Are We Entering The Andy Murray Era?

Chrisford 1

Chrisford 1

Nole and Andy played exactly the same amount of tournaments this year. Seventeen.

November 21st, 2016 at 5:49 pm

Sorri wrong thread above – I lost electricity for 5 minutes – apologies.

November 21st, 2016 at 5:54 pm

The Andy Murray Era?Hmm..it’s sounds delicious..Can’t wait to see how many slams Andy will win next year,how many Masters he’s going to bagged..Finally…after the long wait…Oh God!So relief!

November 21st, 2016 at 6:41 pm

Yes we are!!!! Go Andy…….You da man!!

November 22nd, 2016 at 12:18 am

C’mon 👋 lets go Andy, lets go 🙌
Superman 😎

November 22nd, 2016 at 1:54 am

The Andy Murray era yeah hopefully ;-) ….

November 22nd, 2016 at 3:18 am

I could very well believe this could be Andy’s era. It is his time for sure. It will be interesting to see how the AO concludes.

November 22nd, 2016 at 4:52 am

I do hope Andy can enjoy at least a year or so at the top, as Tom is right to point out how many points Djokovic is defending through the summer (nearly everything big minus Monte Carlo). It seems like Murray has finally found a formula to keep him mostly mentally consistent, which has been an issue for him to breakthrough to the top. He’s always known and shown that he can beat the top guys, but now he’s doing it consistently on the big stage.

Congrats to Murray and all of his fans! I hope next year sees Federer and Nadal return to something of good form so that all of these guys can contest some new epics.

November 22nd, 2016 at 7:55 am

I was very surprised by the outcome here. I’m definitely a latecomer to the Andy Murray parade. Frankly, I thought Andy was keeping the seat warm for Novak while he had a string of less-than-usual results. I wasn’t able to see the match, but I really expected Novak to win. I would have expected Novak to win in any circumstance, but after their semifinals it seemed like a no-brainer. I guess I was the no-brainer.
Andy has done it: he’s now proven himself against the field all summer and fall, and now he’s proven himself against the “linear champ” as the say in boxing. Or, to be the man, you gotta beat the man. Andy has beaten the man.

As recently as last spring, the consensus was that Novak owned the field, that there were no usurpers on the horizon, and in fact, his path to wracking up Slams seemed clear. Federer’s once untouchable records seemed his for the taking – as Nicklaus’s did for Tiger Woods. Suddenly, that path to 17 seems a lot more difficult.

Will certainly make 2017 an interesting start; will Andy put more space between himself and Novak, or will Novak regain the upper hand? In my gut I still feel like Novak is the better player, but so much of his edge has been mental; if Andy has truly strengthened himself, maybe everything is possible for him. Can Federer and Rafa return to the form that has challenged Andy his whole career? Can Milos get over the hump?

Most of all, when will we see the real next great generation of superstars?

November 22nd, 2016 at 8:04 am

To answer your last question TV, only when Murray and Djoko fade, after they are 31-32.

There isn’t anybody who can do what they did right now. And tennis will become a roller coasters with several players exchange positions. Everybody behind Big 4 is just not consistent all year.

I say Murray and Djoko dominate for at least 2017 and 2018. After age will catch up to them and they won’t be able to defend as well as they do and they will lose an edge. Starting losing more and so on.

November 22nd, 2016 at 8:26 am

Don’t want it to be one particular player’ s era, that is a definite no no. Hope all the spoils can be shared to save us from boredom and predictability. More exciting this way IMO.

November 22nd, 2016 at 8:36 am

Daniel, I think that there will be some chipping into their dominance but for the most part I agree.

Raonic, Thiem and Wawrinka are likely to become the de facto “opposition”, and, with any luck (for us fans) Del Potro!

I can easily imagine those 3 or 4 getting their licks in here and there, which would be more opposition than Novak has had the last few years. But, unless Coric turns out to be The One, we’ll still be waiting a few more years for the next titans.

November 22nd, 2016 at 8:46 am

We don’t know what the core reason for Nole’s dip really is but it’s more important that Nole knows what it is. Perhaps he should hang on to Boris until he does.

We also don’t know why Andy has become so consistent. I’m guessing the following:

….he has become the fittest tennis player – his commitment to maintaining his supreme physicality is total
…. he’s found and practices his ideal diet and religiously adheres to it (small example: he wouldn’t accept Judy’s offer of an ice-cream until he had played the O2 final).
….Lendl is back – his return boasts Andy’s confidence and determination.
….Delgado has been crucial in the improvements to Andy’s serves.
….Andy’s resolve is implacable and from now on the competition will have to be better than good to beat him.

The competition will increase in 2017 – Nadal, Federer, Del Potro and of course Nole and Stan will still be there. But Andy will win a large share of the tournaments.

All the best to Andy and good thoughts to the other players. May you all have your fair share.

November 22nd, 2016 at 9:24 am

Agree TV.

Wawrinka will onpy show up for 4-5 tourneys all year. If one fo those happens to be a Slam (as was the case last 3 years he can still surprise). Other than that, he will be even more inconsistant than this year. Qe shoyld have a pool, which tourneys will Wawrinka deliver next year? The most difficult answer as of now😜

Hope DelPo get his rhytm back also.

Raonic seems is there to stay but he still is losing a lot of close matches, have to address that. Kei can produce just 1 or 2 upsets. Zverev and Thiem can’t play well all year, Thiem was vurnout end of season and only qualified becaise Nadal couldn’t play.

Hard to see Fed and Nadal really back but they are just to good to not be top 10. By clay season they will be there, probably top 8.

November 22nd, 2016 at 2:12 pm

https://twitter.com/troublefault/status/801112493359857664
Andy fans. Not very flattering. Lol

November 22nd, 2016 at 3:59 pm

Daniel – I have no doubt that at the core of their beings – Rafa, Fed, and Novak are convinced they can come back and rule. Either long, or in Feds case, tournaments he targets while avoiding most of the Tour grind.
I would not put a brief Nadal comeback out of the question, but if it is only driven by winning on clay again, he reinforces that perception of not being a complete player in his career although the 1/3rd of titles won off clay are better than the tally of many “complete players” who won a couple on clay on top of a grass event or two and lots of hardcourt wins.
Novak Djokovic? Sure he will come back, too good not to. But poised to equal Fed’s stats albeit padded by the weal era Hewitt and Fed had 2002-2007, then melting down – that’s less likely. And with Novak still making the very short list of Legends – this meltdown will be among the most scrutinized periods of his career. Did Novak shatter because he broke down on personal weaknesses and fragility afoot behind the facade of invincibility – or get discombobulated by factors outside his control in his personal life – or was weakened and slow to recognize his vegan diet was hurting his competitiveness – or drift from a winning formulae to follow a Love Guru instead – or simply have a dip in form while Andy, Delpo and Stan were able to move into the breach??
I think the whole truth will eventually come out, what if anything the listed speculative factors or combination of those factors had to do with it.

As for “Young guns!!”, simply as I see it, none come close to the level of talent and lack of obvious weaknesses any of the Big 4 showed when they came into full form at 20-23. It’s still Andy and Novaks world with possibly Rafa and Delpo and Stan getting something as well – for a few more years.

November 22nd, 2016 at 7:25 pm

A not so intelligent or decent guy is a US president.

Guy with no forehand (more correctly a Lady Forehand) is the face of tennis.

At least, Skeeze still takes care of his cats, courtesy of the injury to the Arrogant One.

November 22nd, 2016 at 10:07 pm

Nole was a perpetual bridesmaid when Federer was at his peak. He could get the better of Fed only after the great man was past his prime. As for weak era, 2015 and part of 2016 was definitely the most weak and most boring. Now Andy has recovered from his back surgery and is giving Nole competition. Hopefully 2017 will be competitive. I doubt that Fed will win a slam at age 36 but you can never say never when we are in a weak era with 30 somethings being the top contenders. But if Nole and Andy are both in contention, it will at least be a competitive weak era and not one like 2015-2016 which allowed Nole to pad his stats. Also hope ATP doesn’t rig draws and tell players to withdraw/retire just to have Nole in the finals ( apparently that is what some players are doing according to TB, a knowledgeable source)

November 22nd, 2016 at 10:32 pm

^uh? Sad attempt to be funny. Time for HR to
go back to what it does best. Fishing.
—
“this meltdown will be among the most scrutinized periods of his career”
Not the most scrutinized, the running for the most “mental”.

November 22nd, 2016 at 10:54 pm

I don’t know – Rafa sometimes gets skunked fishing, but he regularly has beat Roger. Which suggests the thing he does best is not fishing, but making Roger his bitch.

But Humble is off-mark when suggesting Trump is “not so intelligent”. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business. They don’t equip dummies with degrees from that elite school. Unlike Yale, Harvard, and Columbia…which do.

November 23rd, 2016 at 12:25 am

No worries Skeeze, no-ne can rain on our parade, especially someone past their sell by date.
Still waiting to here from those who predicted Andy would have the shortest time EVER as No 1. Too busy wiping egg off their faces no doubt.

November 23rd, 2016 at 1:46 am

I guess 2017 , 2018 will be a transition period where djoko , murray and others may win slams between them until some upcoming guy may start to clean up slams from 2019 . Just a guess

November 23rd, 2016 at 6:42 am

Agree,

2017 and 2018 still with no surprises for Murray and Djoko. Surr they will win Slam next year. Fed only shot is Wimbledon and that is a huge if. He will have to peak right from ot ans have a good draw and only play one of Djoko or Murray to have a shot.

Nadal only shot is clay, RG. he hasn’t won in HC since Doha 2014.

Stan will only count in a handfull of tourneys but q
Wouldn’t be surpise if he wins another Slam (apart form wimby).

DelPo can surpside as well. Hope he goes dee in AO to inprove his rabking fast and he gets back to top 20 asap to make draws more interesting.
The others

November 23rd, 2016 at 11:34 am

I for one do think Roger can do quite well next year.

November 23rd, 2016 at 3:54 pm

in 2017, up through roland garros novak has 3500 more points to defend than andy; post roland garros andy has 4130 more points to defend than novak
chart here:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cx1GLjJWQAA_LB-.jpg

November 23rd, 2016 at 9:43 pm

sinha71, i don’t see why not. fed played some excellent tennis throughout 2014 and 2015, with edberg and the new racquet – and even at the beginning of last year really. thinking of AO, for example. but it’ll be crucial for him to get his ranking back up.

also toni thinks rafa will be a contender for the FO next year: plus he has new hair, so … ;)

November 23rd, 2016 at 9:56 pm

I think that both Fed, and Rafa, to some extent, will face the same challenges that Andy did when he returned after his back op.
During that time Nole had improved his game no end, can’t quite remember when he hired Becker, was it about that time? So Andy was running to stand still, for about a year, I’d say.
Andy’s game is improving all the time. I’m sure Nole can get back on track next year and now you’ve got Milos in the equation, by no means just a serve bot. And others like Zverev.
Tennis is not standing still.
@ Kath
Virtual hugs coming your way. Christmas is a very tricky time for many.

November 24th, 2016 at 1:53 am

Margot,

Djoko hired Boris at the end of 2013, especially in order to get help for the FO, and they started working together at the Beginning of 2014. The cooperation was not brilliant from the beginning, they needed a transition time. Becker’s influence was felt more at the End of 2014 and in 2015, my pov.

November 24th, 2016 at 2:30 am

VP, thought that was about right, Andy had his op. September 2013.
Of course these things take time. Lendl’s effect on Andy wasn’t felt immediately, either.Any news on the guru front…..;)
But surely it must be Delgardo who should be credited with this vast improvement in Andy’s 2nd serve? Think his influence is seriously underestimated TBH. I love his calm encouraging presence court side.

November 24th, 2016 at 3:01 am

Margot,

Agree with you. 2014 was not very good for Andy due to his back operation, but they played against each other also in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

“Any news on the guru front…..;)” Pepe is not my friend on FB, so, no idea :). We have to wait for information from Daily mail, trust them to provide us some news on that :)

November 24th, 2016 at 3:09 am

Ah yes, The Daily Fail, that wondrous source of The Truth…..;)
Was teasing you……I have realised that Pepe is not flavour of the month on here.

November 24th, 2016 at 3:16 am

I know ,Margot. I also laughed on that one. That guru is the “Achilles heel” of Novak posters these days :) Hehe

November 24th, 2016 at 3:19 am

^^ We got rid of the FO complex, now we have to deal with Pepe ;D

November 24th, 2016 at 3:20 am

2011 Djokovic
2012 Djokovic
2013 Nadal
2014 Djokovic
2015 Djokovic
2016 Murray

Do you see the pattern? Yes, I think will be:

2017 Djokovic
2018 Djokovic

November 24th, 2016 at 12:48 pm

^^^ You are mistaken. No more joker, he’s had his fun!

November 24th, 2016 at 1:33 pm

Hi Milan,

Using your logic:

2017 Djokovic
2018 Djokovic
2020
2021 Djokovic
2022 Djokovic
2023
2024 Djokovic
2025 Djokovic
2026 else
. . .
. . .
. . .
2096 Djokovic
2097 Djokovic
2098 Somebody else
. . .
. . .
Sun dies
. . .
100000001 Djokovic
100000002 Djokovic
100000003 Sombody else
. . .
. . .
Milky way collapses
10000000001 Djokovic
1000000002 Djokovic
10000000003 Sombody else
. . .
. . .

This is plausible but pretty improbable.

November 24th, 2016 at 9:46 pm

Today I gave thanks to my 112 doctors, their assistants, MTOs, unlimited time between points, clay courts, Uncle Toni, my great country while basking in my goathood.

November 24th, 2016 at 10:15 pm

Lakie,

Nole was still far from his own peak when Federer was in his peak years. Also, still suffering continuously from breathing problems. And yet, beat him at Rogers Cup in 2007, almost at the USO as well (Federer himself said he was sure he would lose the first two sets), then at the AO in 2008. If you talk about Novak not being on par with Federer in his prime, then you cannot complain that Federer cannot keep up with Nole in his prime. Simple.

November 25th, 2016 at 5:45 am

Hello Margot, happy Andy days ahead! Andy at #1 is a nice feeling, right :)

I don’t know about Novak; fingers crossed. Must wait and see.

November 25th, 2016 at 6:30 am

People are just kidding aren’t they, when using the Daily Fail as a serious source for anything. It’s kinda like People Magazine online – but it can be fun and worth a smile for a minute or two, tho.

November 25th, 2016 at 6:46 am

The only paper i by is the Daily Fail, and only on a Saturday, and actually only for the weekly TV supplement, other than that i dont by or read newspaper, as they are all crap ….

November 25th, 2016 at 7:01 am

Isn’t it interesting that both Djokovic and Murray became No. 1 for the first time the year after they won Davis Cup!

November 25th, 2016 at 3:22 pm

Sorry Danica, your argument is not good. Nole was in his prime between 2008 and 2010 but he could win just 1 slam! It was when Fed neared 30, that Nole could emerge from Fed’s shadow. Nole fans have been bigging up Nole’s achievements claiming his non calendar slam is equivalent to a calendar slam. But a calendar slam is won in one season. Nole did not do it. So what he has is a career slam, won over more than one season. And he could do that because 2015 was a weak era and so was 2016 till the mid-season. Fed had prime Rafa blocking FO, otherwise Fed would have two calendar slams. Nole was lucky because Rafa is no longer the force he was. Rafa did not play a full season in 2012-2014 and was struggling in 2015-2016. Be thankful, Nole is lucky to have been able to pad his stats. He is just not in Fed’s league who had to contend with Rafa at his peak and also Nole and Murray who could beat everybody except Fedal.

November 25th, 2016 at 6:29 pm

Lol, hilarious. Even the reasonable Fed fans admit, there was no real rivalry Roger-Rafa. It was pretty one way ticket for Rafa.
And Novak being in his prime between 2008-2010, same hilarious.
Andy was leading his H2H against Roger, when Andy was not even in his prime.

November 26th, 2016 at 12:36 am

Andy was already healthy at beginning of 2016. He played finals with consistency, but Nole motivated and still healthy Novak was there, marching to his FO title.

November 26th, 2016 at 12:45 am

Novak-Rafa offered the most tight rivalry in the Golden Era, my pov.

November 26th, 2016 at 1:04 am

Nole has a special age for being in his prime? Whether you like it or not, both Nole and Andy were in their prime between 2008 and 2010. They defeated the field but couldn’t get past Fedal. Only when Fed due to age and Rafa due to injuries started slipping could Nole begin to dominate. He is lucky “to be able to pad his stats” in the era of Fedal’s decline. With the nextgen still not picking up the baton, he may end up with 30 grand slams but by that time people would have probably stopped watching tennis so no one would debate about GOATS.

November 26th, 2016 at 1:09 am

” Nole was in his prime between 2008 and 2010..”

You just blew it with this statement, most stupid statement by far, the least knowledgeable statement by far, or just pure hate with no arguments .., even Giles wouldn’t go so far to say that, not so stupid.

That was the period when your favorite, Andy Roddick, padded his h2h against Nole, yes, that was Nole in his prime with Todd Martin, great serve and full of health …hahaha:))

November 26th, 2016 at 1:11 am

wog boy, you just do not know what you are talking about! So when Nole is not winning , he is not in his prime? That is hilarious!!! There was no Rafa-Nole rivalry or Fed-Nole rivalry when Fedal were in their prime. It is only after Fedal declined that Nole had a rivalry with Rafa and Fed. Whether Nole fans accept this or not, facts are facts. Fortunately Andy seems to be back in form so 2017 maybe more interesting than 2015 which was a yawn fest for all except Nole fans.

November 26th, 2016 at 1:56 am

Rivalries lose there spark eventually, theres nothing left in Fedal anymore, and the Rafole one is now heading the same way ….

November 26th, 2016 at 2:04 am

Lakie,
Please, do define “prime”.

November 28th, 2016 at 3:57 am

Not that certain crowds need to be reminded, but another verbal stamp on the GOAT, from a 14 Slam winner.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/todd-woodbridge-hails-roger-federer-claims-swiss-would-have-20-titles-if-not-rafael-nadal-1593717

Note: He also said some great stuff about Murray, Novak.

November 28th, 2016 at 10:59 am

Laver who is a long time Fedfan says Djoko is Fed’s equal.

http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/15452386/tennis-rod-laver-comes-goat-novak-djokovic-roger-federer-equal

And this was even before Djoko completed his Grand Slam this year.

I would also say that Djoko’s record against his peers is better because he has no Nadal blemish the way Roger does and owns winning records against both Roger and Rafa.

November 28th, 2016 at 11:35 am

Djoko’s definitely in the upper stratosphere. This being said, if my life depended on one match being played, I’d pick Rafa or Sampras.

November 28th, 2016 at 12:27 pm

Me too SG1 ;-)) ….

November 28th, 2016 at 1:43 pm

@SG1 I have to agree, as much as I am a Fed fan, I would go with Rafa ( in his prime ) also………on Clay of course ;)

November 28th, 2016 at 1:48 pm

I will also pick Nadal on any surface except grass but only at his very best (2008, 2010-2013 most of all).

All of 2011 to 2012 Australia vs Djokovic and almost anytime vs Roger indoors, I would be dead now ha ha. But those exceptions are few compared to other guys.

We simply cannot say how peak Djokovic would fare against prime time Roger on any surface really because both players have never peaked at their best at the same point in history – Djokovic not at his best before 2011 and Roger not at his very best after 2009.

November 28th, 2016 at 2:06 pm

“Roger not at his very best after 2009.”
Yes a Roger not after his best after 2009 beat Joker several times, no?

November 28th, 2016 at 2:21 pm

Skeez,
Yes, he did indeed. :)

Sinha71 said and everyone else knows that putting Rog and Nole in the same time frame is not really valid. One can compare their achievements within their playing fields but it’s impossible to say that they peaked or were in their primes at about the same time. If nothing, there’s a 6 year age gap between the two.

November 28th, 2016 at 4:06 pm

Danica,
It works the other way around too, Nole not at his prime beat Roger several times in his prime, by the end of 2009…and then just got used to it….

November 28th, 2016 at 4:23 pm

I love the way Skeezer ends a sentence with no? A bit Rafa like, no? Lol 🐂🐂🐂 VAMOS!

November 28th, 2016 at 4:48 pm

@Danica
Thanks for looking at that topic with some unbiased fairness. In fairness to Novak and his fans, he for sure has a lot more possibilities of Slams in the near future than Fed, so ya’ll enjoy the ride and lets see what happens.
“by the end of 2009…and then just got used to it….”
So did Fed, 10 times. I don’t see that as “dominating someone”……..with Novak in his prime(BTW, is he NOT in his prime now?). Whatever.
All this H2H jargon does not matter in the history books. Slams and all time records do.
H2H talk within or without a weak strong era is waaayyyyy worse than GOAT talk.

November 28th, 2016 at 5:07 pm

If the people are saying that Roger is not in him prime after 2009 snd he was only 27/28 years of age, by the same token why would Nole be in his prime now turning 30 in the couple of months?

I think Nole’s prime finished after FO, combine that with problems outside tennis and I don’t see him winning anything big anymore (meaning GS) nor coming back to #1. With completing his career GS and four in a row, on three different surfaces, that nobody ever achieved, he wrapped up his career nicely, no better way than that. He has another things to do now and that is very visible in his body language for anybody who wants to see it, even last weekend at Viktor’s wedding. I wish him all the best and hope he finds solution for his problems.
I just hope that he will decide sooner rather than later to quit the tennis if I am right about above said. He is on the top shelf with a greatest players in tennis history, that is more than enough for this fan of his.

November 28th, 2016 at 5:39 pm

Fed had his fortune when Murray, Nadal and Novak were injured.
He milked those times like he “dominated” tennis in 2012, then played the “best tennis” of his life in 2014.
The western media, the spoiled tantrum throwing Fed and his turkeys were angered by Novak’s improved fitness. Those opponents became loud about their own rare illnesses and injuries to excuse their losses to Novak. They even excused their lack of sportsmanship with lies about Novak’s supposed “unimpressive” lack of talent and “unnatural behavior”.
Of course, some of these guys retired and Fed got injured in the park.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing Fed fail. He fails for his “anti-Novak” team.
I hope Novak throws his hands up in an over the top manner, each time he wins.
It’s only appropriate.

November 28th, 2016 at 7:32 pm

Blaming the “western media” is is a generic term for all things that don’t go your way. Sounds like the conspiracy types “sour grapes” syndrome. Too much time reading fake news.

November 28th, 2016 at 10:12 pm

Nothing makes me happier than seeing Federer fail hmm, rather negative, you wouldve thought as a fan seeing your favorite succeed would make a fan feel happier ….

November 29th, 2016 at 6:24 am

oh Danica you do not know what prime is? Seriously? Anyway assuming your question is innocent…. All human beings have their prime when the combination of physical and mental level puts them at their best performance. The prime will differ depending on the activity for which you are measuring performance. I suggest you google this topic. There are a bunch of articles and scholarly studies on prime. For ordinary people, for athletes, scientists, for parents….Why depend on lakie to provide answers?

November 29th, 2016 at 9:49 am

Trust me ………no one on TX is depending on lakie…….😉😉😉

November 29th, 2016 at 11:44 am

okie says .. “trust me”…. tsk tsk ….. I am not gonna do that dear okie, don’t worry, not after you admitted your “pious” reasons for demonizing somebody were fake!
You are spokesperson for everyone on TX?
Careful dear, you are in danger of making overlooking facts a habit…
“Prime” is a well known concept and there is plenty of literature available on it. It is not a unique concept defined or being researched by me. In other words, I cannot falsely claim to be an authority on “prime” so I referred danica to publicly available resources.

November 29th, 2016 at 10:25 pm

@lakie…..pffft….I am not your “dear”…..I will rephrase my comment…..if anyone on TX has any sense at all they won’t look to lakie to provide answers! I am still against murdering babies and the murder of the men in Benghazi…..if that makes me pious, so be it…..No, I am not the spokesperson for everyone on TX. Excuse me TXers for overstepping my bounds……that was very presumptuous of me……

November 30th, 2016 at 1:00 am

Tsk tsk .. okie…you are accusing danica of not having any sense! I consider danica to be one of the most sensible and decent posters here.

November 30th, 2016 at 8:36 am