THERE will come a day, in the not-too-distant future when the names of the men chasing Grand Slam glory do not include Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
But as the leading men honed their games in the past week ahead of the Australian Open, which begins tomorrow, it was clear that we are not there yet.
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, in that order, begin 2019 as the top three in the world, the trio of 30-somethings having joined forces at the head of the sport once more. Among them, the three have won 51 Grand Slam titles and, perhaps even more remarkably as the next generation has begun to show signs of coming through, they have picked off the past eight, too.
Wins at Wimbledon and the US Open last summer propelled Djokovic back to the top of the pile, an amazing achievement having dropped out of the top 20 earlier in the year as he recovered from elbow surgery.
The injury and pain are things of the past – how Andy Murray must wish he could say that – and
Djokovic will begin the Australian Open as favourite to take the title for what would be a record seventh time.
The Serb, who turns 32 in May, shares the record with Federer and the legendary Australian Roy Emerson, who held the overall Grand Slam record of 12 titles. That only fell when Pete Sampras won Wimbledon in 2000.
Since then, Federer with 20, Nadal with 17, and now Djokovic with 14 have surpassed Emerson.
And victory for Djokovic would give him real belief he may yet be able to chase down the top two.
The world No 1 enjoyed the luck of the draw when Federer was placed alongside Nadal in the bottom half and, on the form of the second half of 2018, it would be a surprise if he does not make another final.
Federer, meanwhile, needs just one more title to reach the magic mark of 100 career titles, something only Jimmy Connors, with 109, has managed.
At the draw ceremony this week, Federer admitted that winning here to reach 100 would be “truly special” but the Swiss was equally effusive about his form, having won all four of his matches at the Hopman Cup mixed team event in Perth.
Good performances in Perth in each of the past two seasons helped set up Federer for his wins in
Melbourne and he is hopeful the omens will work out again.
“I think I was seeking confirmation about my level of play,” he said.
“It was good in practice and the off-season. I felt great. When I went to Perth I was feeling good, but you never know if it’s going to translate on the court. But I played great in singles and in mixed doubles as well.”
Third-seed Federer begins against another veteran in Denis Istomin, the man who stunned Djokovic here two years ago, while the top seed takes on American qualifier Mitchell Krueger.
Second-seed Nadal will face
Australian James Duckworth in round one, trying to win his second Australian Open title some 10 years after his first, when he beat Federer in a dramatic final.
The Spaniard sounded in good spirits yesterday, claiming himself 100 per cent fit after injury problems at the end of 2018, including a foot issue that required surgery. Nadal used the extra time wisely, working on a slight change to his serve to add more power and win more free points.
“It is true I try to improve, during all my career, all the things,” he said. “The serve was always a thing I tried to improve, and I think I did. Maybe it was the time to try to make one more step. I am happy with it.
“I didn’t compete with this new serve, so let’s see how it works. I am confident it’s going to work well.”
Behind the top three, Alexander Zverev leads the charge of the young brigade, a growing group that includes world No 11 Karen Khachanov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov, while Alex de Minaur and Borna Coric are also knocking on the door.
But they will still have to get past the big guns, now down to three with Murray’s injury woes. They may have to wait another year.
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