Bill Simons
They come in waves. They come from distant lands. Their hopes are high, their shots astound. Fears are hidden. Generation after tennis generation seeks to level the field, to change the narrative and put the Big 3 in their place.
Time and again they want to do what Roger Federer did in 2001 when the Swiss downed four-time defending champion Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, announced, ‘Here is the new king,’ and backed it up in coming seasons with sublime play.
Rookie Rafa Nadal sort of did the same thing at the 2004 Davis Cup when he shocked Andy Roddick in four sets.
But in this era of the Big Three no one has really broken through. Of course, Andy Murray was up there for a long while – he won three majors and made 11 finals. Stan Wawrinka powered his way to three majors, then receded. Random players had their moments. Lukas Rosol, Nick Kyrgios and Sergiy Stakhovsky scored shock upsets at Wimbledon and No. 117 Denis Istomin punched out Djokovic at the Australian Open. Plus, the considerable Juan Martin del Potro powered his way past Roger at the 2009 US Open before he was derailed by injuries.
Waves rose but the ocean soon calmed and the Big 3 boat sailed with an uncanny ease atop the tennis seas. The Lost Generation – Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori – seemed to drift away on the horizon. At a diminished 2020 US Open, where Novak was tossed and Roger and Rafa stayed home, Dominic Thiem prevailed. We wondered if it was an outlier. Then he too receded. The not-quite generation, led by Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsispas, clearly is on the cusp of bright stardom. And one of their ranks, Lorenzo Musetti, seemed poised to make a loud changing of the guard statement today at the French Open.
Man-bun in place, a cadre of Italians shouting loud, the 19-year-old hunk swept about Court Philippe Chatrier. His sweeping backhand hit the corners, he sprinted with ease, his winners astounded. Here was a young, fearless shotmaker in full flight. Never mind that he was only 19, was in his first major, playing for the first time on France’s most intimidating court and was only ranked No. 76. In the zone, he swept to a two set lead over the No. 1 seed.
The French Open this year has been a tourney of shocks. Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer walked away. The top seven women’s seeds all fell. Serena was dismissed. And now it seemed that the No. 1 player in the world, who had won 18 Slams and earned over $100 million in career winnings, was being shown to the exits by a Tuscany teen who’d never won a title.
Musetti had 25 winners in the opening set. He’d never lost a tie-breaker in his career. Still, it was stunning when he won the first set tiebreaker. In the second set tiebreak he took advantage of a shocking mental lapse by Djokovic. The Serb didn’t even swing at a drifting Musetti shot that dropped on the line.
The kid took the second set. He hardly blinked and seemed in total command. On the ropes and reeling, Nole was nowhere. Roland Garros was poised to absorb another shock.
But here’s a revelation. Novak is a savvy battler. Few know better the art of the tennis comeback. There’s a reason many predict he’ll eventually will be the greatest of all time.
Four times in Slams he’d come back to win from two sets down. Patience, confidence, experience and the marathon nature of five set matches all are factors. Novak didn’t panic, rather he retreated to the locker room. “Even if it’s a very short break,” he would later confide, “it works very well mentally, just to refresh, get a few deep breaths, and come back as a new player…I actually felt more nervous when I was starting the match than when I was two sets down. I even liked the fact that I lost first couple of sets, because I was playing under a certain kind of tension and wasn’t able to go through my shots, too many unforced errors and just not feeling great.
“After I lost the second set…I was a different player. I had a better feeling…more confidence going through the ball. I decreased the errors and started playing the way I was supposed to. Then, I saw that he’s struggling physically…That gave me even more motivation.”
Novak explained that even if he is down by two sets against a younger player, “I still like my chances, because I know how to wear my opponent down…and I’ve won most of the five-setters I’ve played…so experience helps.”
As for young players seeking a big upset, Novak said, it’s a mix of a “kind of an excitement but at the same time the pressure of not knowing how he’s going to feel playing the first time on the center court against a top player…A new experience can give you a boost of energy and strength, because you have nothing to lose, but at the same time, it could take away a lot, youngsters are still developing their abilities to mentally and emotionally cope…It draws a lot energy out of a player…For young guys, it still takes some time to learn how to deal with it. Experience is the best teacher.”
Ultimately master Djokovic taught the kid a lesson. He turned the match on a dime. Musetti began to slap at shots. He blasted a ball in the stands. He could hardly win a point. The Tennis Channel offered a rock lyric: “If you want it there will be a price, there will be blood.” There was no blood, but Lorenzo suffered a little cramping and some lower back pain.
But it got to the point where he couldn’t run and couldn’t win a point. He’d lost 16 of the last 17 games. Something had to change. So Musetti just retired deep in the fifth set. Novak notched a 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-0, 4-0 win. Today there would be no changing of the guard. Yes the Serb encountered turbulent seas that rocked his considerable boat. The good ship Djokovic sails on. And virtually all of tennis hopes he goes on to encounter the Captain of the Spanish Armada in a semi-final we will long remember.
