Member-only story
A Brief History of Tennis
It is time to get nostalgic about the golden age in men’s tennis, going through some of the most appreciated posts by yours truly
Once upon a time, the men’s singles category in tennis was competitive. There were players who won more than others but none that entirely dominated. Heading into a tournament, a tennis fan could never claim with a degree of certainty as to who will end up as the winner. The sport was a lot more interesting.
While in the 1970s, we had players of the caliber of Arthur Ashe, John Newcombe, Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, John McEnroe, in the 1980s emerged talents like Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and even Andre Agassi. Then came a certain Pete Sampras in the 1990s. Tennis couldn’t recover.
While you should never compare different eras, the fact is, in this century the triumvirate of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic took over. The trio has won 82.5% of all the Grand Slam tournaments played since July 2004. They have been occupying the top ranking for more than 900 out of the last 1000 weeks. They have performed the last rites and given men’s tennis a decent burial.
If you have been reading my pieces on tennis, you will be aware that I am more enthusiastic about…
