We need to understand that a strong era cannot last forever

[Megafanoftennis100]

I have heard countless tennis fans complaining about how weak the current era (2018-2023) has been and some even refer to it as "the absolute weakest era in tennis history". In fact, some people even consider the 2014-2017 period just as "hopeless"!
But then, here's the thing. Nothing in this world is permanent, and the same goes for eras in sports. There was of course a time when the era of tennis was incredibly strong, namely the 2008-2013 era. Without a doubt, this was 6 years of the strongest era in tennis history.
We had prime Djokovic, prime Nadal, prime Federer, prime Del Potro, prime Murray etc. all playing in the same era. At the same time, people should recognise how unsustainable this kind of incredibly high level of competition is. The fact that it managed to last SIX YEARS is actually ridiculous if you really think about it
Surely, a decline from this level was inevitable and we should all appreciate how fortunate we have been to experience this Golden Age for this long. Tennis players cannot maintain their peak performance permanently. Players are bound to decline after their heyday, including the Big Three themselves and many other ATGs.

I think we have all been way too spoiled by the 2008-2013 era, which has caused our expectations to skyrocket beyond a reasonable standard.

 

[Djokodalerer31]

I have heard countless tennis fans complaining about how weak the current era (2018-2023) has been and some even refer to it as "the absolute weakest era in tennis history". In fact, some people even consider the 2014-2017 period just as "hopeless"!
But then, here's the thing. Nothing in this world is permanent, and the same goes for eras in sports. There was of course a time when the era of tennis was incredibly strong, namely the 2008-2013 era. Without a doubt, this was 6 years of the strongest era in tennis history.
We had prime Djokovic, prime Nadal, prime Federer, prime Del Potro, prime Murray etc. all playing in the same era. At the same time, people should recognise how unsustainable this kind of incredibly high level of competition is. The fact that it managed to last SIX YEARS is actually ridiculous if you really think about it
Surely, a decline from this level was inevitable and we should all appreciate how fortunate we have been to experience this Golden Age for this long. Tennis players cannot maintain their peak performance permanently. Players are bound to decline after their heyday, including the Big Three themselves and many other ATGs.

I think we have all been way too spoiled by the 2008-2013 era, which has caused our expectations to skyrocket beyond a reasonable standard.

I wouldn't call 2013 season as particularly strong one, but whatever...Also Djokovic struggled mentally between 2012 and 2014, his finals conversion rate during that span is reflective of that! If he played those seasons like he played 2011 this would be different conversation now...people now would be complaining how weak 2012-2014 were, because Novak dominated them! LOL

 

[StrongRule]

The current era doesn't look weak just compared to 2008-2013, it is weak compared to anything we've ever seen. When did we ever had such a thing that young players were physically not able to keep a decent level for longer than 2 sets in slam matches, leave alone against a 36 years old opponent?

 

[Megafanoftennis100]

I wouldn't call 2013 season as particularly strong one, but whatever...Also Djokovic struggled mentally between 2012 and 2014, his finals conversion rate during that span is reflective of that! If he played those seasons like he played 2011 this would be different conversation now...people now would be complaining how weak 2012-2014 were, because Novak dominated them! LOL

I don’t necessarily think that those people are complaining with the sole purpose of discrediting Novak’s wins. I mean, no one, not even the Fedal fanatics, dared to refer to 2011 as “weak” even though Novak utterly dominated the year.
On the other hand, 2014-2023 IS weak, in fact, very weak. Federer is well past his prime and Nadal was slowly getting into a slump. But 2012 and 2013 are the literal opposites of “weak”, because you had Federer at the tail end of his prime (in 2012), and Nadal having one of the best seasons of his career. Murray was also peaking. It doesn’t matter whether Novak lost most of his finals in 2012-2013 or if he won 8 Slams in a row, this period was definitely very strong. No one could ever deny that.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Djokovic only one that gets criticised for his incredible longevity. The rest of the oldies melted away and he’s the only one left. Otherwise the young ones would win everything. What Djokovic is doing is unprecedented but his haters will never admit it.

 

[Djokodalerer31]

The current era doesn't look weak just compared to 2008-2013, it is weak compared to anything we've ever seen. When did we ever had such a thing that young players were physically not able to keep a decent level for longer than 2 sets in slam matches, leave alone against a 36 years old opponent?

It's not nearly as weak as 1968-1973 and 1998-2003...

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

If these young players are so weak why can’t no other 30s old compete with them? It’s literally Djokovic as the last old lion left. It’s not that weak but Djokovic at his age is just not a normal athlete. We might never see this again. We should embrace it and respect what he’s doing.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

This is a great post. However, we might have still had it if the other top 30s players had looked after their body better or reinvented their game more like Djokovic. Still you can’t expect the level or opponents to be the same as back then.

What has happened to Nadal, Murray, Stan, tsonga and berdych retiring earlier, etc isn’t novaks fault. The others have fallen away and many thought Djokovic would too but he’s the exception to the rule.

Fed is a bit older so different. Still even he had not injured his knees to the point of no return he might still be playing now too.