It’s been nearly 1 / 4 century since Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been dominated out of the identical Grand Slam tennis match.
That modifications subsequent week, when the US Open begins at Flushing Meadows with none members of that iconic and influential trio.
Williams, whose fortieth birthday is in September, was joined on Wednesday by Federer, who turns 40 this month, and Nadal, who’s 35, on the sidelines with accidents. Williams’ older sister, 41-year-old Venus, additionally kicked off the sector on Wednesday.
Everyone is aware of they cannot play perpetually, and that this grand period will finish in some unspecified time in the future. Now followers, different gamers, excursions, tournaments, sponsors, TV executives and the remainder of the world are getting a glimpse of what the not-too-distant future holds for tennis.
Is it as arduous because it appears?
“We have been asking ourselves this question for many years. He has defied the odds beyond that of other champions with his legacy and his dominance of the sport. Without question, our game passes by the passing of the baton,” US Open Tournament director Stacy Allaster mentioned in a phone interview from New York after Serena’s announcement however earlier than Venus.
Not everyone seems to be the most effective information. i’m becoming a member of @Serena Williams @Rafael Nadal And @Roger Federer It’s nonetheless going to be an incredible US Open on the injured checklist and thanks a lot for that. @specialist for wild card. I used to be very a lot trying ahead to it, however it was to not occur this 12 months. I’ll be again! pic.twitter.com/s0PRgdSSx2
— Venus Williams (@venuseswilliams) August 25, 2021
“The athletes who’re listed below are prepared for it. We are beginning to see who these potential subsequent Grand Slam champions will likely be. We have gone by means of this cycle earlier than, and our athletes have risen to the event they usually have all stood on the shoulders of champions and brought the game to the following stage.
The identical can definitely be mentioned of the Williams sisters, Federer and Nadal, who all managed to change into international superstars and stay related for long gone the conventional timeframe in tennis. Since the 1997 Australian Open, the 12 months Venus Williams made her main debut on the French Open, has no Grand Slam match been contested with out at the very least one of many 4.
Because the appropriate hamstring she severed at Wimbledon in late June has not adequately healed, Serena will once more not be capable of chase down her twenty fourth Grand Slam singles title, tying Margaret Court essentially the most within the sport’s historical past. Is. (As it’s, Serena has an Open Era mark of 23, as greater than half of the courtroom’s whole got here earlier than the professionals had been allowed to enter main tournaments in 1968).
Serena has gone 0-4 to succeed in 4 Slam finals since getting back from maternity go away in 2018. Her 2017 Australian Open title whereas pregnant on the age of 35, makes her the oldest girl to win a significant singles championship within the Open period. Ken Roswell scored the boys’s thirty seventh on the 1972 Australian Open.
Federer, the primary man to succeed in 20 Slam trophies, is finished for 2021 as he requires a 3rd operation on his proper knee that was repaired twice final 12 months. Nadal, who matched his opponent’s whole by securing his twentieth main on the 2020 French Open, can also be performed for the season, troubled by recurrent ache in his left leg.
No one is aware of for positive, now, when or, actually, if every will return.
In Serena’s social media submit on Wednesday about pulling out of the US Open, she concluded with this vow: “I’ll see you soon.”
In Federer’s announcement 10 days earlier, he talked about desirous to “give himself a ray of hope, as well as, to return to tour in some shape or form”.
Nadal, the youngest of the group, vowed final week that he nonetheless had “some beautiful years” left in his profession.
“I’ve at all times thought, yearly, as his profession approached the twilight years, each time we had
Here on the US Open, we had been extremely fortunate,” Allaster mentioned.
He has performed rather a lot for our sport and this match.
Now, nonetheless, much more consideration will likely be given to Novak Djokovic as he tries to finish the primary calendar-year Grand Slam by a person since Rod Laver in 1969 and by claiming his twenty first main title alongside Federer and Nadal breaks his tie.
And additional consideration was paid to US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who returned to Grand Slam motion for the primary time since being kicked out of the French Open, then Wimbledon, for a psychological well being break.
“We are disappointed for our fans. How could they not be disappointed? They are without question a fan favorite. They are such exceptional champions,” Alastair mentioned of Serena, Federer and Nadal.
“At the same time, the show is going on.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
