Stefanos Tsitsipas: ‘The ‘Big Three’ is no longer such because they are not the top three in the ranking’
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas believes that the ‘Big Three’ era is already finished with all three players currently facing their own periods of uncertainty.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all currently in difficult chapters of their respective careers, raising questions as to how long the ‘Big Three’ era is going to continue for.
Djokovic is struggling in 2022, with Nadal currently injured and Federer coming back from a longer term injury.
Speaking with Marca, the Greek number one said that the ‘Big Three’ era has already come to an end due to their current places in the ATP rankings.
He said: “The ‘Big Three’ is no longer such because they are not the best three in the rankings.
“Federer hasn’t played for a long time, but Nadal and Djokovic are still competitive.”
Djokovic has had a turbulent 2022 season due to his vaccination status, having only been able to participate in two tournaments all season, but remains at world number one.
Most recently, at the Monte Carlo Masters last week, he suffered a shock loss to then world number 46 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round, though the Spaniard did go on to reach the final before losing to none other than Tsitsipas
Swiss maestro Federer has been away from the game for the last 12 months due to knee surgery, whereas Nadal, who has started his recovery, has been out of action since Indian Wells due a cracked rib which he sustained at the event last month.
At the start of April, Roger Federer sank to his lowest ATP ranking in over 20 years, with also Nadal sitting outside of the top three too.
Tsitsipas, who defended his 2021 Monte Carlo Masters title to claim back-to-back titles there, also discussed the future of tennis stating that himself and Carlos Alcaraz will have a rivalry for many years to come.
He continued: “Alcaraz is one of the most complicated and complete players I’ve ever faced.
“In fact, I’ve never beaten him.
“I hope to improve compared to the previous two games if I have to play with him, I think our rivalry will continue over time.”
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