The ascendancy of men's tennis

The ascendancy of men's tennis

We won't have a Golden Slam this year for Roger Federer. I was a little disappointed, depressed even, with his Australian Open loss today. But in the overall context of men's tennis, this is great news. Players like Djokovic have grown up and we will now see much more intense competition in the next couple of years in the circuit. Federer, generalising what he said after his record-equalling Wimbledon triumph last year about Nadal, has snapped up as much as he could in the last few years before these kids came up roaring. Making Grand Slam wins will be tougher now, and perhaps even sweeter.

I don't know how much of today's loss was due to the new, slower Plexicushion surface, but characteristically, Federer did not bother with excuses. Like with the Australians recently in Test cricket, the end of a streak should also be accompanied with wonderment at the fact that the streak lasted that long.

Cassius 'Tsonga' Ali v. Super-Novak should be superb to watch.