The Lost Generation

How many times, tennis fans, have you heard commentators, journalists and now retired legends of the game squawk enthusiastically about the quality of play we have been spoiled with in the era of the big 4? Tournament after tournament they chant: 

‘The physicality is remarkable!!’ 

‘These guys are just superhuman!!!’ 

‘Will we ever see such greatness on court again?!!?!?’ ……Sound familiar?

But before we accuse the hypothetical record of needing to be changed we should realise the band responsible for releasing it have recently launched a new album. That’s right, the smash hit of the moment: it’s the #nextgen!! All of a sudden EVERYTHING is about Zverev, Kyrgios, Thiem and the gang. What a boyband that would be. And don’t get me wrong, this is completely justifiable. No one would be talking about them if they didn’t have results and talents to back it up.

Meanwhile that ‘classic album’ is still selling really well. You know, that one that brought the band to mainstream attention in the first place. Of course people still talk about the big 4. Of course people still talk about the big 5 ft. the over 30’s crew. We have known this for so long now that a familiarity has been created. Plus, no one is denying it is a high quality record.

But hang on a moment. Does anyone remember that other album? The lost one? It was a bit of a commercial flop and only really contained 1 hit but some the hard-core fans still know the words to all the tracks. Even if the band was going through a bit of an experimental phase.

What am I talking about?? Sometimes even I wonder! Okay it wasn’t the best analogy ever but forget the music references. I am talking about the lost generation of tennis. Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov? Marin Cilic even? They are about 24-27 years old. Once tipped to be the next big thing. Anybody know them?? Of course you do, but recently there hasn’t been a lot of talk about these guys as serious grand slam contenders. As we head into Wimbledon 2017 every pundit seems to consistently believe two things:

1)      The over 30’s are playing as well as ever and ‘Fedal’ are the slight favourites for Wimbledon even if the seeding says ‘Djoray’ and…

2)      If anyone outside the big 5 can win Wimbledon it will probably be an under 23 year old next gen like Zverev or Thiem.

Sadly, we can all probably understand why the faith in this ‘lost generation’ has wavered.

There has been no disaster as yet. The lost generation wasn’t wiped out by an ice age!! But they are just doing ok. They make quarters of the slams regularly. Semis sometimes. Finals rarely. They are a very real threat but not a safe bet. So near but so far from the pinnacle of the sport and in danger of being overtaken by younger models.

But guess what? This isn’t as tragic as it first sounds. This is actually really good for them! Or at least I believe so…

The pressure is off of their shoulders right now. They can win and not immediately become tournament favourites and they can lose without the drama that afflicts the big 4 when they commit this crime. They can experiment quietly as they try to find out what piece of the puzzle has escaped them thus far. My prediction is that, sooner or later, they are going to find it! And when they do they will only be helped by the accompanying element of surprise.

Maybe it will not happen at Wimbledon 2017. Perhaps we could wait another 2 full years before it does but there may just be a gap coming up. The over 30’s can’t keep this up forever and the under 23’s could become victims of their own early success as pressure to fill the void will only mount. If their careers stagnate then the lost generation are very much alive and waiting to pounce. There is always a new hipster waiting to rediscover that ‘other’ album.