For tennis enthusiasts, before 2005, it was an era of shining stars when the golden generation took turns to dominate. Players ranked in the top 20 or even 30 in the world were highly competitive in the Masters and Grand Slam arenas. Every championship The ownership is full of suspense; after 2005, it will be the era of the Big Four.
Roger Federer in 1981, Rafael Nadal in 1986, Novak Djokovic in 1987, Andy Murray in 1987.
These are the "Big Four" who have jointly dominated men's tennis for a full decade.
Since Federer reached the top of the world in February 2004, Nadal reached the top of the world for the first time in August 2008, Djokovic reached the top of the world for the first time in May 2011, and Murray reached the top of the world for the first time in August 2009. He came to the second place in the world (in November 2016, he reached the first place in the world for the first time).
The top four positions in the world rankings are basically dominated by four players; at the same time, the feat of winning the semi-finals four times in the Grand Slam and the semi-finals three times in the Masters is also unprecedented and rare.
More importantly, even if one or two of them accidentally fall behind, the other giants will always be able to appear in the semi-finals and even the finals to defend their honor.
Taking Nadal's victory at the French Open in 2005 as a turning point, in the past ten years——
In terms of the number of Grand Slam championships, Federer has seventeen, Nadal has fourteen, Djokovic has seven, and Murray has two.
In terms of the number of Masters championships, Federer has 23, Nadal has 27, Djokovic has 19, and Murray has nine.
From 2005 to 2014, there were only two times when the final Grand Slam champion did not belong to any one of the Big Four, Del Potro's US Open in 2009 and Wawrinka's Australian Open in 2014; and the final Masters champion did not belong to any one of them. The number of times for any one of the Big Four is more, but very limited, a total of fifteen times.
There are nine Masters tournaments throughout the year, ninety in ten years, but they only lost fifteen times. Among them, the Paris Masters held at the end of the year is undoubtedly the weakest event dominated by the Big Four, and they lost six times in total during this period.
In addition, among the fifteen non-Big Four championships, Nikolay Davydenko, known as the "model worker", has won three championships in total. He is also the player with the most Masters titles outside the Big Four among active players. players.
In the past, some people criticized Murray because his number of championships was far from comparable to that of the other Big Three players, thinking that Murray could not compare with the other three players.
But the fact is that in the era of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, Murray is the only player who can be on par with them, and he is also the only player who can break their dominance of the championship. .
The most intuitive thing is that as of the 2014 US Open, Murray's record against three other players is worth mentioning:
Against Federer, 11 wins and 11 losses; against Nadal, 6 wins and 15 losses; against Djokovic, 8 wins and 13 losses.
No matter what the victory-loss ratio is, it can at least be seen that Murray has the ability to compete with them and is at the same level.
It is precisely because of this that outside the "Big Four", Davydenko has won the most three Masters titles, and Wawrinka, who performed best this year, only has one Grand Slam and one Masters; but Murray He has won nine Masters titles and two Grand Slams, which is enough for him to occupy a place among the Big Four.
A small amount of data can clearly show the extraordinary dominance of the Big Four. It is precisely because of this that even if a player can briefly break into the top four in the world rankings and break the blockade, it will become the material for media coverage.
Finally, since the French Open in 2005, at least one of the Big Four can be seen in thirty-eight consecutive Grand Slam finals. In 2009, Del Potro defeated Federer at the US Open to reach the top, and at the 2014 Australian Open, Wawrinka defeated Nana. Dahl's summit also continued this tradition of ten years.
The "Big Four" are definitely worthy of the title.
There is no doubt that this year's US Open is still developing in the preset direction.
Although Nadal was absent due to injury, Djokovic and Federer, as the top two seeds, firmly entered the semi-finals. Murray, who lost to Djokovic in the quarter-finals, also gradually found himself after returning from injury. feel.
In the semi-finals, Djokovic and Federer's opponents were both "dark horses." Both players reached the semi-finals of the US Open for the first time. It seemed that they could not shake the strength of the Big Four. Everyone was speculating that the two players would compete in the semi-finals. What happened at Wimbledon a few months ago is about to happen again in Flushing.
Early on, people began to talk about whether Djokovic won his eighth Grand Slam trophy, or whether Federer won a record 18th Grand Slam gold cup and returned to the world's number one spot. The upcoming US Open final once again continues the suspense of Wimbledon.
In the bustling place, the audience is already gearing up and looking forward to it. The two wallflowers Gao Wen and Cilic are like the second male lead in a love idol drama. "Although everything is good and attracts the audience's mood, they are still cannon fodder in the end." Witness the protagonist’s happy ending with all the audience.”
However, the greatest charm of competitive sports is that before the game is over, anything is possible.
Gao Wen defeated Djokovic and Cilic defeated Federer. The elimination of these two players also created a series of history:
This is the first time since 1966 that the top two seeds of the US Open have been eliminated in the semifinals at the same time, which is also the first time in the Open era; it is also the first time since 1997 that a champion will be produced among two non-top ten players.
Finally, the most important thing is that from the 2005 French Open to the 2014 US Open, for the first time in ten years, one of the Big Four will not be seen in the Grand Slam finals. Thirty-eight consecutive Grand Slams have continued. The record ends here, which is even more shocking than Gawain reaching the finals in his first Grand Slam with a wild card——
After all, Gawain's dark horse miracle may have been a shooting star, passing by in a flash, just like Ivanisevic; but the rule of the four giants was a star, which lasted for a full ten years.
Gurgling.
Gurgling.
The air is burning. This US Open is destined to be extraordinary. From the fans to the media to the unsuspecting public, everyone is boiling.
At the same time, it is precisely because of this that Gawain and Cilic gathered more attention.
The first thing that bore the brunt was the curses. Countless irrational fans shouted curses, cursing the two players for ruining the last bit of enjoyment of the US Open, cursing the two players for preventing the 36th duel between Djokovic and Federer, cursing them. The two players are like shit sticks and have made this year's US Open meaningless.
What followed was a sigh. Even further than Wawrinka at the Australian Open and Raonic and Dimitrov at Wimbledon, they broke the blockade. The most charming and moving thing about competitive sports is that, Witnessing miracles, creating history, and now, they have become witnesses of history.
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