The state of tennis, young guns emerge
As the Australian Open just showed, tennis is at a particularly exciting junction at this point in time.
The formerly invincible duo, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have just enough problems to be vulnerable to the lower ranked players.
The lower ranked players have taken complete advantage of this fact and have raised their game immensely. Whether this means that a change in guards is at hand is debatable, but one thing is for sure, the game of tennis is about to get very, very fun.
Leading the charge of new players is Novak Djokovic. He is the current Australian Open champion and world no.3. His victory at the Australian Open was a display of master class. His game was immaculate.
He devastated Roger Federer in straight sets in the semi-final. That alone should set the alarm bells ringing. No matter what sort of form Federer was in (and he was in pretty good nick), he does not go down that easily.
Djokovic powered his way through his fellow crown prince Andy Murray in the final, and for this reason he is the most eagerly watched player of this new era in tennis.
His game is rapidly improving. A baseliner with strong, strong ground strokes, he has traditionally been a defensive player. Recently though, his net play has improved immensely, and his aggression has risen to heights never before seen.
In his match against Federer, he out-Federered the king. That is something almost no one else can lay claim to. Supreme attacking now has a new face, and that face is Novak Djokovic’s.
Andy Murray, as mentioned before, is also a serious contender for championships now. He got to the final of the Australian Open in ruthless style, constructing brilliant points and playing an excellent tactical game.
Murray is probably the smartest person on the ATP tour right now, as his knowledge of both his strengths and weaknesses and those of his opponents’ is immense. He utilizes this knowledge well.
His game play is mostly built around his serve and incredible fitness, and he batters away at his opponents until they fail. His serve is devastating, and incredibly so, his returns are even more penetrating.
He has the ability to get around any ball and deliver back a forehand pass to rip anyone to shreds. He displayed this talent against Nadal at the year-end championships last year, where he stretched the world no.1 to the limit. As any tennis fan will know,
passing Nadal from the baseline is an almost impossible feat.
Murray is joined by Robin Soderling and Juan Martin Del Porto as other potent threats. Soderling and Del Porto both have a similar game. They are huge, around 6’5” each. They are also strong baseliners with absolutely incredible ground strokes.
They do, however, have a few weaknesses in their games. Soderling is not as young as the other three and so his fitness fails him more than it does the others. Del Porto is not as competent on grass, as his huge frame leaves him at a distinct disadvantage
there.
These 5 are the crème de la crème of the new tennis elite. Tennis fans predict they shall be joined by other youngsters such as Milos Raonic and Alexandr Dolgopolov at the helm in this new era. With players such as these, it is indeed exciting to be a tennis
fan right now.
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