2019 Nitto ATP Finals...ATP 1500...London, England

[stroke]

It will be interesting to see if any of these players db mentioned can accumulate multiple GS's. Next year will be very interesting. Fed is still a threat at Wimbledon. Can Thiem or Stefanos take out Nadal at FO? AO will answer a lot of questions early.

[arturohernandez]

It will be interesting to see if any of these players db mentioned can accumulate multiple GS's. Next year will be very interesting. Fed is still a threat at Wimbledon. Can Thiem or Stefanos take out Nadal at FO? AO will answer a lot of questions early.

What a final!! Tsisipas is so quick and explosive. Made Roger look slow. Thiem can win the FO. Are we seeing the new era emerging? What about the idea that young players would no longer dominate like before?

The AO will be very interesting.

[don_budge]

It will be interesting to see if any of these players db mentioned can accumulate multiple GS's. Next year will be very interesting. Fed is still a threat at Wimbledon. Can Thiem or Stefanos take out Nadal at FO? AO will answer a lot of questions early.

Multiple Grand Slams? They have to win one first. Winning a Grand Slam is a pinnacle achievement for a tennis player. The strange set of circumstances in the game of "Modern Tennis" shows a domination of the majors by a few select players. Very few outsiders have broken through...Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka notable exceptions. Interesting that these two will be part of the mix next year and how are they going to respond?

These guys are going to have to break through with one first though. To make it through two weeks under the best of five format is big time. But they are knocking on the door with Medvedev only be held off by Nadal as he hem and hawed his way down the stretch. Repeatedly holding up the serve and stalling at this years U. S. Open. But multiples? That's interesting to think about. Once one of these guys break through...or if two do...or when all three do then it will be another era completely. Djokovic cannot be counted out yet. He has shown signs of not being so invincible at times but on the other hand he has been awfully tough. Wimbledon comes to mind. The Australian comes to mind. That is still fifty percent of the haul. The 2018 U. S. Open...nearly a quasi Slam.

The future will be revealed but we have to wait. Time is creeping on.

[klacr]

At least two players with one-handed backhands made the finals. It's still around and that's never a bad thing. I was hoping for Federer like others on the thread but ultimately I'm glad the new generation is stepping up. It will make the void much more bearable.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[arturohernandez]

Multiple Grand Slams? They have to win one first. Winning a Grand Slam is a pinnacle achievement for a tennis player. The strange set of circumstances in the game of "Modern Tennis" shows a domination of the majors by a few select players. Very few outsiders have broken through...Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka notable exceptions. Interesting that these two will be part of the mix next year and how are they going to respond?

These guys are going to have to break through with one first though. To make it through two weeks under the best of five format is big time. But they are knocking on the door with Medvedev only be held off by Nadal as he hem and hawed his way down the stretch. Repeatedly holding up the serve and stalling at this years U. S. Open. But multiples? That's interesting to think about. Once one of these guys break through...or if two do...or when all three do then it will be another era completely. Djokovic cannot be counted out yet. He has shown signs of not being so invincible at times but on the other hand he has been awfully tough. Wimbledon comes to mind. The Australian comes to mind. That is still fifty percent of the haul. The 2018 U. S. Open...nearly a quasi Slam.

The future will be revealed but we have to wait. Time is creeping on.

Multiple is a big ask. But we could have four younger champions next year. Thiem at the FO. Tstisipas/Medvedev at the US Open and AO. I'll save Wimbledon for Feds swan song. HIs last hoorah much like Sampras at the US Open in 2002.

I am 50/50 on Djokovic. Of course, he always seems to bounce back. So does Nadal and so does Federer. But both Djokovic and Nadal seem to be having health problems at around the age that most players do. And there is no way to up anything. No larger head size, no way to shorten points consistently and win. Both rely on defense to win matches and the transition to a more aggressive all-court game will come less naturally. Fed bought himself a few years by retooling but I am not sure that the other big two will be able to pull that off.

My sense is that they will be facing a younger and hungrier player that will simply not fatigue as quickly.

Like McEnroe against Borg and Safin against Sampras. At some point, the younger player arrives and the old guard simply cannot keep up.

Based on what I saw at the WTF this year, I think it will be next year. The AO will indeed be very interesting!

[stroke]

It certainly is a big ask. I am just kind of thinking out loud about the next in line from Lendl to Sampras to Fed, Nadal, and Novak. Stefanos may be the best bet for a multiple winner. It looks more likely the baton may hit the ground. And that is not even taking into account what those 3 have done in the Masters 1000's.

[arturohernandez]

It certainly is a big ask. I am just kind of thinking out loud about the next in line from Lendl to Sampras to Fed, Nadal, and Novak. Stefanos may be the best bet for a multiple winner. It looks more likely the baton may hit the ground. And that is not even taking into account what those 3 have done in the Masters 1000's.

He looks like the heir apparent and he has a true all court game. Nadal and Novak may end up being the exception. Maybe the era of the two hander dominating GS's is coming to a close. Right now it looks like the one hander in the men's game is making a come back at the very top.

Of course, it may be a chicken-egg problem. Only an exceptional athlete and player can survive with a one hander today. So those that make it are simply able to push through and reach the top.

[arturohernandez]

And I don't know why but I keep thinking that Thiem will win the FO. His game is not ideal on hard courts but on a clay court only Nadal at his very best can beat him and then it will be a tough ask should it go into a fifth set.

[stroke]

And I don't know why but I keep thinking that Thiem will win the FO. His game is not ideal on hard courts but on a clay court only Nadal at his very best can beat him and then it will be a tough ask should it go into a fifth set.

It is clear to all that Thiem is a great clay court player, maybe overall the 2nd best clay courter in the world for about 3 years now. I guess the burning question will be where he is at when Nadal finally is not the best out there on clay. Roger was the 2nd best clay courter in the world for several years, and he was fortunate to get that one FO title.