The Shocking Truth As To Why The Next Gen Players Can't Win A Grand Slam Title

CHillTennis

Hall of Fame
This has been a subject that I've wanted to cover for a while now.

Since the first grand slam championship at Wimbledon in 1877 there has never been a generation of players that has failed to send the old guard into retirement.

Some groups have been harder to take down then others.

Rod Laver was able to win grand slam titles when he was in his early 30s.

So was Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Arthur Ashe.

But eventually father-time has a way of catching up to these players. No matter how brilliant they might have been, during the earlier stages of their career.

Only two things in this world are guaranteed; taxes and death.

But now it seems as though we have finally found an anomaly that seemingly defies the 150 year history of the game.


We are witnessing two players (now both in their mid-30s) who should be well on their way out of the game.

Instead these players have been raking in the grand slam titles.

In the past two years, both Djokovic and Nadal were on course for completing the calendar year grand slam title.

Djokovic was within a whisker of achieving this feat when he was upset by the 25 year old Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the 2021 US Open.

It's a sad day in the sport of tennis, when a 25 year old's defeat of a 34 year old is considered to be an upset.

This dilemma that plagues the Next Gen playres, appears to have no end in sight.

Medvedev was beaten by Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open. As was Caper Ruud in the finals of the French Open.

The much-hyped Nick Kyrgios would find himself on the losing end of a four set match to Djokovic in the finals of Wimbledon.

Had Nadal not been injured leading into that semi-final, it's possible that he would have been the one duking it out with Djokovic.

So why is it that the Next Gen players are not able to beat the Big 3 at the grand slams?

You can read the full article right here:

 

Oval_Solid

Hall of Fame
tennis being a individual sport next gen is displaying goat level choking
theyre goal isnt to win a slam its to win two sets and then quit
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
There's no need for a long-winded explanation. In fact, not one word needs to be used.
Here's why they all suck:

giphy.gif
 

Jokervich

Hall of Fame
I watched all of Djokovic's slam matches last year and I noticed a common theme:

- younger players didn't have the stamina for long matches, they couldn't keep up with Djokovic when the match grew longer. Medvedev beat him in 3 quick sets at the USO but who knows what the result would have been if Djokovic pushed it to 4 sets. Medvedev admitted he was already cramping by the end of the match.

- younger players got to key points (break points/set points/match points), Djokovic played no-miss tennis, turned into a brick wall and younger players could never win that crucial point that would give them the break/set/match

Conclusion: they lack stamina and they lack clutchness when it matters

(they also lack a tennis brain and a plan B/C)
 

mtommer

Hall of Fame
a. Conclusion: they lack stamina....

b. (they also lack a tennis brain and a plan B/C)
a. Do they now? One wonders if they're lacking or they're simply normal.

b. Maybe if....."stamina".....wasn't so lopsided then perhaps their tennis brains and gameplans would yield much better results against older players. Perhaps......probably so.

One does wonder, indeed.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
a. Do they now? One wonders if they're lacking or they're simply normal.

b. Maybe if....."stamina".....wasn't so lopsided then perhaps their tennis brains and gameplans would yield much better results against older players. Perhaps......probably so.

One does wonder, indeed.
Are you implying that Nadal and Djokovic are using PEDs while no one else is? Don’t you think it is unlikely that they are the only two taking advantage of the lax testing that tennis does?
 
Last edited:

Sport

G.O.A.T.
OK boomer.

"In its 150 years of history", "since 1877", "but Rod Lever", etc.

Things change. 31-36 is an utterly optimal age to compete at the highest level across many sports, not only tennis. Nadal and Djokovic still dominating aged 31-36 is a normal phenomenon across sports in the XXI century, not an anomaly. Stop living in the past.

-LeBron James was the second top scorer of the 2021-2022 NBA regular season, averaging 30.3 points per game aged 37.
-LeBron James won the 2020 NBA title and became the NBA finals' MVP aged 35.
-Michael Jordan won the 1996 NBA title and became the NBA finals' MVP Aged 35.
-Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 2017, naming him the best footballer in the world aged 32.
-Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2021, naming him the best footballer in the world aged 34.
-Lewandowski was the de facto/unoffical ballon d'or or best player in the world in 2020 aged 32.
-Karim Benzema became the top goalscorer of the 2022 Uefa Champions League aged 35.
-Cristiano Ronaldo became the top goalscorer of the 2017 Uefa Champions League aged 32.
 

Start da Game

Hall of Fame
nothing shocking about it....i called it 10 years ago when the likes of dolgo, janowicz and dimitrov were rising....if you want to see the change of guard, just speed up the courts again.....they did not risk it because bug-3 were humongous cash cows.....now we are seeing the results of greed.....

we can't keep blaming the next genners, just give them the same advantage that was given to fraud and his pigeons over the players of the 90s era in the 2000s.....
 

arvind13

Professional
2 words: They suck.

yeah the article is stupid. another nadal and djokovic are too good article. i'm willing to bet if a young courier or andre agassi from the 90s would be doing much better than the next gen at slams given their same racquet technology, and would be beating 35 year old nadal and djokovic at slams.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
yeah the article is stupid. another nadal and djokovic are too good article. i'm willing to bet if a young courier or andre agassi from the 90s would be doing much better than the next gen at slams given their same racquet technology, and would be beating 35 year old nadal and djokovic at slams.

forget Courier/Agassi peak levels.
Just Safin/Roddick/Hewitt/Murray/Wawa levels would be enough.
None of the guys born from 89 onwards are at that level - 2 generations of ineptitude.
 

kailash

Hall of Fame
Though it appears as the next/new gen is not that good, IMO, the real reason is the "Big 3". Unmatched and GOAT candidates, causing the chaos and all these types of discussions.
 

arvind13

Professional
Are you implying that Nadal and Djokovic are using PEDs while no one else is? Don’t you think it is unlikely that they are the only two taking advantage of the lax testing that tennis does?

two responses to this: 1) they probably have more leeway given that they are the only cash cows of the atp. 2) the big 3 also engage in what I would call ''legalized doping''. federer is also guilty of this in recent times. as in stem cell therapy, prp treatments, and even hyperbaric chambers which the other players can't afford to access on a regular basis. Why is boosting the number of red blood cells in your bloodstream considered blood doping whereas hyperbaric chambers are legal? both artificially increase oxygenation
 

arvind13

Professional
forget Courier/Agassi peak levels.
Just Safin/Roddick/Hewitt/Murray/Wawa levels would be enough.
None of the guys born from 89 onwards are at that level - 2 generations of ineptitude.

agree mostly except safin at his peak and focused /healthy is better than courier and agassi. bigger game and more weapons. but ofcourse safin was a headcase and injury prone. but anyways getting sidetracked. yes fed's generation and sampras generation would be regularly beating the current nadal and djokovic at slams
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
agree mostly except safin at his peak and focused /healthy is better than courier and agassi. bigger game and more weapons. but ofcourse safin was a headcase and injury prone. but anyways getting sidetracked. yes fed's generation and sampras generation would be regularly beating the current nadal and djokovic at slams

I mean I am accounting for safin's inconsistency as well.
And Courier's peak at RG clearly better than safin's.
Agassi's at Wim and RG clearly better than Safin's as well.
 

Keizer

Hall of Fame
Lol “the hybrid setup”. Come on man.

Agreed, lol. How many of the next-gen are even using gut-poly? Feel as if most of them are using full poly. And Big 3 don’t use multi-poly either.

This has been a subject that I've wanted to cover for a while now.

Who are these players using a hybrid multi-setup? Medvedev is full poly, Alcaraz, sinner too, Tsitsipas was using full poly for the longest time, think Zverev was using gut-poly.
 

arvind13

Professional
I mean I am accounting for safin's inconsistency as well.
And Courier's peak at RG clearly better than safin's.
Agassi's at Wim and RG clearly better than Safin's as well.

agree about courier. wimbledon i have a different take. safin's game is more well suited for grass than agassi's. big serve, powerful groundstrokes, better at net than agassi. his weakness again was mental. the inconsistent bounces really got under his skin and he developed a mental block against playing on grass. if had put his mind to it, he would have done really well on grass.
 

L4S10s

Professional
Mm, I would argue it's the lack of a massive technological improvement.

First it was the graphite racquets
Then it was poly strings

Right now there hasn't been any...of course the lack of mental fortitude of the "next gen" also contributes to this problem.
 

Jokervich

Hall of Fame
a. Do they now? One wonders if they're lacking or they're simply normal.
Yes that is a possibility, but then we're not allowed to discuss that because discussions surrounding that topic get deleted.

b. Maybe if....."stamina".....wasn't so lopsided then perhaps their tennis brains and gameplans would yield much better results against older players. Perhaps......probably so.

One does wonder, indeed.
You don't see them change strategy mid way through a match. They have 1 game plan and if it doesn't work, they look lost. But yes the stamina thing is a big one.
 
Here’s my two cents. Interesting although very commonly debated topic…I definitely don’t see high success rates of GOAT-level veteran athletes in their 30’s across nearly all pro sports as anomalous. I do, however, see what Nadal & Djokovic are doing as definitely anomalous. As with most things, it’s multifactorial but boils down to yeah, Nadal & Djokovic are that good, especially in an individual sport where the mental game reigns supreme and a few factors aided their rise and continued dominance.
The coinciding of slower courts/ushering in of homogeneity of court speeds & proliferation of polys with the unbelievable defense, shot tolerance, variety, stamina, mental toughness, and absurd athleticism—not just your basics of speed, agility, balance, coordination, power, & reaction time constituted a (for lack of a better term) “perfect storm” for the record books to be shattered. The last element—the athleticism of Nadal & Djokovic—may be what’s underrated here.
Since the match structure of majors (3 of 5 sets) differs from the normal 2 out of 3 sets format, tennis’ biggest events present a completely different test for players. Nadal & Djokovic benefit greatly from this, as it makes it even harder to beat them given all their aforementioned attributes, both athletically and from a tennis skills perspective.
There is some choking here, but most of it stems from the nature of how the game styles and consistency of Nadal & Djokovic rev up the pressure so much for their opponents. What Shapo did in the W semi against Djokovic was clearly choking, though.
 

arvind13

Professional
Here’s my two cents. Interesting although very commonly debated topic…I definitely don’t see high success rates of GOAT-level veteran athletes in their 30’s across nearly all pro sports as anomalous. I do, however, see what Nadal & Djokovic are doing as definitely anomalous. As with most things, it’s multifactorial but boils down to yeah, Nadal & Djokovic are that good, especially in an individual sport where the mental game reigns supreme and a few factors aided their rise and continued dominance.
The coinciding of slower courts/ushering in of homogeneity of court speeds & proliferation of polys with the unbelievable defense, shot tolerance, variety, stamina, mental toughness, and absurd athleticism—not just your basics of speed, agility, balance, coordination, power, & reaction time constituted a (for lack of a better term) “perfect storm” for the record books to be shattered. The last element—the athleticism of Nadal & Djokovic—may be what’s underrated here.
Since the match structure of majors (3 of 5 sets) differs from the normal 2 out of 3 sets format, tennis’ biggest events present a completely different test for players. Nadal & Djokovic benefit greatly from this, as it makes it even harder to beat them given all their aforementioned attributes, both athletically and from a tennis skills perspective.
There is some choking here, but most of it stems from the nature of how the game styles and consistency of Nadal & Djokovic rev up the pressure so much for their opponents. What Shapo did in the W semi against Djokovic was clearly choking, though.

nah, the next gen SUCK. they are the worst tennis generation in history. they are worse than fed's generation, sampras generation, the 80s and 70s generation. that is the main factor right now why nadal and djokovic are still winning
 

Ray Mercer

Hall of Fame
It’s due to a lack of talent and commitment. Djokovic and Nadal are great athletes but Nadal is heavily declined in terms of foot speed and it’s sad that nobody outside of an ancient Federer exploited it. There should absolutely be a player that can hit him off the court and rush him like Federer did. There should also be a younger backboard like player that can outgrind an older Djokovic. They should also speed up the surfaces to allow power players to blow away Djokovic like Vesely did last year. It’s brutal to watch Djokovic go into pusher mode.
 

Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
It’s due to a lack of talent and commitment. Djokovic and Nadal are great athletes but Nadal is heavily declined in terms of foot speed and it’s sad that nobody outside of an ancient Federer exploited it. There should absolutely be a player that can hit him off the court and rush him like Federer did. There should also be a younger backboard like player that can outgrind an older Djokovic. They should also speed up the surfaces to allow power players to blow away Djokovic like Vesely did last year. It’s brutal to watch Djokovic go into pusher mode.

Agree with everything except for surface speeds.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
The Shocking Truth As To Why The Next Gen Players Can't Win A Grand Slam Title

The so-named "Next Gen" are the second of two consecutive generations of the worst male players in history. Untalented hacks who show up only to roll over and collect checks. If the vast majority of "top" players from 2000 - today were the field in the 60s-80s, the men's game would have died off in that era.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Such is the aura of both Djokovic and Nadal that none of the younger players can take them on and see it through at the highest level.
 

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
This has been a subject that I've wanted to cover for a while now.

Since the first grand slam championship at Wimbledon in 1877 there has never been a generation of players that has failed to send the old guard into retirement.

Some groups have been harder to take down then others.

Rod Laver was able to win grand slam titles when he was in his early 30s.

So was Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Arthur Ashe.

But eventually father-time has a way of catching up to these players. No matter how brilliant they might have been, during the earlier stages of their career.

Only two things in this world are guaranteed; taxes and death.

But now it seems as though we have finally found an anomaly that seemingly defies the 150 year history of the game.


We are witnessing two players (now both in their mid-30s) who should be well on their way out of the game.

Instead these players have been raking in the grand slam titles.

In the past two years, both Djokovic and Nadal were on course for completing the calendar year grand slam title.

Djokovic was within a whisker of achieving this feat when he was upset by the 25 year old Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the 2021 US Open.

It's a sad day in the sport of tennis, when a 25 year old's defeat of a 34 year old is considered to be an upset.

This dilemma that plagues the Next Gen playres, appears to have no end in sight.

Medvedev was beaten by Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open. As was Caper Ruud in the finals of the French Open.

The much-hyped Nick Kyrgios would find himself on the losing end of a four set match to Djokovic in the finals of Wimbledon.

Had Nadal not been injured leading into that semi-final, it's possible that he would have been the one duking it out with Djokovic.

So why is it that the Next Gen players are not able to beat the Big 3 at the grand slams?

You can read the full article right here:

Tennis is now in a prolonged very weak era.
 

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
Such is the aura of both Djokovic and Nadal that none of the younger players can take them on and see it through at the highest level.
The game is now in a prolonged depression of low grade talent, brought on by the equipment and style changes.
 

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
Here’s my two cents. Interesting although very commonly debated topic…I definitely don’t see high success rates of GOAT-level veteran athletes in their 30’s across nearly all pro sports as anomalous. I do, however, see what Nadal & Djokovic are doing as definitely anomalous. As with most things, it’s multifactorial but boils down to yeah, Nadal & Djokovic are that good, especially in an individual sport where the mental game reigns supreme and a few factors aided their rise and continued dominance.
The coinciding of slower courts/ushering in of homogeneity of court speeds & proliferation of polys with the unbelievable defense, shot tolerance, variety, stamina, mental toughness, and absurd athleticism—not just your basics of speed, agility, balance, coordination, power, & reaction time constituted a (for lack of a better term) “perfect storm” for the record books to be shattered. The last element—the athleticism of Nadal & Djokovic—may be what’s underrated here.
Since the match structure of majors (3 of 5 sets) differs from the normal 2 out of 3 sets format, tennis’ biggest events present a completely different test for players. Nadal & Djokovic benefit greatly from this, as it makes it even harder to beat them given all their aforementioned attributes, both athletically and from a tennis skills perspective.
There is some choking here, but most of it stems from the nature of how the game styles and consistency of Nadal & Djokovic rev up the pressure so much for their opponents. What Shapo did in the W semi against Djokovic was clearly choking, though.
Some truth there, but the best athletes used to come into tennis, no longer the case. Money is part of the reason.

No, I do not see the Big Three as more athletically gifted than the great tennis players of the past, but the equipment has changed the game and made it possible for them to withstand successive weak crops of younger players.
 

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
But mostly just sheer lack of champions' mentality amongst the younger gen.
That is certainly part of it. I think that there is a leveling of the talent field by the new equipment, easier to return a serve, so that high quality shots are not rewarded as they were in the old days before the 1990's. Who has played aggressive high quality tennis at Wimbledon since Sampras? Federer did at first around 2001-2004, but Fed became a baseliner after that.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
That is certainly part of it. I think that there is a leveling of the talent field by the new equipment, easier to return a serve, so that high quality shots are not rewarded as they were in the old days before the 1990's.

Equipment and style changes are the same for everybody so why can only 2 veteran players continue to make the most of them?
 

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
Equipment and style changes are the same for everybody so why can only 2 veteran players continue to make the most of them?
The new younger generation players find it harder to break into the top, the equipment makes it easier for the veterans to remain in business.

In the old days of wood, younger players were rewarded if they possessed great power shots, not today.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
The new younger generation players find it harder to break into the top, the equipment makes it easier for the veterans to remain in business.

In the old days of wood, younger players were rewarded if they possessed great power shots, not today.

So learn to return like the veterans do.
 

Arak

Legend
Nadal and Djokovic are able to play an all court game and have many skills while it’s alarming how one dimensional are the young guys.
Modern medicine may have made older players perform like 24 year olds, but it doesn’t seem to help the young guys much. Advantage for old guys.
So it’s very simple really. You’ve got a couple of older players with superior skills, experience but still playing physically like guys 10 years younger. The young players basically have been deprived of the youth advantage.
 

Federev

G.O.A.T.
This has been a subject that I've wanted to cover for a while now.

Since the first grand slam championship at Wimbledon in 1877 there has never been a generation of players that has failed to send the old guard into retirement.

Some groups have been harder to take down then others.

Rod Laver was able to win grand slam titles when he was in his early 30s.

So was Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Arthur Ashe.

But eventually father-time has a way of catching up to these players. No matter how brilliant they might have been, during the earlier stages of their career.

Only two things in this world are guaranteed; taxes and death.

But now it seems as though we have finally found an anomaly that seemingly defies the 150 year history of the game.


We are witnessing two players (now both in their mid-30s) who should be well on their way out of the game.

Instead these players have been raking in the grand slam titles.

In the past two years, both Djokovic and Nadal were on course for completing the calendar year grand slam title.

Djokovic was within a whisker of achieving this feat when he was upset by the 25 year old Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the 2021 US Open.

It's a sad day in the sport of tennis, when a 25 year old's defeat of a 34 year old is considered to be an upset.

This dilemma that plagues the Next Gen playres, appears to have no end in sight.

Medvedev was beaten by Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open. As was Caper Ruud in the finals of the French Open.

The much-hyped Nick Kyrgios would find himself on the losing end of a four set match to Djokovic in the finals of Wimbledon.

Had Nadal not been injured leading into that semi-final, it's possible that he would have been the one duking it out with Djokovic.

So why is it that the Next Gen players are not able to beat the Big 3 at the grand slams?

You can read the full article right here:

The Cellphone Gen.
 

insideguy

G.O.A.T.
I mean couldn't it just mean these guys are really really really good? Its not like any other 35 years olds are seriously competing?
 
Some truth there, but the best athletes used to come into tennis, no longer the case. Money is part of the reason.

No, I do not see the Big Three as more athletically gifted than the great tennis players of the past, but the equipment has changed the game and made it possible for them to withstand successive weak crops of younger players.


I only compared the “athleticism” and pure tennis skill sets of Nadal and Djokovic with their Lost Gen and Next Gen opposition, not former tennis greats. I actually don’t even believe in the GOAT due to many reasons I won’t get into now. I would never fall into the absurd recency bias trap of minimizing
the athletic prowess of players like Borg, Sampras, etc.
 

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
So learn to return like the veterans do.
The veterans have a head start in that type of play, so they keep their advantage.
The problem is that the younger players can no longer take advantage of areas where they are superior, due to the new equipment, which does not reward power shots.

The game has degenerated as a result.
 
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Omega_7000

Legend
nothing shocking about it....i called it 10 years ago when the likes of dolgo, janowicz and dimitrov were rising....if you want to see the change of guard, just speed up the courts again.....they did not risk it because bug-3 were humongous cash cows.....now we are seeing the results of greed.....

we can't keep blaming the next genners, just give them the same advantage that was given to fraud and his pigeons over the players of the 90s era in the 2000s.....

Oh and who in the Raonic era or the era of players post the Raonic era are better than players in Fed's era? Federer's era was much stronger plus he had two goat contenders plus several atg's 6 years younger chasing his tail almost his entire career.

Djokodal have had the luxury of facing absolute pieces of trash from all of the generations of players that followed them but also a bunch of injured contemporaries (Delpo, Murray, Wawrinka etc.)
 

BGod

G.O.A.T.
There really is a generational divide between social media, before and after with smartphone technology. Not even talking about pre-internet days.

I'm 34 myself and I'd say 31-35+ are far less tied to social media emotionally. It is more a tool for business, events, etc. But one can easily cut themselves off from it. I rarely use it nowadays but when I was more active I'd be off for weeks at a time.

People born in the late 90s, early 00s are literally unable to comprehend life without it. This naturally creates more emotionally fragile people, and we see it everywhere. My generation grew up through spanking and going to bed without dinner as punishment. Now you get child services called and have to justify every parental action.

In basically every field, newer generations are star struck like children and emotionally stunted.
 
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