Lloyd Harris, a South African tennis player, believes that the performance of the Big Three, namely Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, is on the decline.
Therefore, according to the world number 31, now is the right time for the younger players to start establishing their presence in the tournament.
Although world number 1 Djokovic won his first three Grand Slams of the season, he has shown a lot of weakness during the Tokyo Olympics and US Open. While Nadal and Federer are currently battling physical problems that are quite prolonged, so that is why their futures are quite questionable.
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In a recent interview, the 24-year-old was asked if he felt the Big Three were slowing down, he responded by agreeing to the question.
But he was quick to point out that Serbian Djokovic is nearly unbeaten at a Grand Slam this season and only Daniil Medvedev’s efforts could stop him at the US Open.
“To be sure, there is no gap between the three. It is quite difficult for the next generation of tennis to hack their performance at a Grand Slam. Novak was completely unstoppable until his last game,” said Lloyd Harris.
“I just think that he was up against a very tough player that day. Daniil played some good games over the summer and he is showing what the younger generation is capable of.”
The tennis player who reached the US Open quarter-finals this season (losing to Alexander Zverev) said recent achievements like those of Zverev and Medvedev show that the younger generation of tennis is starting to catch up to the Top Three.
“There was Zverev who won an Olympic gold medal, Medvedev won another Masters 1000 tournament in Canada this summer. So, the young players are starting to really show off their feet,” added Harris.
“If you look at the top 50 players at the moment, I think there are more young players than those who have been in tennis for the last 20 seasons.”
“So yeah, I’ve known them (younger players) for quite a long time, we’ve competed from the juniors category and it’s great to see us all growing and I think it’s time to knock out the Big Three and let the younger guys take over. tennis world.”
“And also with my recent win, I have more confidence, even if you are up against Rafa, Novak or Roger. You have to have faith to beat them and I know I can. So why not, you know it’s going to be a tough game and you have to be ready for the challenge, for sure.”
