Grouping people as a cultural generation is much different than grouping them as a tennis/athletic generation, and I always think you do a good job of that. I also appreciate your explanation of what makes Thiem somewhat on the cusp, and why we think of him a bit as Next Gen. There are always going to be players that don't quite fit tidily into a group, and Thiem is significant enough that we like to discuss it. Of course it doesn't matter a huge lot where we put him...his career will be his, whichever way.
:cuckoo: 
I never cared about such things and really don't pay much attention, but I'm pretty sure I gave up on it when "Gen X'rs" came into the picture, mid 80's being "Punks" and "Rappers!" The butchery with the hair after the Farrah Fawcett days was unnerving! Black lipstick and nail polish became the rage; even on the guys! I don't miss any of it! :whistle:
That IS bold. You join @mrzz, who thinks all of the big 3 are done. While Roger seems like a long-shot, to me, to win another Major, I wouldn't really even count him out. Rafa and Novak, at 33 and 32...I find it hard to believe they don't each have a couple left in them. I have noted a significant drop-off in optimism about Novak, though, after the last several months. He hasn't sprung back to the same kind of dominance of the time before his "walkabout." Still, as I said before, I find it a little hard to imagine that they'll all 3 drop off the cliff at the same time.
I think I might be the only one left on the board who prefers a big 3 plus maybe Stan final for the grandslams. Besides the debacle at last years AO, the tennis is usually at the level of Wimbledon 2019, masterfully played and the shots are astonishing
who gave you permission to call them bozos? what have you accomplished in your life to allow you to talk as if you are on a pedestal? they are all one in a million talent, while you most definitely are an average joe mouthing off behind the screen.
Yeah, they bring the best out of each other and the history they share with their rivalries makes it so exciting to watch. They are under our skin after so many years. Djodal is my favourite followed by Fedal. I also enjoy watching Stan when in Stanimal mode and his rivalry with Novak pushed Stan to play so damn good against the serb.
Funny how a poster who thinks nothing of hurling insults suddenly gets a bit delicate at some being called "bozos," when "clown" gets thrown around all the time around these parts. Injuries felled some of the Lost Gen, like Kei and Milos, but it's not like they were destined to be powerhouses, otherwise. The real bozo is Dimitrov, of that group...and you forgot him!
Fair enough, and I have been one to complain about them being called Clowns. So much talent out there. Even the big guns talk about the margins being slim. That's why we do get upsets. And then folks talk about people being beaten by "nobodies." Clearly it's not that simple and we tend to reduce it to broad-strokes and dismiss the fine points.I ran down El Dudes' original list, and he did not include Dimitrov. But he is right, Dimitrov is not a Bozo. He is an "entertainer".
Now, joking aside I am aware that El Dude knows quite well that he is speaking in relative terms, but even if I did not miss the chance to make a joke, I cannot help but connect with Ricardo's post. All those guys play marvelously well and I envy them to my gut. I know they are professionals, but still. Tennis is a fantastic sport, I really wanted to be better at it: every now and then, when I connect a beautiful shot I feel extremely proud, and those guys do that routinely. I do feel that we are being borderline idiotic when we dismiss even ATP 500's. Come on, I even do watch Challenger matches sometimes, and those guys are damn good. This elite or nothing approach only separates us from the real sport. Of course the big boys are better as a package, but there is a lot of good tennis elsewhere. You get the backhand of a Lajovic, the forehand a Santiago Giraldo (check on youtube and be amazed), the touch of a Cuevas... that's pretty good tennis that at some point nobody else can do better. Tennis is all that. The greatness of the big three is precisely that they can stay on top of all those guys, all the time. But if you discredit the field, you are discrediting the big three by extension. And they can be beaten, they are indeed beaten, because some times someone else is simply better. Why? Because the sport itself is bigger than the big three. The sport is the big one. So, yeah, they are not Bozos. It is good that someone reminds us of that once in a while.
