Magnus Norman has praised the work ethic of tennis titans Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal but he still believes a new player will achieve Grand Slam success this year.
Norman, who peaked at a ranking high of No.2 and reached the final of the 2000 French Open as a player before switching to coaching, believes a shift is starting to form at the top. In recent years men’s tennis has been dominated by the Big Three. Although Roger Federer has retired from the sport, Nadal is continuing to recover from injury and Djokovic is yet to reach his full form on the clay after suffering a surprise defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.
The Swede says a new generation of players is now ‘knocking on the door’ of their rivals. A group which is being led by 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz who won the US Open last year and briefly retired to the top of the world rankings last month after winning Indian Wells.
“There is a shift in the top. Roger quit, Novak is on the top, but Rafa is going down as it looks right know. You have a whole new generation knocking on the door, lead by Alcaraz who already won a Slam,” Norman said during an interview with Clay Magazine.
“Zverev is coming back, Tsitsipas, Kyrgios, Felix (Aliassime) is playing really well, Sinner of course. I do expect a new Grand Slam champion in 2023.”
However, you can never completely rule out Djokovic and Nadal who have both in the past overcame adversity to claim the biggest titles of the sport. Between them, they have won 44 Grand Slam titles and 74 Masters 1000 events.
Whilst both players are now in the later stages of their careers, Norman has paid tribute to their continued professionalism and desire to keep improving in the sport.
“They are professionals 365 days per year,” he said. “They have something in the brain that doesn’t belong to humans. They are hungry to become better all the time, they can handle pressure like nobody else. I’m so impressed by the way they are doing this along all these years. Is tough to imagine. They have something special that puts them in the top 3, top 4 of the greatest of all times.”
Norman never played Djokovic on the Tour during his professional career but did lock horns with Nadal at the 2003 Umag Open where he was beaten in straight sets. The Swede only won two more matches after that encounter before retiring.
In recent years Norman has become a familiar face on the Tour as a coach and is best known for his collaboration with three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka. He has also mentored Thomas Johansson and Robin Soderling. Although in the future he has his sights sets on working with players on the WTA Tour.
“We have a lot of future stars in the Good to Great Tennis Academy. When I’m not with Stan, in Stockholm where I’m based, I’m helping a 11-year-old now from Sweden. She means a big motivation for me because we haven’t had any great Swedish female player. A lot of guys, but never a female top 10 in the world. That’s one goal. I’ve coached almost only males, so it would be nice to coach in the WTA.” He replied when asked who he plans to do after Wawrinka retires.
For the immediate future, Norman is continuing his work with Wawrinka who was beaten in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters by Taylor Fritz.
