TENNIS ATP FINALS – The pre tournament press conferences at the O2 Arena in London were focussed mainly on the new faces that have qualified for the end-of-year event. Is the new generation of players ready to replace the old guard? From London, Paul Sassoon
The ATP Finals will get underway on Sunday, today was dedicated to the pre-tournament press conferences. The main topic of conversation was the past season that saw to new Grand Slam winners in Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic and the wind of change that is supposedly sweeping the men’s tour. Three players of the next generation have qualified for the first time for the end-of-year event, Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic. The three new faces have joined the usual suspects, Djokovic, Federer, Wawrinka, Murray and Berdych for the final showdown at the O2 Arena in London.
So is this the year that the new breed take over? The players seem to agree that the change has started, but removing the champions that have dominated over the last few years won’t be easy and it won’t happen overnight.
According to the World Number 1 this has not been the season when the change started, but it has been a process that began a few years ago, “It’s been now few seasons that we had four different Grand Slam winners. Those players that you named (Cilic, Nishikori, Wawrinka and Raonic) are here at the World Tour Finals, some of them are making their debut in this tournament. There is some change in professional tennis in terms of new players and new generations coming up and challenging the top four that have been winning most of the Majors and the big events on tour, but I believe that this is something normal to expect after many years of Federer Nadal dominance and Murray and myself got into that mix. Of course you always expect younger players who are capable of fighting for major titles and thats what happened this year and I think we expected it a little bit earlier.”
Listen to Novak Djokovic’s press conference
Federer agrees with Novak that the change has started, but it isn’t over yet, “the rankings prove that it might be the case (that the top four are still dominant when they are fit). But I think that the margins are so small that we have to prove ourselves time and time again. It’s very interesting and things can change very quickly in tennis thats why I am always careful with predictions, but it’s nice to see different faces at the World Tour Finals.”
Listen to Roger Federer’s press conference
Andy Murray was one of the “Fab Four” that dominated the ATP Tour over the last few years. It took him some time to recover from his back operation and was forced into a mad dash after the US Open to qualify for these World Tour Finals. The Scottish player agreed with Novak and Roger, “there definitely has been a change, but it’s not as drastic as some people were making out. I think obviously that a lot of the guys are here first time. The younger guys are improving a lot, making big improvements. This year there has been a lot of firsts for those guys. Stan won a Slam, Cilic won a Slam, Nishikori’s first final, Raonic had semis at Wimbledon, There have been a lot of firsts for the younger guys. They have improved, become more consistent. That’s natural, but some of the players you mentioned (Djokovic, Federer and Nadal) are some of the best of all time, no matter how much the younger guys improve, you are not just going to knock them off.”
Listen to Andy Murray’s press conference
For years Tomas Berdych has been right behind the top players and with the new generation he may run the risk of getting overtaken, “…well, let’s see. In the last couple of years, maybe three four years, there have been pretty much no changes, there were always the same guys in the top eight and the top four spots have been already taken since the season started off and so to make it to the World tour Finals there were only four spots to make. This year there a few new guys coming up and as I said it’s not easy to maintain and stay the same position but I managed to do so and its the fifth year in a row. It’s a good result to be sitting here and it means having a successful season.”
Listen to Tomas Berdych’s press conference
The beginning of the change is credited by many to Stan Wawrinka’s win in Melbourne. The Swiss is at his second consecutive participation at the ATP Finals, “This year was different than the past three years, that’s for sure with different winner of the Grand Slam. You can see already this year was some big surprises, but I think that if you look Nole, Roger, Rafa when he is not injured are still up there. They are still stronger than the rest of the players. It’s going to be interesting next year for sure. There are more players behind ready to beat those guys but you have to do it because it’s not that easy.”
Listen to Stan Wawrinka’s press conference
The US Open champion was the only player that didn’t talk about the “new generation”, instead he focussed on his year, “It’s a great honour for me to be here for the first time, same for Kei and Milos. This year as been the best of my career. I had a lot of great tournaments, I had a big success at the US Open. I feel it opens a little bit the door for the other guys.”
Listen to Marin Cilic’s press conference
Kei Nishikori lost the Flushing Meadows final to Marin Cilic, but his excellent season means that he qualified as well for the end-of-year event, “it has been a different year than past couple of years. Stan won a Grand Slam and so did Cilic. Cilci and me in the final was a little bit weird, I think nobody was expecting those two in the final. Now three new guys are here so I think it’s very exciting for the tennis tour.”
Listen to Kei Nishikori’s press conference
Yet the best description of the situation on the men’s tour was given by the youngest player to qualify for the ATP Finals, Milos Raonic, “I think those guys are knocking on the door in a lot of ways, but nobody has definitely kicked that door open.”
Listen to Milos Raonic’s press conference
