With the ‘Big Three’ era firmly behind us, will we ever witness that level of unrelenting dominance again in tennis?

With the ‘Big Three’ era firmly behind us, will we ever witness that level of unrelenting dominance again in tennis?
Images of tennis champ Novak Djokovic plays during his match against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi in the 2025 ATP Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica in Madrid on April 26, 2025. (AFP photos)
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Updated 28 April 2025
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With the ‘Big Three’ era firmly behind us, will we ever witness that level of unrelenting dominance again in tennis?

With the ‘Big Three’ era firmly behind us, will we ever witness that level of unrelenting dominance again in tennis?
  • Wider pool of players now sharing spoils as tennis changes
  • Physical demands, taxing schedule taking its toll on players

MADRID: It was standing room only at Carlos Alcaraz’s press conference last Wednesday at the Caja Magica, where the Spaniard announced he was withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to injuries in his right and left legs.

After winning Monte Carlo and reaching the final in Barcelona in consecutive weeks, playing 10 matches in 12 days, the four-time Grand Slam champion’s body had had enough.

With the French Open just four weeks away, it made sense that Alcaraz would choose to sit out the Madrid Open and deal with his right adductor and left hamstring issues.

Last year, a forearm injury limited Alcaraz to just one clay-court tournament in the build-up to the French Open, forcing him out of Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome. He still went on to triumph in Paris, defeating Alexander Zverev in the final of the French Open.

The five biggest clay-court tournaments of the spring last season — Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros — were won by five different players.

This clay swing so far, Alcaraz won Monte Carlo and Holger Rune won Barcelona. Rune is out of Madrid, retiring one set into his opener with a right knee injury on Friday.

Long gone are the days where Rafael Nadal would routinely sweep four spring tournaments on the red clay — something he pulled off in nine different seasons.

Or the years when Roger Federer would run away with the last three to five tournaments of the year.

And then start the new season with another undefeated stretch, like that time he built a 41-match winning streak that included seven consecutive titles from August 2006 to March 2007.

Novak Djokovic once won the first 43 matches of the year (2011), suffering his first defeat of the season in the Roland Garros semifinals in early June.

In 2015, the Serb swept Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome, before reaching the French Open final (notching 27 wins in a row), then won Wimbledon.

He finished that season by winning the last five tournaments, clinching all silverware from the US Open onwards.

That is just a glimpse of the kind of dominance the fabled “Big Three” were able to demonstrate since they broke through on the professional circuit, all the way into their mid-30s.

Those extended unbeaten runs they pulled off required stratospheric levels of mental and physical strength, and they did it so often we almost forgot how extraordinary it all was.

As a new era in tennis unfolds, headlined by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, it is becoming more and more apparent just how difficult those long winning streaks put together by the “Big Three” actually were.

Both Sinner and Alcaraz have shown an incredibly high caliber of tennis from a young age and have been sharing the spoils at most of the big events since the start of last season.

Sinner, who is currently serving a three-month anti-doping ban, will return to action next month carrying a 21-match winning streak that started last October in Shanghai.

Alcaraz went 14 matches unbeaten on two occasions, in 2022 and 2023.

Still, it is difficult to imagine the current generation producing the kind of runs we witnessed during the “Big Three” era, for several reasons.

Former world No. 1 Andy Murray, who is currently coaching Djokovic, believes extending ATP Masters 1000 events to 12 to 14 days, as opposed to their typical one-week slots, has made it harder for players to sweep such tournaments back-to-back.

“I think just because of the longer events now, I think it’s harder to do that,” Murray said in an interview with Arab News and Tennis Majors in Madrid this week.

“I preferred how it was before because, it probably allowed you to play more matches in a condensed period, but then you had more time to rest and recover, whereas now the rest and recovery happens at tournaments and that’s not the normal rest.

“Physically and mentally, it’s not the same because you come into the courts, you practice, you’re around lots of people.

“As much as I know it’s nice like to be here playing but it’s a stressful environment when you have lots of people and cameras and everything watching your practices rather than having a quiet environment where you can work on things and practice in peace is a bit different.”

Grigor Dimitrov was a “Big Three” contemporary for many years and is still competing at a high level at the age of 33, currently ranked 16 in the world.

The Bulgarian believes the tour right now is “taxing on the body,” irrespective of how old or young you are.

“These two-week events, it’s just difficult however you look at it and there’s always going to be a moment where you just can’t go on,” said the former world No. 3. 

“It’s not because you’re weak or anything like that, it’s just you don’t have it in you and I think each one of the players should, to a certain extent, recognize that and be very mindful of how they’re positioning themselves in terms of scheduling their play.

“It’s taxing on the body, I don’t think there’s any secrets around that, I think it’s just purely the intensity of the competition and all that. It has changed over the course of whatever, the past 15 years, everything has changed.

“However way you look at it, players have changed, now the different generation comes through, the tournaments are longer, physically everyone is pushing themselves more.

“The ball is faster, strings are different, racquets are different, so you know like overall everything kind of sped up a little bit and then what can you do?”

Frances Tiafoe does not think players are unable to sweep multiple tournaments in a row regularly has anything to do with the taxing schedule or the physical and mental issues that can arise because of it.

“I don't think it’s a schedule thing. I just think it’s a level thing,” said the 27-year-old American.

“I think the level is very similar, anybody can clip anybody on a given day. I think it’s exciting times. Tennis reminds me of, right now, from 2000 to 2004 or 2005. It’s a window.

“Anybody can win Slams. Anybody can win tournaments like this. We’re going to have, probably every Masters (season), there’ll probably be eight, nine winners. I’m pretty sure.

“Maybe Alcaraz and Sinner will probably get two or three. But it’s an open game. I don’t think anyone fears anyone. No one’s that much better than anyone, except Sinner and Alcaraz. I respect those two. But I think everybody else, if they’re not playing well, they can lose.”

Tiafoe is happy to experience this kind of unpredictability on the tour.

“I lived the ‘real era.’ So for me, it feels great,” he added.

“It feels great to know I can play quarters or semis, at a Slam and that’s not like winning it, in a sense. Because I’m 20 at the Australian Open (in 2019), I lose to Rafa in the quarters and in my mind, I’m like, I’m not beating Rafa.

“But now, you can play anyone. I really feel like at the Slams, anyone can win.”

World No. 4 Taylor Fritz believes “it’s possible” to witness wild winning streaks in this era but acknowledges the clay season is particularly tough, given the number of big events crammed within a short period.

There are three Masters 1000 clay tournaments scheduled within a five-week window ahead of Roland Garros.

“It speaks to how insane those guys (the ‘Big Three’) were, they could just play non-stop all the time. And it’s tough to go back-to-back-to-back and just keep having big weeks, especially this time of the year, because there’s a lot of big events all in a row,” said Fritz.

“There aren’t necessarily good weeks in this time of the schedule to take off. So, yeah, this is a very tough part of the year to just win, win, win, win, win. But, I mean, it just speaks to how good those guys were I guess.”

Djokovic acknowledged that he, Federer and Nadal had some dominant stretches but played down how frequent those runs came about.

When asked about Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Madrid, Djokovic was quick to note how young the Spaniard still is. Alcaraz turns 22 next week and is already a four-time major winner and an Olympics silver medalist.

“For me personally, that level of dominant tennis and achievements came when I was 23, 24 years old and then after that.

“So between, let’s say, 23 and 33 is when it was really happening. And now Carlos is still not 23,” said the 37-year-old Djokovic, who as recently as 2023, started the season with a 15-0 run and swept Cincinnati, the US Open, and the Paris Masters at the end of the year.

“We have to remember that what he has done for his age is not also normal. I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of him on the big stage with trophies in the future in, whatever, 10 years, 15 years, as long as he’s playing.”

Djokovic believes it is hard to compare eras, adding: “The last 20 years was dominated mostly by the four of us (including Andy Murray).

“And obviously when the three of my biggest rivals retired, you can feel there’s a shift, not only in terms of the generations of players that are now, all of a sudden, the main focus and attention is on them.

“But it’s just, I guess it takes a little bit of time for people to accept the fact that Roger and Rafa are not playing, and Murray, and I guess one day myself.

“But I’m still trying to stay there and represent the older guys, the older generation. Hopefully that brings a positive effect to the tournaments and to the tour itself.”


Ruud beats Draper in Madrid Open final to win his first Masters 1000 title

Ruud beats Draper in Madrid Open final to win his first Masters 1000 title
Updated 05 May 2025
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Ruud beats Draper in Madrid Open final to win his first Masters 1000 title

Ruud beats Draper in Madrid Open final to win his first Masters 1000 title
  • The 15th-ranked Ruud will return to the top 10 thanks to his campaign in Madrid, reaching No. 7 in the rankings on Monday
  • The 13-time tour champion is the first Norwegian to lift a Masters 1000 trophy since the series was introduced in 1990, according to the ATP

MADRID: Casper Ruud became the first Norwegian to win a Masters 1000 title after beating Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in the Madrid Open final on Sunday.

The former second-ranked Ruud rallied from 5-3 down in the first set and sealed the victory after capitalizing on his lone break at 2-2 in the third.

The 26-year-old Ruud yelled and thrust both arms into the air after clinching the win on his first match point on the Caja Magica clay court.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Ruud said. “(This was) one of the really big goals I dreamed about when I was young, so it’s an incredible feeling to accomplish it. Also the way I did it today, it was a great match. I knew Jack had been playing unbelievable all year, and especially in this tournament, so I knew that if I didn’t bring my A-plus game, I was going to be whooped around the court.”

The 15th-ranked Ruud will return to the top 10 thanks to his campaign in Madrid, reaching No. 7 in the rankings on Monday.

“Luckily, I played really well,” Ruud said. “Jack has become such an incredible player, on any surface now ... This is a really big boost for me, and I would like to keep it going.”

The 13-time tour champion is the first Norwegian to lift a Masters 1000 trophy since the series was introduced in 1990, according to the ATP. It was Ruud’s third such final after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo last year and to Carlo Alcaraz in Miami in 2022.

Ruud has more titles (12) on clay than any other player since the start of 2020, according to the ATP.

Draper won at Indian Wells in March. After his quarterfinal victory in Madrid, he secured a top-five debut in the rankings.

Draper said Ruud was “braver” than him in the key moments on Sunday.

“You deserve this,” he said. “You’ve obviously put in so much hard work and constantly had very good years on the tour ... This sport is brutal, but I think this loss is going to make me better, so I’ll keep trying.”

The tournament in Madrid was disrupted early last week because of a major blackout that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday, prompting the postponement of 22 matches in total.

Ruud had needed to take a couple of painkillers during his semifinal win over Francisco Cerundolo after feeling a rib ailment during his warmup, but there were no signs of any injury on Sunday.

Draper, who like Ruud had not lost a set on his way to the final, served for the first set at 5-4 but couldn’t finish it. The 23-year-old British player was visibly upset, and kept talking to himself and to his staff for a while during the changeover.

The men’s side of the draw lost most of its top players early. Home-crowd favorite Carlos Alcaraz had to withdraw from the tournament because of an injury, and Novak Djokovic lost to Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff in the women’s final on Saturday.


Sabalenka eases past Kostyuk into Madrid Open semis

Sabalenka eases past Kostyuk into Madrid Open semis
Updated 01 May 2025
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Sabalenka eases past Kostyuk into Madrid Open semis

Sabalenka eases past Kostyuk into Madrid Open semis

MADRID: Last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka survived a gritty Marta Kostyuk and an untimely rain interruption to complete a 7-6(7/4), 7-6(9/7) win over the Ukrainian and reach the Madrid Open semifinals for a fourth time on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Sabalenka needed 84 minutes to take the opening set before securing the win in cold, breezy conditions.
Kostyuk saved a match point and broke to take the second set into a tiebreak. At 5-4 in the breaker, it started to rain and play was halted briefly to close the roof of the Manolo Santana stadium.
Upon resumption of play, Sabalenka saved three set points and eked out the win, her third over her rival in as many meetings.
“Honestly, that was a battle and conditions were incredibly tough. It wasn’t about tennis, it was about the way you handled your emotions,” said the Belarusian world number one, who hit 48 unforced errors.
“I think I did really well and I’m super proud I was able to handle myself in such a difficult situation.”
Sabalenka next takes on another Ukrainian in the form of Elina Svitolina, who extended her winning streak to 11 consecutive matches with a swift 6-2, 6-1 rout of Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in just 52 minutes.
A champion in Rouen last week, Svitolina is undefeated on clay this season and is the first Ukrainian woman to reach the semifinals in Madrid.
The 30-year-old has won her last 22 consecutive sets on the red dirt.
Svitolina has a three-year-old daughter, is running a foundation that has taken over the responsibilities of the Ukrainian national tennis team both financially and from a managerial side, and is on an incredible run that will see her re-enter the top 15 in the rankings.
“I have a lot on my plate, but I draw energy and motivation from my people,” said the former world number three.
“When I go back to Ukraine, I just get so much energy from all the people that are right now over there having a tough time. I’m just trying to keep it up and bring some wins for Ukraine.”
Earlier in the day, Iga Swiatek kept her Madrid Open title defense alive, as she avenged her Australian Open defeat to Madison Keys with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against the American in the quarter-finals.
The second seed will next square off with Coco Gauff, who beat 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva for the third time in as many meetings, 7-5, 6-1.
Searching for her first title of the season, the second-seeded Swiatek recovered from a poor opening set to improve her clean record on clay against Keys to 4-0 and reach a third consecutive Madrid semifinal.
Keys knocked out the Pole on her way to a maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne three months ago and seemed to have cracked the Swiatek code when she handed her a bagel in the first set on Wednesday.
But Swiatek, who was contesting a 17th consecutive quarter-final on clay, cut down on her errors and struck back to book a last-four clash with Gauff.
On court in the Arantxa Sanchez stadium, Gauff saved two set points while receiving at 4-5 before seizing a one-set lead after 63 minutes of play against Andreeva.
Gauff cruised in the second set to dismiss the seventh-seeded Russian and reach her first semifinal of the year — outside of the mixed team United Cup event.
The fourth-seeded American gave herself a 9/10 grade for her performance, adding: “I think I played really well and stayed composed, even when facing those set points.”
In ATP action, Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Matteo Arnaldi earned multiple top-20 wins in one event for the first time by knocking out 16th-seeded Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-5 to move into the Madrid quarter-finals.
The Italian world number 44 will take on Jack Draper, who reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final on clay with a 6-2, 6-2 result against world number 12 Tommy Paul.
Lucky loser Gabriel Diallo saved three match points to claim the biggest win of his career over world number 16 Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 7-6(9/7), 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals.


Sinner considered walking away from tennis during doping controversy

Sinner considered walking away from tennis during doping controversy
Updated 30 April 2025
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Sinner considered walking away from tennis during doping controversy

Sinner considered walking away from tennis during doping controversy
  • Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February after a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency
  • “I didn’t feel comfortable and then I said, maybe after Australia, a little bit of free time, in the sense where I take a little break it will do me good,” he said

ROME: World number one Jannik Sinner, who is about to return to action after a three-month doping ban, thought about walking away from tennis even while successfully defending his Australian Open title, but is coming back with a new mentality.
Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February after a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, who had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against an independent tribunal’s decision in August to clear him.
The Italian had tested positive for anabolic agent clostebol which Sinner said entered his system from a member of his support team through massages and sports therapy.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January, with the WADA case hanging over him, and was asked during an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI on Tuesday whether he had ever considered giving up tennis.
“Yes, yes. I remember before the Australian Open this year, I was not in a very happy moment because there was still that case of doping,” Sinner said.
“I didn’t feel really comfortable in the locker room, where I ate. It was a bit like some players looked at me differently and I didn’t like it at all. And there I said it’s heavy to live tennis in this way.
“I didn’t feel comfortable and then I said, maybe after Australia, a little bit of free time, in the sense where I take a little break it will do me good.”
Sinner was then forced into a break by the ban, but is now back in training for the upcoming Italian Open next month.
“Slowly, I’m getting back into the rhythm of real training with a goal in front of me,” Sinner said.
“Sometimes it goes very well, sometimes there is a drop and I don’t know why, so I will certainly be very happy to return to the court.
“Especially in Rome, it is a special tournament for me, but I certainly enter with a slightly different mentality. I miss the competition. I am certainly very happy that this phase is now over and we are ready to start again.”
Sinner’s settlement brought plenty of criticism from both current and former players, with Serena Williams saying she would have been banned for 20 years and had her Grand Slam titles taken away had she tested positive in a similar fashion.
“I mean, I don’t even want to answer. Everyone is free to say what they want, everyone can judge, but that’s okay,” Sinner said.
“It’s important to me that I know how that happened, but above all also of what I went through and it was very difficult.
“I don’t wish it on anyone to really pass as innocent something like that because it wasn’t easy, but we are in a world where everyone can say what they want, so it’s okay.”


Djokovic’s Rome pullout a worrying sign, says Courier

Djokovic’s Rome pullout a worrying sign, says Courier
Updated 30 April 2025
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Djokovic’s Rome pullout a worrying sign, says Courier

Djokovic’s Rome pullout a worrying sign, says Courier
  • The Serb was expected to jumpstart his clay campaign in Rome before returning to Paris, where he won Olympic gold last year

LONDON: Novak Djokovic’s shock withdrawal from next week’s Italian Open should be a huge worry for the 24-times Grand Slam champion’s fans as he heads to the French Open without winning a match on clay this season, former Roland Garros winner Jim Courier said.

Djokovic, who turns 38 three days before the year’s second Grand Slam begins on May 25, has been woefully out of form and was comprehensively beaten in his opening matches at Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo and Madrid this month.

The Serb was expected to jumpstart his clay campaign in Rome before returning to Paris, where he won Olympic gold last year, but on Tuesday he said he was skipping the Masters 1000 event, without providing a reason.

“That’s troubling. It’s worrying for me as a Novak fan,” Courier, who won back-to-back Roland Garros titles in 1991 and 1992, said on the Tennis Channel.

The American added that Rome would have been the perfect venue for Djokovic to find his rhythm as it had similar conditions to Paris without the challenge of playing at altitude in Madrid.

“If you’re going to play one between Madrid and Rome (then) Rome would be the one you would want to play to get ready for Roland Garros,” he said.

Djokovic, who is chasing a 100th tour-level title and first since his ATP Finals triumph in 2023, said after his loss in Madrid that he was trying to come to terms with a “new reality” in tennis where he is just “trying to win a match or two.”

“I don’t know what to make of it, but I don’t like the way it feels in the gut,” Courier added.

“It’s a very strange thing to announce a pullout now, well in advance of it, and we’ll see what it all means when we get to Roland Garros.”


Iga Swiatek reaches Madrid Open quarterfinals after ‘relaxed’ day during blackout

Iga Swiatek reaches Madrid Open quarterfinals after ‘relaxed’ day during blackout
Updated 29 April 2025
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Iga Swiatek reaches Madrid Open quarterfinals after ‘relaxed’ day during blackout

Iga Swiatek reaches Madrid Open quarterfinals after ‘relaxed’ day during blackout
  • Swiatek said she took away food from the tournament site and relaxed at the hotel until the power came back on
  • “I just chilled and used that time to not think about what I should do”

MADRID: Power was restored at the Caja Magica tennis complex Tuesday and the Madrid Open resumed with a packed schedule that included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals after a “more relaxed” day because of the blackout.
Following the major blackout that prompted 22 matches to be postponed on Monday, Swiatek returned to the center court and defeated Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to stay on track to defend her title in the Spanish capital.
“I liked yesterday. I think the whole world was just more relaxed, kind of, obviously the people who didn’t lose because of this,” she said. “I enjoyed the time off, and I tried to just recover, because we need to savor these free days, for sure.”
Swiatek said she took away food from the tournament site and relaxed at the hotel until the power came back on.
“I just chilled and used that time to not think about what I should do,” she said. “There was no signal, so basically no one used their phones. It was nice, I liked it.”
Most parts of Madrid regained power overnight, but the Caja Magica was still without electricity early Tuesday, causing a delay in the opening of the gates for fans.
The power came back quickly, though, and organizers did not have to alter the day’s schedule of matches, although there was the possibility of the night session being delayed because of the high number of matches during the day.
Swiatek to face Keys
Swiatek cruised in the first set but had to save 11 of 13 break points to seal a hard-fought victory against the 13th-seeded Shnaider.
Swiatek has not lost before the quarterfinals in seven tournaments this season but hasn’t gone past the semifinals since Roland Garros last year. She will next face Madison Keys, who defeated Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3.
It will be Swiatek’s first meeting with Keys since she lost despite having match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.
“We played last year here, but I think it was a night session or something,” Swiatek said. “I don’t know, I think it was like colder or a little bit different, so for sure we’ll watch that match.”
Berrettini out with injury
In the men’s side, 31st-ranked Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an apparent abdominal injury after losing the first set 7-6 (2) to sixth-ranked Jack Draper.
“I think he said his abs were pulling,” Draper said. “I’ve had injuries in the past. I believe he might have done it in his last match, so credit to him for coming out here and putting on a good first set. I saw his energy was a bit low in general.”
Sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur tied Carlos Alcaraz with a tour-leading 24th win this season by getting past Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (3).
The seventh-ranked De Minaur will next face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat 2019 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe both won their matches. The 11th-seeded Paul defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while the 16th-seeded Tiafoe beat Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-3.
Paul was among the players having to play doubles on the same day as their singles matches. Another was 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, who defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-2 before having to play his doubles match on the same court a bit later.
Tuesday’s schedule included second-ranked Alexander Zverev facing Francisco Cerundolo. On the women’s side, the remaining six fourth-round matches were scheduled, including top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka facing Peyton Stearns.
Refunds for ticket holders
There were huge lines outside the complex, and people with tickets for Monday’s matches were not allowed back in on Tuesday.
“Nobody said anything yet,” said Juan Duato, who was denied entry when he arrived on Monday during the power outage. “They said we couldn’t come in and asked us to contact customer support. Apparently they will send us an email.”
Organizers said later Tuesday that anyone who purchased tickets for Monday would receive a full refund for the purchase. That process would be carried out automatically over the next few days.
Fans already inside were asked to leave the Caja Magica a few hours after the outage happened shortly after 12:30 p.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Monday. Two ATP singles matches and one doubles match were underway at the time.
There were longer-than-usual wait times for players to be transported back to the hotel on Monday.