Young Players and Historical Precedents

[don_fabio]

Well put. While it is hard to imagine anyone ever being as dominant as the Big Three, we also need to remember that in every sport, players generally get better over time. There are ups and downs, eras in which more great players are clustered, and eras in which they are more sparse, but the general trajectory is improvement.

As an aside, this is another argument against Slam Absolutism: the context may not be right for Alcaraz or Rune to win 15+ Slams, even if they peak at levels above the Big Three...for one, we don't know who will emerge next; I also think the "second tier" is deeper now than it was during the Big Three era.

Meaning, it could be that we don't see sustained dominance like the Big Three for decades to come, while at the same time seeing higher levels of peak performance.

I agree, it is not all about slams.

It is completely normal if we don't see these kids dominate as the big 3, as long as they make great rivalries and spectacular matches with high level of tennis. Perhaps it makes it even more interesting in some way if they don't reach semis and finals of each tournament. Right now we can just enjoy whatching them play and hope they stay healthy and have great careers.

I just wonder what will be their main motivation going forward once all big 3 are retired. For sure the slam record looks far away at this point. I also think we are closer to see more ups and downs and periods of unmatched brilliance/peak levels, rather than sustained dominance like the big 3. The competition they (Alcaraz, Rune) have at this point, with Novak and Rafa still around and other youngsters which could beat them on a given day points more in the direction that breaking a slam record will be an extremely difficult task.

However, if the kids start collecting slams early and continue with good pace and push each other then we will witness another remarkable era in tennis, but as you pointed, due to variety of other high quality players and emerging of new ones, I lean towards that they will not break current slam record. I just hope they try and make it close as possible. Anyway, there could be times to talk about it in a future, but for now they just have to work hard and earn the right to be put together with other greats.

What I am absolutely sure about is that they promise a lot. Hope they can handle the pressure and the expactations.