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‘A tournament without Djokovic, Federer and Nadal is less fun’, says John McEnroe


Seven-time major champion John McEnroe said tennis is running out of superstars and that tournaments without Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are less fun.

The 2021 Miami Open – which concluded on Sunday with Hubert Hurkacz taking the title – was the first ATP Masters 1000 event without any of the ‘Big Three’ since Paris in 2004.

“The tennis world is running out of superstars. A big tournament without Djokovic, Federer and Nadal is less fun,” McEnroe told Swiss news portal Nau.

Federer – a 20-time Grand Slam champion – made his comeback from having two knee surgeries last year at the ATP 250 event in Doha last month. The 39-year-old Swiss decided to skip Miami, as well as the ATP 500 in Dubai beforehand, after making the quarter-finals in Qatar – losing to eventual winner Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Nadal – also a 20-time major winner – withdrew from the Masters 1000 tournament having also pulled out of the Rotterdam ATP 500 in March, to recover fully from a back injury ahead of the European clay-court season. The 34-year-old Spaniard last featured at the Australian Open in February – where he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic also decided to miss the trip to Florida – in order to spend time with his family. The 33-year-old Serbian last played when he beat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final to win his 18th Grand Slam title.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.