"The generation of Medvedev, Tsitsipas etc were unlucky because they had to face the big Rafael Nadal and big Novak Djokovic" - Patrick Mouratoglou
Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently claimed that the generation of Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas was unlucky as they had to face Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in their top form.
The first 'Next Gen', featuring Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Andrey Rublev, was expected to succeed the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. However, they have struggled to do so to date.
The Big 3 have taken home 33 of the 44 Grand Slam titles over the past 10 years. Only Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021, has won a Major among these players.
Mouratoglou shared a video on social media recently in which he talked about how this generation of tennis players lost confidence by playing Nadal and Djokovic when they were at the pinnacle of their game. According to Mouratoglou, the younger generation - which includes Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, and others - didn't have to deal with Nadal and Djokovic that frequently, which has helped their confidence.
"They were unlucky, the generation of Medvedev, Tsitsipas etc, because they had to still face the big Rafa [Nadal], and big Novak [Djokovic] and they lost a lot against them so it kinda hurt their confidence. The younger generation, Holger and Alcaraz, for the moment haven't had to face that, so they still have that believe they can do anything, which is their asset," Mouratoglou said.
"No generation has ever succeeded taking out Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but now they are not as dominant" - Patrick Mouratoglou
Patrick Mouratoglou went on to state that the generation of Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas would not be entirely 'erased' by the upcoming generation of Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner. The Frenchman believes there will be a "big fight" between these two generations in the future.
"I don't believe that the generation of Tsitsipas, Medvedev, and those guys will be completely erased and that is the new generation of Holger, Alcaraz and Sinner and so on that will only win Grand Slams. I think there is going to be a big fight between two generations in the future," he said.
Mouratoglou went on to explain that while no one has succeeded in unseating Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic so far, they aren't as dominant anymore and aren't playing in as many tournaments as before. He further stated that there are two generations of players coming up who will compete against each other to succeed the Big 3, which he thinks is "super exciting and interesting."
"No generation (and there has been so many) has ever succeeded taking out Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, none. They are the three greatest of all times. Now it's a very interesting moment because they are not as dominant, they are not playing as many tournaments and there is a new generation coming up and there is a second new generation coming up. The new generation coming up is the Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rublev etc, and the new one is the Holger, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Sinner etc," Mouratoglou said.
"They are two different generations that are going to play against each other for many years, try to win Grand Slams and that makes it super exciting and interesting. Is the new generation better than the less new generation? I don't know and we will see," he added.