helterskelter
G.O.A.T.
Here's the age distribution of the 23 men left:
19: Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev
22: Dominic Thiem
25: David Goffin, Milos Raonic
26: Kei Nishikori, Aljaz Bedene
27: Ernests Gulbis
28: Roberto Bautista Agut, Albert Ramos-Vinolas
29: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet
30: Pablo Cuevas, Tomas Berdych, Marcel Granollers, Nicolas Almagro, Viktor Troicki
31: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Stan Wawrinka, John Isner
34: David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez
Dividing into categories:
Teenagers: 2
Early-20 somethings (20-24 inclusive): 1
Late-20 somethings (25-29 inclusive): 7
Early-30 somethings (30-34 inclusive): 10
Late-30 somethings (35-39 inclusive): 0 - Karlovic the last to go.
So, still three young or youngish players who could break through, and one of them is guaranteed to make round 4 and likely to make the quarter-finals. Nadal's withdrawal may have opened up the door somewhat, but the overall composition of the middle rounds seems to me to be getting even older each major. If I recall correctly, at this stage in the Australian Open there were still more late-20 somethings than there were early-30 somethings.
19: Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev
22: Dominic Thiem
25: David Goffin, Milos Raonic
26: Kei Nishikori, Aljaz Bedene
27: Ernests Gulbis
28: Roberto Bautista Agut, Albert Ramos-Vinolas
29: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet
30: Pablo Cuevas, Tomas Berdych, Marcel Granollers, Nicolas Almagro, Viktor Troicki
31: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Stan Wawrinka, John Isner
34: David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez
Dividing into categories:
Teenagers: 2
Early-20 somethings (20-24 inclusive): 1
Late-20 somethings (25-29 inclusive): 7
Early-30 somethings (30-34 inclusive): 10
Late-30 somethings (35-39 inclusive): 0 - Karlovic the last to go.
So, still three young or youngish players who could break through, and one of them is guaranteed to make round 4 and likely to make the quarter-finals. Nadal's withdrawal may have opened up the door somewhat, but the overall composition of the middle rounds seems to me to be getting even older each major. If I recall correctly, at this stage in the Australian Open there were still more late-20 somethings than there were early-30 somethings.