Let's talk about 2017...

[El Dude]

Again, I'm not saying that Grigor is going to be as good as Stan, just that he COULD follow a similar career trajectory - that is, take a step up in his late 20s.

Plus there's the simple fact two years from now Grigor will be 27, going on 28, and Novak and Andy will be 31 going on 32 (not to mention a decrepit Rafa at 32-33 and a geriatric Roger at 37-38). By then the younger guys should be more fully coming into their own, but at some point there could be a "Wild West" window where the level of play of three generations of players meets. You'll have Andy, Novak, and Stan going down; and Zverev, Kyrgios, Fritz etc still rising, while players like Milos, Kei, Thiem--and Grigor--will be in their primes. Could be interesting.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Again, I'm not saying that Grigor is going to be as good as Stan, just that he COULD follow a similar career trajectory - that is, take a step up in his late 20s.

Plus there's the simple fact two years from now Grigor will be 27, going on 28, and Novak and Andy will be 31 going on 32 (not to mention a decrepit Rafa at 32-33 and a geriatric Roger at 37-38). By then the younger guys should be more fully coming into their own, but at some point there could be a "Wild West" window where the level of play of three generations of players meets. You'll have Andy, Novak, and Stan going down; and Zverev, Kyrgios, Fritz etc still rising, while players like Milos, Kei, Thiem--and Grigor--will be in their primes. Could be interesting.

El Dude.. I don't have or ever foresee Grigor in the Ferrer, Berdych, JowillieTs, or Monfils in the caliber of players..I think just like Kieran said, he will be a 20's type of player..the younger guys like Niki K and others will pass him by. Grigor had numerous opportunities to break through..even Gulbis has fared as well as Grigor , IMO

 

[sid]

Yes, if Federer and Nadal come back in a big way (in terms of form that is), we can have another year of competition among the big 4. This would be one of the last years to feature something like that.

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I think the big 4 is now finished Federer & Nadal won't come back,now it's only big 2 or 3 if Stans added to the mix.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Yes, if Federer and Nadal come back in a big way (in terms of form that is), we can have another year of competition among the big 4. This would be one of the last years to feature something like that.

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I think the big 4 is now finished Federer & Nadal won't come back,now it's only big 2 or 3 if Stans added to the mix.

Sid.if the world stop right at this moment, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are still the two most talented tennis players on this Earth. Yes, they have lost a step or two but there aren't any other players that have as much racket control with the exception of Novak who is still the best pure ball striker in the game. If these two players can stay healthy, they are not finished..they were and still are just that good.

 

[sid]

Federer & Nadal both have been great,but I think there time has past by.Tennis takes it toll on players even greats such as Federer & Nadal.Nole & Andy the big players @ this point in time,Rankings don't Lie just look how far thay are in front.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Federer & Nadal both have been great,but I think there time has past by.Tennis takes it toll on players even greats such as Federer & Nadal.Nole & Andy the big players @ this point in time,Rankings don't Lie just look how far thay are in front.

Sid , I think if the tennis gods are merciful, we may get two good years more of Fed and 3-4 of Rafa

 

[sid]

Nole & Andy have a strangle hold on top 2 with draws.Federer & Nadal had this once,it's very hard to take away.Potty coming back up the rankings odd's are Federer & Nadal bump into him.Federer & Nadal can make upsets but as for Slams I don't think either will win any more.The same will happen to Nole & Andy it's facts of life,the question is when.

 

[Front242]

Don't worry, sid, Andy may take a set off Roger for the first time since the AO 2014. You should be happy he's gonna be rusty. Of course if Roger still beats him it'll be pretty damn embarrassing.

 

[Kieran]

Don't worry, sid, Andy may take a set off Roger for the first time since the AO 2014. You should be happy he's gonna be rusty. Of course if Roger still beats him it'll be pretty damn embarrassing.

Andy will wipe the floor with federer when he plays him. Remember, both Roger and Novak made hay with murray when Andy was feebly getting involved in idiotic gender politics. The dishwasher has had her D&G, and now Andy is back playing men's tennis. His record against federer before he got waylaid by a dame was actually quite good, but woeful during the failed experiment. Likewise, against Novak...

 

[Front242]

In fairness if he doesn't beat him when Roger's been off most of the year he never will again but once Roger's got his mojo back, it'll likely be more of the same for Andy. Ranting to his box, cursing like a scumbag and being made to look second rate.

 

[Kieran]

In fairness if he doesn't beat him when Roger's been off most of the year he never will again but once Roger's got his mojo back, it'll likely be more of the same for Andy. Ranting to his box, cursing like a scumbag and being made to look second rate.

Well, the blurb on the kerb is that Wodger's "mojo" was very close to being discovered, and that's why he wisely found an excuse to skip the Olympics..

But his recent run of exceptional good fortune against Andy only occurred because Andy was bewitched by senseless fads, and hired a skirt to boss him about. He's done with his mammy issues, and daddy is back in the box. And Federer will not be playing at his 2012 levels in 2017...

 

[El Dude]

Andy is going to slaughter Roger, at least at first and if on slower courts.

 

[Kieran]

Again, I'm not saying that Grigor is going to be as good as Stan, just that he COULD follow a similar career trajectory - that is, take a step up in his late 20s.

Plus there's the simple fact two years from now Grigor will be 27, going on 28, and Novak and Andy will be 31 going on 32 (not to mention a decrepit Rafa at 32-33 and a geriatric Roger at 37-38). By then the younger guys should be more fully coming into their own, but at some point there could be a "Wild West" window where the level of play of three generations of players meets. You'll have Andy, Novak, and Stan going down; and Zverev, Kyrgios, Fritz etc still rising, while players like Milos, Kei, Thiem--and Grigor--will be in their primes. Could be interesting.

In fairness to Stan, he always had a bit of smouldering spite to him, a fire, but I've seen nothing like that in Grigor yet. He's gifted, but he doesn't have that alpha quality that rolls through strong blokes...

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Andy will be difficult to beat for Roger surely. But in slams, I wound think Roger could still have an edge. It's just on of those things. If Roger finds form again, he can certainly take Murray out multiple times in slams next year.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Starting from third round (round of 32), Federer will technically be an underdog in each match
at the AO going strictly by the rankings.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Starting from third round (round of 32), Federer will technically be an underdog in each match
at the AO going strictly by the rankings.

Roger will make the majority of sub top ten players soiled in their night underwear with the thought of facing him on a big stage at a grand slam prior to the qtrs...

 

[Front242]

In fairness if he doesn't beat him when Roger's been off most of the year he never will again but once Roger's got his mojo back, it'll likely be more of the same for Andy. Ranting to his box, cursing like a scumbag and being made to look second rate.

Well, the blurb on the kerb is that Wodger's "mojo" was very close to being discovered, and that's why he wisely found an excuse to skip the Olympics..

But his recent run of exceptional good fortune against Andy only occurred because Andy was bewitched by senseless fads, and hired a skirt to boss him about. He's done with his mammy issues, and daddy is back in the box. And Federer will not be playing at his 2012 levels in 2017...

The reason Federer was beating Andy since the AO 2014 was down to his much improved attacking tennis in recent years while Edberg was with him. The "great" Murray couldn't beat Kevin Anderson 6-1 6-1 in his dreams but Federer's new tactics like SABR were what brought him back to number 2 before his injury. Federer's 2014-2015 level is good enough to still beat Murray btw, so if he can play that well it won't be easy for Murray or anyone else for that matter. Murray has been playing more aggressively at times but it still doesn't come naturally to him as his game is mostly centered on being a counterpuncher/defensive ball retrieving male version of Caroline Wozniacki, so his game is more WTA than ATP still a good 80% of the time in terms of tactics.

2014-2015 level tennis by Federer is good enough to beat anyone so he doesn't need to reach 2012 levels. I'd argue he was better in 2014-2015 anyway despite not winning a slam.

 

[El Dude]

I think Roger's floor in 2012 was higher than in 2014-15, thus the upsets at the French Open in 2014 (losing to Ernests Gulbis) and the Australian Open in 2015 (Andreas Seppi). Those wouldn't have happened in 2012, unless we count Berdych a huge upset--but certainly not as huge as Gulbis and Seppi.

Roger won a Slam in 2012 because he was able to beat Novak. Novak was still #1 back then, but he wasn't as good as he was in 2015.

 

[Backhand_DTL]

I think Roger's floor in 2012 was higher than in 2014-15, thus the upsets at the French Open in 2014 (losing to Ernests Gulbis) and the Australian Open in 2015 (Andreas Seppi). Those wouldn't have happened in 2012, unless we count Berdych a huge upset--but certainly not as huge as Gulbis and Seppi.

Roger won a Slam in 2012 because he was able to beat Novak. Novak was still #1 back then, but he wasn't as good as he was in 2015.

I think Roger adjusted his game to maximize his chances on the faster courts. In my opinion his level at Dubai, Halle, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the US Open in 2015 was at least on par with what he showed in 2012 at those tournaments but on the slower surfaces, where only the finals of Indian Wells and Rome somewhat positively stand out for 2015, he was definitely significantly more vulnerable and less consistent than until 2012.

 

[sid]

In fairness if he doesn't beat him when Roger's been off most of the year he never will again but once Roger's got his mojo back, it'll likely be more of the same for Andy. Ranting to his box, cursing like a scumbag and being made to look second rate.

Well, the blurb on the kerb is that Wodger's "mojo" was very close to being discovered, and that's why he wisely found an excuse to skip the Olympics..

But his recent run of exceptional good fortune against Andy only occurred because Andy was bewitched by senseless fads, and hired a skirt to boss him about. He's done with his mammy issues, and daddy is back in the box. And Federer will not be playing at his 2012 levels in 2017...

The reason Federer was beating Andy since the AO 2014 was down to his much improved attacking tennis in recent years while Edberg was with him. The "great" Murray couldn't beat Kevin Anderson 6-1 6-1 in his dreams but Federer's new tactics like SABR were what brought him back to number 2 before his injury. Federer's 2014-2015 level is good enough to still beat Murray btw, so if he can play that well it won't be easy for Murray or anyone else for that matter. Murray has been playing more aggressively at times but it still doesn't come naturally to him as his game is mostly centered on being a counterpuncher/defensive ball retrieving male version of Caroline Wozniacki, so his game is more WTA than ATP still a good 80% of the time in terms of tactics.

2014-2015 level tennis by Federer is good enough to beat anyone so he doesn't need to reach 2012 levels. I'd argue he was better in 2014-2015 anyway despite not winning a slam.

Come on Front 2014-2015 level tennis from Andy Murray was also down to his back operation.How would Roger have done after say a back operation?Andy still won 7 Singles Titles from 2014/5 after Opp.9 ATP Titles in 2016 after all Andy's had to put up with is pritty amazing Front show some respect m8.