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5 things we learned from the French Open 2017: Lesson 2

Lesson #2
The changing of the guard is coming…..But it’s not here yet!!

If you read my last blog post ‘5 things we learned from the French Open: Lesson 1’, then you will know that the French Open 2017 taught us that the next gen are on their way as they gain confidence and slowly chalk up wins against the big 4. In particular, Dominic Thiem looks like a strong charge who could have a fruitful clay career awaiting him. However, it’s easy to fall into a trap of overpraise for younger players when they do succeed when, in reality, they lack the consistency necessary to rule the game. Let us stick with Thiem for a moment: in 2016 at the ATP World Tour finals Dominic was able to take the first set from Novak Djokovic in their round robin match but went on to be relatively easily dispatched in the two sets that followed. Sure Djokovic raised his level, but anyone watching would probably have agreed that Dominic’s reaction to taking the first set resembled one of panic at finding himself in the lead opposed to triumph. Fast forward to Rome and when Thiem began to lead Rafael Nadal in their quarter he stayed comparably cool and was able to pull off the upset. His consistency of level within an individual match has improved. Yet, he went on to be slaughtered by old foe Djokovic in the next round proving that he still lacks the consistency to keep his form, energy, confidence etc. constant to beat 2 of the big 4 in a row. The reverse happened at Roland Garros where his straight set victory over Djokovic could not be followed up with a second win against Nadal. The change of the guard is coming but it is by no means here yet. 

In fact, the golden oldies are still going extremely strong!! If I’m not mistaken, 49 of the men in the French Open draw were 30 or over. The eventual champion Nadal is 31 and runner up Stan Wawrinka is 32 which made him the oldest finalist at Roland Garros in quite some time. Furthermore, Wawrinka won the US Open at the tail end of 2016 and Federer took the Australian Open only 5 months ago in January. Federer, the 35 year old veteran who turned pro in 1998! I was born in 1998!! Not to mention the current world number 1, Andy Murray, who is 30 and has never been ranked so high. What about Fernando Verdasco? The Spaniard is 33 years old and has been slowly working his way back up the singles rankings this year. He is currently world number 32 but based solely on his 2017 form he is 23rd in the race to London and is certainly playing above his rank. He defeated next gen hopeful Alexander Zverev in the French Open 1st round: robbing him of all the momentum he had gained en route to lifting the Rome trophy only 2 weeks previous. He bageled 25 year old Kei Nishikori in the opening set of their round 4 match before eventually losing. All of this while simultaneously reaching the semi-finals of the men’s doubles with Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic who is guess what age? 41!!! 

The scariest thing of all for the next gens?? Most of the big 4 aren’t even at their best right now! Djokovic’s emotional and mental stability and focus have been questioned by many in the last 12 months and he himself acknowledges that he is not playing anywhere near his best. Had Djokovic put up more fight in that now famous 3rd set bagel to Thiem who knows what might have happened? After all, the 1st set was highly competitive and only stolen by Thiem in a tense tiebreaker. After the match commentators weren’t astounded by Thiems form but rather they were astounded at what some commentators termed tanking while others called it just a sad thing to see. Many have also commented that Nadal looked tired in Rome having played so well in Madrid and Barcelona and Andy Murrays form has been hampered so far this year with physical issues ranging from his elbow to shingles to the flu. If all members of the big 4 can sustain/improve upon their various issues ahead of the grass season, then next gen success at Wimbledon and the changing of the guard look as far away as ever!

Check back later for lesson 3!



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