(MENAFN-Khaleej Times) No active players other than Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have won this 500 event in 12 years, which is a marked contrast to what transpired previously with 10 different victors in as many years overall
A casual glance at the past ATP winners of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships gives you a clear indication of the state of men’s tennis in a wider context.
In the 11 events between 2003 and last year’s tournament, only four names have been engraved on the trophy and two of them – Novak Djokovic (four) and Roger Federer (five) – appear nine times; the other two being Rafael Nadal and the now-retired Andy Roddick following DDFTC victories in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
Thus, no active players other than Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have won this 500 event in 12 years, which is a marked contrast to what transpired previously with 10 different victors in as many years overall.
Indeed, the dominance of the aforementioned trio – and the other member of the ‘big four,’ Great Britain’s Andy Murray – at Grand Slams and elite-level competitions like this one here has led many to speculate who, if anyone, can break it?
Since Federer’s inaugural Grand Slam success at Wimbledon in 2003, only four players not named Djokovic, Federer, Murray or Nadal had won a major in 42 attempts up to last month’s Australian Open (Andy Roddick: 2003 US Open, Gaston Gaudio: 2004 French Open, Marat Safin: 2005 Australian Open and Juan Martin del Potro: 2009 US Open).
In Melbourne though, a top-10 player in Federer’s fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka found the form to oust Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Nadal for a breakthrough win that – to most – would suggest that there is a rare chink of light for others to follow here and elsewhere.
The likes of Del Potro, Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are currently among Djokovic and Federer in the top 10 of the world rankings and they are all set to compete in the emirate this week.
Del Potro (5th) and Berdych (6th) are between Djokovic (2nd) and Federer (8th) in the global standings, so they appear the most likely to emulate ‘Stanimal’s’ sterling triumph here.
‘Delpo’ was of course the last man to win a major before Wawrinka five years ago, while Berdych has reached three GS semis overall and a Wimbledon final in 2010.
“It’s a good sign that Stan did it. He just proved that it’s possible,” said Berdych, who reached the DDFTC final 12 months ago.
“It’s very difficult and tough, but – in the end – it’s possible and it’s just a good sign that anyone can do the same. It basically just gives you more power to go and try to compete for it.”
Del Potro, who has reached two DDFTC semi-finals in succession over the past two years, added: “He (Wawrinka) gave hope to the tennis world.
“It’s nice to see other names winning the Grand Slams for the tennis world and the tennis people and not the same guys as always.
“Djokovic, Federer and Nadal deserve to win, but – if you have different players winning the Grand Slams – it’s more important for tennis.
“After Wawrinka won the Australian Open, the rest of the players now believe more than in the past and we just have to wait for our moment like I did in 2009 when I played in the US Open.”
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.