The men's “big four” may be history but two of its remaining members, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, kept offering stiff resistance to the next generation in a seismic year for tennis.
Swiss maestro Roger Federer had not played since the summer of 2021, so while his retirement in September, aged 41, was not unexpected, it still shocked.
“Congratulations, Serena, for your heart, skill, intelligence, dedication, and grace,” former US president Barack Obama said as she retired.Federer certainly did that in a career that included 20 Grand Slam titles, achieved with a panache the like of which we may never see again. He took effortless shot-making to new heights during a 24-year professional career that was the foundation for indisputably the greatest era of men's tennis.
Nadal began the year by fighting back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final to claim a men's record 21st Grand Slam title, then made it 22 by dispatching Norway's Casper Ruud for a 14th French Open. The prospect of Alcaraz going toe-to-toe with history-chasing Djokovic and old warrior Nadal in 2023 is mouth-watering.
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