Rosset Doesn’t Like Where Tennis Has Gone

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 17th December 2013

Rosset Doesn’t Like Where Tennis Has Gone

Switzerland's Davis Cup captain Marc Rosset expresses dejection as Roger Federer heads towards defeat in the fourth tie of the Davis Cup semi-final at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Sunday 21 September 2003. Federer was defeated by Australia's Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 6-2, 6-7, 6-7 and 1-6. EPA PHOTO/AAP/JULIAN SMITH/AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT/ |

Editors note: We sure wish these grumpy old players could appreciate this golden age of tennis. Players have never been more fit and fun to watch. Sorry Marc your on the list with Johnny Mac now. What I don’t get is what they do to give back to the game they received so much from?

Swiss Marc Rosset has delved into nostalgia, telling the Swiss Tennis magazine Smash that he longs for the game of the past when the fields at the grand slams were more wide open than they are today. The 43-year-old who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal at Barcelona during only the second time the sport was staged in the open tennis era, said that today’s game is locked in a straightjacket of winners: compatriot Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and possibly Andy Murray.

“Tennis has been reduced to three or four players: Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and to a lesser extent Murray,” said the 1996 Roland Garros semi-finalist. “They bring in the money and the audience. All the others don’t matter.

Rosset, who provides color tennis commentary for the French channel of Swiss television, is particularly concerned that other talented players don’t get a look-in for the closed-shop popularity sweepstakes. His most glaring example: “Like (Stan) Wawrinka in 2013 in Basel, he won his first-round match, there were very few fans at the tournament during the last 10 years. Federer outshines everything.”

Wawrinka went on to finish the season of his life by qualifying for the year-end championships for the first time and reach the semi-finals in London, But Rosset says that it will take more than that to put some color back into an increasingly monochromatic sport: “The fact is players are becoming increasingly similar. Overall, it scares me what has become of the men’s tennis. It needs more variety.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Grand Slam, Marc Rosset, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss Tennis, Tennis, Tennis News