Tennis players peak seems to be earlier and shorter than other sports. You got to say that Federer's peak was 5-8 years ago now. He was pretty dominant then.
He was certainly still beating Djokovic easily at that time. Nadal peaked young and his game is the perfect counter to Federer's yet Federer still was beating him for a good while too.
The fact that Federer is even competitive still is amazing, sometimes forget that he is 33.
A valid case can be made for all 3 competitors. I just always admired Federer's style more than Nadal's, always felt it was more technical. His longevity would support this idea.
That's not true. Male tennis players are hitting their peak later on in their career because of the aggressive progression of the game - roughly 24 years old. I think there's only one teenager in the top 100 (Nick Kyrgios - probably the most powerful and aggressive teenager I've ever seen).
Roger may have a better looking game but it's not "better". The only thing he has on the other two is his serve but even then Novak's isn't weak, and Rafa's lefty serve lets him get in to natural cross court rallies against a right hander's backhand. Roger's backhand has been his weakness against the elite players and hasn't adjusted it, while Rafa has adjusted his to not be such a weakness in his game. Roger's backhand rallying with Rafa's forehand is a no contest.
Novak and Rafa are quicker, better movers, better defensively, better attackers.
Pre-2010 Roger had 15 grand slams. Since then he has won 2.
Anyway I'm delighted for Cilic. Immense tournament from him, hit the ball so clean for two weeks.
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