Feliciano Lopez feels the world of tennis is going through a brutal change after the end of a golden era dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The 7-times ATP singles titlist doesn’t think there will ever be a better crop of players than the Big Three who were part of an unreal period. From 2006 to 2019, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic clinched all but eight of the Grand Slam titles with Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin Del Potro and Marin Cilic stealing the remaining eight titles.
Djokovic has registered a men’s record 24 GS titles while Nadal and Federer as the other two members of the legendary trio have secured second and third place on the all-time list with 22 and 20 titles respectively. While the 36-year-old Serbian claimed three of the four majors last year, Nadal sealed his most recent GS title at the 2022 French Open and Federer won his last major crown at the 2018 Australian Open before retiring in 2022.
The rivalries between the big three are unarguably the greatest in the history of the sport and made the years shared by three icons a period of golden anomaly in tennis.
Talking to EFE, former World #12 Lopez, who played against each of the Big Three many times, discussed the current phase in sport.
“It’s obvious. Roger Federer is gone, Djokovic doesn’t know what he has left, and Rafa doesn’t know what he has left either. But it’s evident that the world of tennis is experiencing a brutal change,” assessed Lopez.
“In the end, what we have experienced in recent times has been unreal. Three No 1s, the three best players in history competing together in the last fifteen years seems unreal to me and that it will never happen again. The sooner we accept it, the better. And the sooner the comparisons stop, well, [the] better.
“Because if we think about it coldly, there will not be a better generation. There has not been one since tennis began. We are going to enjoy what we have, which is not what we had because it is impossible. We have had a generation of tennis players that is not going to go away. Repeat again.”
Lopez, 42 who turned professional in 1997 recorded a career that spanned around 26-years before calling it a day in June last year. In his last professional match on the tour, the big-serving left-hander lost to Yannick Hanfmann in the final eight of the Mallorca Championships.
The Spaniard also bagged 6-doubles titles, including the 2016 French Open, and reached a career-high ATP doubles rank of #9.