire after Olympics."
Replies
41
Views
2K
Zain786
Z
Third Serve
  • Poll Poll
A poll for actual Next Gen fans
2
Replies
54
Views
1K
Sport
Sport
Back
Top