"If you look at Zverev, Medvedev, Novak, or Rafael Nadal, you don't see any weaknesses" - Patrick Mouratoglou on the prototype of a modern tennis player
Although a new generation of players has started making waves, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are still going strong and winning Grand Slam tournaments. Since 2017, they have won all but five Majors, with Roger Federer winning three. Dominic Thiem (2020 US Open) and Daniil Medvedev (2021 US Open) being the others.
While newer players have started challenging the Big 3 and have even won multiple matches against them, it is safe to say that there is still some time left before the passing of the torch.
French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou reflected on the fundamental qualities of the players over the last few years. In a video on social media, he spoke about how strong modern players are compared to those from the past.
"Tennis has evolved, let's say in the last 10 years," Mouratoglou said. "If you look at the prototypes of the top players, they are all the same. They are super tall and super thin — Tsitsipas, Zverev, and Medvedev. They are really the same prototype physically. And then Alcaraz comes, he's much shorter, much more muscular, and he's been dominating a lot in the last few months. That makes it surprising and exciting.
He further added that today's players possess a wide range of shots and are not as one-dimensional as the players of the bygone era. Mouratoglou cited examples of Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic, and Nadal as players with almost no weaknesses.
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"The prototype of the new tennis player is this one: big serve but the guys who are able to return a lot of balls. They are incredible at moving and defending, but if you play a little bit slower, they will attack you. They are super complete, compared to the past where you had players with one or two incredible shots, but a lot of weaknesses. Now they have almost no weaknesses. If you look at Zverev, Medvedev, of course Novak or Rafa, you don't see any weaknesses — zero," Mouratoglou added.
Rafael Nadal skips Canadian Open after not completely recovering from abdominal injury
An abdominal muscle tear forced Rafael Nadal to pull out of Wimbledon last month, a day before his scheduled semifinal clash against Nick Kyrgios. Even after a month of sitting out, the Spaniard's injury hasn't completely subsided.
The 36-year-old was aiming for a sixth Canadian Open title this week. However, on the day the draw was set to come out last week, Nadal announced his withdrawal.
“I have been practicing for a while now without serving and started with serves four days ago. Yesterday, after my normal practice, I felt a slight bother on my abdomen. We prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete. I am very sad not to finally travel to Montréal. It’s a tournament that I have won 5 times and I love to play there," Nadal said.
Breaking news: Rafael Nadal withdraws from Montreal, as he felt his abs again yesterday during practice.
"I'm gonna keep practicing without forcing".
Let's see if he is ready for Cincinnati.
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