The latest ATP rankings proved to be a sensational one as it was the first time in 13 years that one of Federer and Nadal were not in the top-4 of the rankings. No doubt, it is a monumental event and might just have ushered in a new era where these 2 gargantuan figures are no longer the best in business.
The last time both of them were not in the top-4 was way back in June 2003, after which both of them won a mind-boggling 31 Grand Slam singles titles between them. Not to mention an epic rivalry that threw up some of the most iconic clashes in the history of the sport.
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But time catches up with everyone. 13 years down the line, Nadal’s body is not what it once was though he is still only 30. Federer too has struggled with his fitness and at 35 years of age, is in the twilight of his career. More importantly, either of them has not won a Grand Slam title since French Open 2014 when Nadal beat Djokovic.
As such, let’s see what all has happened in the world since the last time Federer and Nadal were both not in the ATP top-4.
#10 Andy Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry to win Wimbledon
A British man had never won the tournament which Britain took pride in hosting – The Wimbledon – since 1936 when Fred Perry did so. Moreover, the last time a British woman won the event was back in 1977 Virginia Wade won the Venus Rosewater Dish.
But that piece of unwanted record changed during the period of Federer and Nadal’s dominance of the sport. Along came Andy Murray and the Scot proceeded to win it in 2013, a massive 77 years after Fred Perry did it and 10 years after Federer and Nadal announced themselves to the world.
Murray would go on to win the 2016 Wimbledon as well, both times getting the better of Novak Djokovic. But it is to be noted that Murray did so only after a long period of dominance by Federer and Nadal on the grass at SW19.
#9 MS Dhoni made his debut, led India to 2 World Cups and retired from Tests
Perhaps, an inkling as to the duration of the period when Federer and Nadal dominated tennis could be gauged from the fact that star cricketer MS Dhoni made his debut, led India to 2 World Cup wins and then retired from one format of cricket – all within 2003 and 2016.
Dhoni made his ODI debut in 2004 against Bangladesh and took over ODI captaincy from Rahul Dravid in 2007. He would promptly lead India to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup and then 4 years later the ODI World Cup.
Under his captaincy, India became the No.1 ranked team in Tests and in 2013, under his captaincy, India became the first team in more than 40 years to whitewash Australia in a Test series. Dhoni retired from Test cricket during India’s tour of Australia in 2014-15. He is still India’s captain in the shorter formats but at 35 years of age, is almost ready to call time on his career.
#8 Tiger Woods lost his No.1 ranking, regained it and lost it again
Tiger Woods was a dominant force in golf in the 2000s but even the celebrated golfer could not stretch his dominance as long as Federer and Nadal did. Woods spent 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as World Number One in golf.
He was also the highest paid athlete in the world for several years running. He had temporarily retired in 2009 after personal problems which also included a high-profile divorce from his wife Elin Nordegren. This was followed by a loss of golf form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of No. 58 before he stormed back.
He became No.1 again in 2013 and held the spot till 2014 before struggling yet again. In May 2016, he even dropped out of the top-500 golfers in the world. Well, Federer and Nadal have only still dropped out of the top-4.
#7 Michael Schumacher retired, came back and retired again
German racing legend Michael Schumacher is probably the finest driver Formula One has ever seen. He won 5 consecutive World Championships with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004 to add to his 2 with Benetton and was literally unbeatable during that period.
But the German retired in 2006, as Federer and Nadal were serving up classics. He would go on to reverse his decision and make a comeback with Mercedes in 2010. He retired again at the end of the 2012 season.
Unfortunately, the German legend would meet with an accident while skiing in the Alps in 2013. Schumacher has been in a medically-induced coma ever since as his fans hope for a miracle.
#6 Serena Williams equalled Steffi’s record 22 titles
Another mind-boggling record that was equalled during Federer and Nadal’s reign atop Men’s tennis. When Steffi Graf retired after winning a record 22 Grand Slam singles titles in Open era, many thought it would never be achieved again. But those that did forget to factor in Serena Williams, who won 17 of her 22 titles during the period when one of Federer or Nadal were part of the ATP rankings’ top-4.
She equalled the record during 2016 Wimbledon when she took down Angelique Kerber. Serena also equalled Steffi’s record 185-week reign as World No.1 before Kerber unseated her after the 2016 US Open. Hard to believe that time has flown since Federer and Nadal came into the sport.
#5 Sir Alex Ferguson retired as Manchester United manager
Long before Federer and Nadal announced themselves to the world, Sir Alex Ferguson was managing the famous Manchester United football club. To be precise, as far back as in 1986. He would go on to enjoy a stellar career, winning 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League titles.
Interestingly, 15 of those trophies were won during the period of dominance of Federer and Nadal in tennis. No wonder he is considered the greatest ever manager in the history of football.
As most of the football aficionados had taken Sir Alex to be synonymous with Manchester United, this period surprisingly saw the great man step down as the manager. It was another incident that happened after the last time Federer and Nadal were not part of the top-4.
#4 Usain Bolt happened
Since the last time Federer and Nadal were not in the ATP top-4, Usain Bolt cemented his status as the greatest ever sprinter of all time. The Jamaican announced himself in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he would go on to win the 100m, 200m and 4x100m sprint – a feat he would repeat at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics – and take his individual medal tally to 9 golds.
The fastest human ever timed, he also became the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory.
Bolt is all set to retire from athletics next year and considering that he won his first gold medal some 5 years after June 2003, the realisation dawns that Federer and Nadal have been here for a long time.
#3 Barack Obama became US President and was re-elected for a 2nd term
More than 5 years after Federer and Nadal emerged, a certain Barack Obama ran for the post of the President of the United States of America and became the first African American to become the US President. Not only that, Barack would also be re-elected for a 2nd term in 2012. He is all set to step down at the end of this year.
After he played a significant role in promoting the global climate treaties along with his role in scaling down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Barack Obama was also awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2009. Significantly, Obama’s term has almost ended and as the world waits for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to assume office, tennis fans are also witnessing a change of guard.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi won 8 Ballon d’Ors between them
Just like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in tennis, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the undisputed superstars of football. In fact, Cristiano won the Ballon d’Or during his time at Manchester United in 2008. But ever since, no player other than these 2 have won the prestigious award.
Messi has won 5 of those while Cristiano Ronaldo has 3 to his credit. Their monopoly over the award, or the sport, hasn’t ended yet even though Federer and Nadal are on the wane.
It is perhaps fitting that Cristiano and Messi have battled for the spot as the sport’s top dog just like Federer and Nadal have done so in tennis. Cristiano and Messi are still going strong and are certain to win more trophies. Let’s hope there is one last hurrah for Federer and Nadal as well.
#1 Michael Phelps won a record 28 Olympic medals
Only pure astonishment results when you consider the fact that since the last time Federer and Nadal were ranked outside the top-4, Michael Phelps set the Olympic pool alight and then went on to become the greatest olympian of all times by winning a record 28 Olympic medals.
Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16). The swimmer also has several world records to his name over various disciplines. Not to mention the 8 golds he won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which saw him beat Mark Spitz’s record.
It’s fair to say that a lot has happened since June 2003 but Phelps will not be participating in another Olympics. His records though might stand the test of time for a long time. Just like Federer’s and Nadal’s.
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