Roger Federer
knows the next generation of tennis players are closing in fast on the
Big Four, the so-called elite quartet who have dominated the last decade
of men's tennis.
Federer himself has not won a grand slam title since 2012 and the other members of the troupe, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, have all been battling injuries and illness.
Their drop in form
and ailments have coincided with the rise of a new crop of players
challenging in the majors, a sign that perhaps their era is coming to an
end.
Stan Wawrinka won last year's Australian Open and Marin Cilic
won the U.S. Open - marking the first time since 2003 that two players
outside the Big Four won grand slam titles in the same season.
But Federer is not convinced that the changing of the
guard is imminent. On the contrary, the 33-year-old Swiss believes last
year's results were an anomaly and normal service will resume in 2015.
"We have had some
injuries, it's not because we didn't play well or that we maybe dropped a
bit," he told reporters at the Brisbane International on Friday.
"Rafa had his issues, Murray had surgery on his back, I've
had a tough year in '13. The only guy who was really consistent was
Novak... and he took care of it and took advantage of it to some
extent. He was still there when it mattered the most."
Djokovic finished 2014 ranked number one in the world. His
season featured a second title at Wimbledon, where he beat Federer in
an epic final.
Nadal won the French Open for a record ninth time before injuries
stalled his season. Federer won five ATP tournaments, including the
Cincinnati and Shanghai Masters events and finished year ranked second.
"Rafa was still
there again on clay. I was consistent last year. I think Murray is on
his way back. He still made the Masters, even though he didn't play so
well for sometime," Federer said.
A new wave of players also emerged last year. Kei
Nishikori made the U.S. Open final while Milos Raonic and Grigor
Dimitrov reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
The young trio have all made a strong start to 2015,
joining Federer in the semi-finals at Brisbane while Djokovic and Nadal
suffered early defeats at the Qatar Open.
Federer is
impressed by his young rivals but not ready to anoint them just yet,
saying they may have to wait a little longer than most people think.
"It's still a bit early to say. We'll see again what's going to happen this year," he said.
"I do believe there is a group of guys right there that
can make a break again and can do special things. I just think it's too
early to say in the season just because Novak and Rafa lost in Doha that
there is something on the horizon.
"I don't read into any of those results. I think they are
going to be tough to beat, and favourites for the Australian Open, to be
honest."
Date: 9th January 2015, Source: Reuters
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