Rafael Nadal at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, in 2013. *Photograph by* *Gilad Rom.*

Fab: The long twilight of tennis' 'Big Four'

November 25, 2024

“The truth is forced upon us, very quickly, by a foe,” the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes wrote, and that was perhaps never truer than of tennis’ “Big Four” — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They were, strictly speaking, not foes — which implies an element of enemies, along with cross and double-cross — but rather opponents and especially rivals in the glorious first three decades of this century, when they won 69 Slam titles and three of the last four gold medals in men’s singles at the Summer Olympics (Nadal in 2008, Murray in ’12 and ’16 and Djokovic this year).

People talk about Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and their contrasting temperaments and talents — Apollonian ice versus Dionysian fire respectively — which may ultimately eclipse the four. But I predict that when the history of tennis is finished, fans will look back at the Big Four as the likes of which we never saw again.

Last man standing -- the liberation of Novak Djokovic

September 14, 2023

Often in life what appears to be improbable is ultimately inevitable. It’s only later, though, that we understand that what seems to make no sense at first is in the end what was meant to be all along.

For much of the early part of his career, Novak Djokovic — the Celiac-ridden guy from an economically straitened family in war-torn Serbia — was a reliable, color-coordinated number three to the elegant, aloof Roger Federer and his intense, visceral rival, Rafael Nadal. But in becoming the oldest man to win the singles title at the US Open Sunday, Sept. 10, the 36-year-old Djokovic has eclipsed them —tying Australia’s Margaret Court for most Grand Slam singles titles (24); returning to the number one ranking for a record 390th week (altogether that would be seven and a half years, folks); setting a new record for most times winning three Slams in a year (four, in 2011, ’15, ’21 and ’23), having the most ATP Masters 1000 titles (39) — the list goes on.

Whither Novak Djokovic?

February 2, 2017

When he won the French Open last June – capping a long-held dream and holding all four Slams, the first man to do so in 47 years – the world was Novak Djokovic’s oyster.

That now seems like a long time ago. He won only one title, the Rogers Cup, during the second half of 2016 and lost his No. 1 ranking to Andy Murray. (Because he had won so many tournaments in 2015 and had to defend all those points under the ranking system, he actually lost points, nothing failing in tennis quite like success.)

At the Australian Open, he lost in the third round in a tournament that was won by the returning Roger Federer, who defeated Rafael Nadal. ...

The Empire strikes back: Andy Murray and the Davis Cup

November 29, 2015

Great Britain has won the Davis Cup, defeating Belgium.

More accurately, Andy Murray has won the Davis Cup.

Any Cup championship is, first and foremost, about teamwork, with the country of the winning team getting the honors. Sports are forever entwined in politics as I illustrate in “Water Music,” the first novel in my series, “The Games Men Play.”

But tennis, like swimming, is also among the most individualistic of sports, and the tension between the individual and the team in these sports– another theme of “Water Music” – is part of their flavor. ...

Seems like old times – or not – at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

November 23, 2015

Well, there was no Rafael Nadal appendectomy this year or contretemps between Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer’s wife, Mirka, or controversy over whether or not Feddy bailed in the final to lead Switzerland to the Davis Cup.

But the result was the same: Novak Djokovic was the last man standing, winning the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Sunday, Nov. 22, for the fourth time, capping a year in which he became the first player to win $20 million in prize money. Nole and tennis have come a long way.

Of course, given the lack of drama in this year’s tournament… or was there? Methinks I detected just a whiff of passive-aggressive gamesmanship in the press conferences. ...

Novandy and the Web we weave

November 10, 2015

Nothing like the BNP Paribas Masters final in Paris between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to bring out the haters and the opinionaters – as well as a few wits – on the Internet.

Nole won 6-2, 6-4, which left plenty of people unhappy about oh, gee, just about everything – Nole dominating tennis, Andy’s service problems, Nole’s supposedly “robotic” play, Andy’s seemingly fatal attraction to the net, Nole’s shouting, Andy’s cursing, their “boring” baseline rivalry, even the winner’s trophy, which looked like a small metal tree that could take out a few eyeballs. (More on that in a bit.)

For the haters, Andy is British and not Fred Perry. Nole is, well, Nole and not Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Net’s cloak of anonymity allows posters to voice opinions that in another era would’ve been defamatory and libelous, to say nothing of vicious. Wishing Nole would break an ankle or implying that he owes his success to steroids without any proof is stupid, mean and downright unbalanced. ...

The Mets – New York’s other baseball team

October 26, 2015

As a longtime New York Yankees’ fan, I must admit to a certain pang when the Yanks aren’t in the World Series and the Mets are. (The last time the Mets won the pennant was in 2000, the year the Yanks beat them in the Series. Ouch.)

But as a fan of the Bronx Bombers, I must also admit that there is a part of me that’s just delighted to see the Amazins in it. For one thing, I’m a New Yorker. I always want to see every New York area team do well. (I’ve also probably seen the Mets more than the Yankees as I don’t have cable, and the Mets tend to have more games on regular TV.) ...