Tennis World english 38 Tennis World English 38 | Page 10
the Swiss or the Spaniard. The US Open in
possibility of ending the year without two of
2017 represented the first time this
millennium that a Major was contested
the Tour’s great heroes. It will be a surreal
and unnerving thing to watch, especially
without Federer present. Until that point, he
had played in 65 consecutive Slams. Nadal,
when the year-end championships roll
around. Each man has habitually qualified
on the other hand, has missed many a Slam
over the past ten years. He has been forced
for the ATP World Tour Finals year in and
year out, and to see neither of them there will
to sit out long periods of time due to various
injuries – to his knees, wrists and shoulder to
be as jarring as any Slam absence. Federer
will likely fall out of the Top 10 by the end of
name but a few. He has always managed to
come back stronger than before, at least until
the year, and Nadal’s fate in that regard is
also uncertain.
now. Since his last major layoff due to injury
– after this year’s French Open – Nadal has
not played particularly well. He has lost early
and often in every tournament he has
Both men will start 2017 under a cloud, and
will become of them in the next 12 months
remains to be seen. It might be that by this
entered, and after another defeat in Asia
implied that he might shut down his season
in order to get back into to shape.
time next year they have both scaled back
their schedules significantly or retired
altogether – a frightening but very real
possibility. The fact of the matter is that we
will have to get used to the idea of a Tour
without Federer and Nadal. The question is
not, if but when, they finally hang up their
rackets, and whether anyone can even
“I need to talk to my uncle and the rest of the
team,” he said of the possibility. “Sometimes
the solution is to exercise, play a training
process. This could be an opportunity to do
so.”
We are therefore facing the very real
possibly hope to fill their shoes once they are
gone.