Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - The golden generation of tennis

The Big 4 – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer,Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray

The dominance of Roger and Rafa

If you are a tennis fanatic then the most common debate that you would encounter among you and your fellow tennis colleagues is - Which generation is/was the best – Now I am not here to compare each generation bit by bit. I ,for one, personally feel this is the best the sport has offered yet. And hence you would see more written about this generation rather than the others in this writeup. The intention here is to support the claims of those who think this crop of players to be the chosen ones,point out what this generation has offered ,not comparing it with others .

Lets start with the maestro,Roger Federer. He is ,argubaly,the best player of all time (Greatest of all time (GOAT) as many refer to him). And this is not a claim but a well documented fact. You would find multiple articles and videos stating,not discussing,this argument. I,like many,am an out and out,biased Federer supporter. He is the guy who drew me towards this marvellous sport. In the words of the immortal Rod laver,the best way to beat him would be to hit him over the head with a racquet. If you still aren't convinced about him,just watch him play. There is no better feeling than watching a on-song Federer play,gliding through the court ,be it grass ,hard or even clay for that matter,and dismantling his opponents bit by bit ,ounce by ounce.

Having talked enough about Roger,its time for his eternal nemesis,the Majorcan,Rafa Nadal. He is unarguably the best player to set foot on a clay court. His record speaks for itself. Just two losses over a decade of sheer unparalleled dominance on the red clay of the french capital. He is inhuman to say the very least. Court Philippe Chatrier is his fortress. Although his dominance just like Federer's ,is slowly but steadily coming to an end he still is a handful on any surface let alone clay.

An all-rounder in Novak Djokovic

Now having discussed about two players who possess the best forehands this game has ever seen ,its time to talk about the guy who ,many say,has the best overall game ever,Novak Djokovic. He currently is on a deadly winning streak that not even Nadal could end at his favoured clay of Paris. There is absolutely no stopping this guy. He has wrestled his way into the GOAT debate. His natural athleticism and defensive skills have won him huge fan following and as far as the records are concerned,he is galloping towards the record haul of 17 Grand Slams that Fedex currently holds.

British hope – Andy Murray

To complete the big four you have Andy Murray,the pride of Great Britain,who has finally done what no other British player could do since Fred Perry,win Wimbledon. He is a fierce competitor who on his day can sweep aside his opponent without breaking a drop of sweat. There are others like David Ferrer,Tomas Berdych,Kei Nishikori and also the golden generation of French tennis comprising of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,Gael Monfils,Gilles Simon and Richard Gasguet who may have been Grand Slam champions had it not been for the undisputed and unmatched dominance of the BIG FOUR.

So,to sum it up,there hasn't been and probably wont be a coming together of better crop of players again , hence testifying my claim that this is the greatest generation to play the game of tennis.