The Big Name Players: Why Do They Keep Winning?
This article first appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of New York Tennis Magazine. Click Here to read the full digital edition.
Despite plenty of new names coming up over the last two decades, we still see familiar faces winning trophies at the last two majors with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The two remain head and shoulders above everyone when the big titles are on the line.
On the women’s tour, Naomi Osaka is slowly but surely taking over Serena Williams’ place as the most dominating figure. It seems almost impossible to be so dominant in such a deep, competitive and evolving sport, yet we still see the same names over and over again in the final stages overcoming their younger, more inexperienced opponents.
What is it that makes those champions last at the top for so long? We can see it in other sports too; players like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in soccer, Lebron James in basketball and Tom Brady in football. These players simply rule their sport year after year; what is the secret to this longevity?
I boiled it down to three major things that make the “Big Three” in our sport who they are:
They are *almost* perfect technically
They can strike a tennis ball cleanly and accurately, with balance from anywhere in the court. My mentor, the great Dick Savitt (Wimbledon and Australian Open champion during his career) used to say it’s all about grips and technique. Of course, the mental part is huge but the main thing about these players is that they are fundamentally sound and almost never miss or mishit a ball.
In my era, I played in hundreds of matches against all different levels of player on the tour, but when I played a top five player, there was a difference. In my generation it was people like Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, John Mcenroe, Mats Wilander, Petr Korda, etc. When you played players at that level you realize that it’s a given that they can hit any shot possible, the ball was always coming back and they were always balanced and usually in control of the rally. But what I noticed mainly was their fundamentals. The main reason that these players win is because, with all due respect to the mental aspect, they are superior with a tennis racquet.
My point is that it doesn’t matter how strong mentally Pete Sampras was, without his technically perfect service motion he would not have won seven Wimbledons, and the same goes for McEnroe’s volley, Connors’ backhand or Agassi’s return. And moving forward to this generation, Serena has perfect ground strokes and immense power, plus a perfect serve, that’s why she has won so much. All the players who get to those levels have come through so much and are mentally strong because of that, and it is actually technical superiority that makes the difference. In fact Serena came back from giving birth and has made four major finals relying only on her superior technique.
This spring, I went to watch some pro tennis in Delray Beach, and it was great to finally watch live tennis again. The level was quite high but I couldn’t help thinking that most players try to play close to the way that Djokovic plays. However, when I watch the original Djokovic, he looks like his level of accuracy is higher on both groundstrokes. In fact, both of his ground strokes are equally solid. The main thing that sets him apart is his movement, Djokovic covers the court as well as anyone ever has and manages to almost always be in balance when hitting, this helps him stay in the points long enough to claw his way back to control, and his stamina is such that allows him to not give up and play the percentage shot patiently when needed. When he hits the ball it seems like it stays on the strings longer and that is something that he shares with the greatest players. The same goes for Rafa Nadal. Yes, he is a mental beast but what won him 13 French Open titles, among numerous others, is his heavy topspin forehand, his solid backhand and his perfect clay-court movement, and the ability to out rally anybody on the court. It’s this simple basic ability to hit more tennis balls in the court; he is just too solid for anyone on the red clay. In other words, Mr. Savitt was right, it is all about having weapons and that’s why we do all the work on the practice court to perfect the shots.
Always improving
The “Big 3”, like other greats of the past kept evolving with the game, unlike some others from their generation who were happy to settle for the life of young millionaires without improving aspects of their game. That ability to keep adding elements to their game has kept them at the top for that long. Novak, over the last decade-and-a-half, has improved his fitness, his serve, his net game, and he has practically re-invented himself with a new nutrition routine. Nadal developed a slice and upgraded his second serve and net game a lot over the last decade, he is not the pure baseliner that he was when he first emerged. Knowing that time is not on his side, he learned to play at a higher pace on faster courts and finish points with an easy volley from time to time. Federer improved his backhand by switching grips late in his career, which helped him win four more major titles late in his career despite competing against the other two who were at their peak.
They have each other
It is very unique to have three of the greatest players of all-time playing in the same era. Federer was the pioneer who proved that perfection was possible. For a few years in his early career, he was in total control against everyone on all surfaces and dominated in way that wasn’t seen before. When Nadal emerged and started beating Federer regularly in majors, and even on grass, we were stunned, it seemed like he did the impossible. Federer was still beating everyone else on the tour but he was losing to Nadal in the head-to-head. Then came Djokovic, who is a hybrid of both those two styles. He can rally all day like Nadal, only he does it closer to the baseline, taking the ball earlier and doing it with more penetrating strokes. To top it all he now has a good serve which means that at this time he is actually the best one of the Big Three and, assuming he doesn’t get injured, he’s projected to pass the 20 majors mark set by the other two. There is no doubt in my mind that the competition between the three greats has helped all three reach the heights that they have reached.