Roger Federer's coach claims the Big 3 will dominate in 2020

What's the story?

Roger Federer's tennis coach and former player, Ivan Ljubicic, was recently interviewed by Italian sport's site, Ubitennis. During the interview, the former pro expressed his doubts that the NextGen will be able to topple the Big 3 and still sees Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominating in 2020.

In case you didn't know

The discussions surrounding the rise of the NextGen and the fall of the Big 3 has brought forth mixed responses. Some are certain that the NextGen will overthrow the Big 3 in 2020, whilst others predict to the contrary and there are even those who predict that a 'dark period' in tennis will follow the eventual retirement of the Big 3.

The heart of the matter

During the interview, Roger Federer's coach, Ivan Ljubicic, bluntly remarked,

“I still see the big three at the top next year.”

He qualified his position, however, by stating,

“They are the best in the world and until they prove to me otherwise, they will always be the best players in the world."

He went on to add,

“The only question may be whether they will be able to play enough to maintain this position. But it is difficult to imagine that someone could play better than them for twelve months.”

At the end of 2018, Alexander Zverev won the ATP World Tour Finals and with it, many people believed the changing of the guard was upon us. That did not happen, however. After a year that saw the Big 3 dominate the tour once again, Stefanos Tsitsipas won the ATP World Tour Finals.

If Zverev's victory in 2018 teaches us anything, it is that nothing in tennis is certain and it will take a lot more than a single player winning a major title for the rise of the NextGen to occur.

Whilst the NextGen may do well in the Grand Slams in 2020, the Big 3 show no signs of relinquishing their grip at the summit of the sport. Nevertheless, 2020 looks as though it will be a huge year for tennis.