Curtains came down on the 2007 tennis season with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal once again asserting their supremacy in the contemporary circuit.
The Swiss and Spaniard have been reigning the men’s rankings for the last two-and-a-half years.
Both expect to continue their good run in the coming seasons too.
But going by the recent results, it seems that the gap is closing at the top of men’s tennis.
A young crop of talents, led by Djokovic, Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray are making inroads into the forte of top-ranked players.
Chinks
The chinks in the armours of the top two were exposed at the season-ending Shanghai Masters.
Usually aggressive Nadal was blown away by the high-energy compatriot David Ferrer in the round robin stage. Federer too bit the dust against the unfancied Fernando Gonzalez. It was one of the appalling defeats he had since clinching the top spot in February 2004.
For the record, the Swiss ace lost nine matches in 2007 – as many as the previous two seasons put together- and to six different players, the most since 2004.
However, Federer and Nadal still hold the edge where it matters, splitting 11 of the past 12 Grand Slams.
Tough guys
The World No. 1 had gone on record saying that it was not easy to play young guys as they hit hard, flat, off the baseline and return well.
"Everybody cracks the 200 kilometre per hour serve without a problem. Everybody's got a decent second serve today. That makes it so much tougher to beat all these guys all the time,” Federer was quoted as saying in a recent interview.
Djokovic and David Nalbandian had beaten the top two at Montreal and Madrid too.
Nadal sees a good future for Djokovic. “He has a chance to be No. 1 or No.2. Murray is coming very well too,” Rafa was quoted as saying.
"Right now Djokovic is having a very good season. He has a chance to be number one or number two. Murray is coming very well too.”
It is sure that the coming season will witness tougher fights for the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.
Beware, Fedex and Rafa.
The Swiss and Spaniard have been reigning the men’s rankings for the last two-and-a-half years.
Both expect to continue their good run in the coming seasons too.
But going by the recent results, it seems that the gap is closing at the top of men’s tennis.
A young crop of talents, led by Djokovic, Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray are making inroads into the forte of top-ranked players.
Chinks
The chinks in the armours of the top two were exposed at the season-ending Shanghai Masters.
Usually aggressive Nadal was blown away by the high-energy compatriot David Ferrer in the round robin stage. Federer too bit the dust against the unfancied Fernando Gonzalez. It was one of the appalling defeats he had since clinching the top spot in February 2004.
For the record, the Swiss ace lost nine matches in 2007 – as many as the previous two seasons put together- and to six different players, the most since 2004.
However, Federer and Nadal still hold the edge where it matters, splitting 11 of the past 12 Grand Slams.
Tough guys
The World No. 1 had gone on record saying that it was not easy to play young guys as they hit hard, flat, off the baseline and return well.
"Everybody cracks the 200 kilometre per hour serve without a problem. Everybody's got a decent second serve today. That makes it so much tougher to beat all these guys all the time,” Federer was quoted as saying in a recent interview.
Djokovic and David Nalbandian had beaten the top two at Montreal and Madrid too.
Nadal sees a good future for Djokovic. “He has a chance to be No. 1 or No.2. Murray is coming very well too,” Rafa was quoted as saying.
"Right now Djokovic is having a very good season. He has a chance to be number one or number two. Murray is coming very well too.”
It is sure that the coming season will witness tougher fights for the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.
Beware, Fedex and Rafa.
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