Spencer Gore
Legend
It's becoming clear over the last 18 months that we've been suffering for years from a mass delusion that we've been witnessing the golden age of the game.
Consider the list of tennis greats from 1980-95, and then compare to the list of tennis greats from 2003-2018.
1980-95: Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Wilander, Noah, Becker, Edberg, Chang, Courier, Sampras, Agassi, Ivanisevic. Think of the variety of their technique; the extreme variety of their personalities; the extreme variety of the courts; the excitement of the changing of the guard when brilliant players of one generation were swept aside by brilliant players of the next generation. Think of the variety of legendary rivalries: Borg v Connors, Connors v McEnroe, Borg v McEnroe, McEnroe v Lendl, Becker v Edberg, Becker v Lendl, Courier v Agassi, Agassi v Sampras
And then consider the class of 03-18: Hewitt, Federer, Roddick, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka. No real personalities; no on-court blow ups or laughs; surfaces all playing the same; players all playing from the baseline. Yes, some great matches, but usually of the attritional variety. Legendary rivalries? Federer V Nadal, Nadal v Djokovic, Djokovic v Federer. Great matches -but farcically repetitive.
We've been sold a pup. The golden age of tennis was late-70s to the mid-90s. The last fifteen years have been a mirage in which we've convinced ourselves we've been living in a golden era when, in fact, as the last 18 months have demonstrated, there is a tragic lack of strength in depth or variety in the game. The big 3 will always be considered 3 of the greatest players who ever lived-but in years to come we'll look back on this era as a repetitive and grinding come-down from the true glory days of tennis.
Consider the list of tennis greats from 1980-95, and then compare to the list of tennis greats from 2003-2018.
1980-95: Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Wilander, Noah, Becker, Edberg, Chang, Courier, Sampras, Agassi, Ivanisevic. Think of the variety of their technique; the extreme variety of their personalities; the extreme variety of the courts; the excitement of the changing of the guard when brilliant players of one generation were swept aside by brilliant players of the next generation. Think of the variety of legendary rivalries: Borg v Connors, Connors v McEnroe, Borg v McEnroe, McEnroe v Lendl, Becker v Edberg, Becker v Lendl, Courier v Agassi, Agassi v Sampras
And then consider the class of 03-18: Hewitt, Federer, Roddick, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka. No real personalities; no on-court blow ups or laughs; surfaces all playing the same; players all playing from the baseline. Yes, some great matches, but usually of the attritional variety. Legendary rivalries? Federer V Nadal, Nadal v Djokovic, Djokovic v Federer. Great matches -but farcically repetitive.
We've been sold a pup. The golden age of tennis was late-70s to the mid-90s. The last fifteen years have been a mirage in which we've convinced ourselves we've been living in a golden era when, in fact, as the last 18 months have demonstrated, there is a tragic lack of strength in depth or variety in the game. The big 3 will always be considered 3 of the greatest players who ever lived-but in years to come we'll look back on this era as a repetitive and grinding come-down from the true glory days of tennis.
