MORE FROM 10s CHIRO. FEDERER , MURRAY , DJOKOVIC & RAFAEL NADAL PART 2

The Big Four – Part 2 – Did They Really Have a Lock on the Top 4 Spots?!

 

When Andy Murray reached #4 in the world on September 8, 2008, the Big Four had arrived. Here are the top 5 year end and mid-year(after Wimbledon) rankings and the point totals from 12/25/2006 to this year after Wimbledon.

 

Nadal and Federer had already established their preeminence beginning in the summer of 2005; Federer, of course, since winning the Australian Open in 2004. Djokovic first moved to #3 after the 2007 Wimbledon results.

 

Players: RF-Roger Federer, RN-Rafael Nadal, ND-Novak Djokovic, JB-James Blake, AR-Andy Roddick, NiD-Nicolai Davydenko, DF-David Ferrer, AM-Andy Murray, DP-Juan Martin DelPotro, RS-Robin Soderling,

 

12/25/2006:   1.RF(8370)   2.RN(4470)   3.NiD(2825)   4.JB(2530)   16.ND(1380)   17.AM(1370)

 

07/09/2007:   1.RF(7290)   2.RN(5225)   3.ND(3310)   4.AR(3230)   5.NiD(3185)   13.AM(1935)

 

12/31/2007:   1.RF(7180)   2.RN(5735)   3.ND(4470)   4.NiD(2825)   5.DF(2750)   11.AM(1755)

 

07/07/2008:   1.RF(6600)   2.RN(6055)   3.ND(4945)   4.DF(3045)   5.NiD(2970)   9.AM(1805)

__________________________________________________________

 

09/08/2008:   1.RN(7000)   2.RF(5930)   3.ND(4855)   4.AM(3040)   5.DF(2490)

 

12/29/2008:   1.RN(6675)   2.RF(5305)   3.ND(5295)   4.AM(3720)   5.NiD(2715)

 

07/06/2009:   1.RF(11220)   2.RN(10735)   3.AM(9450)   4.ND(8150)   5.DP(5705)

 

12/28/2009:   1.RF(10550)   2.RN(9205)   3.ND(8310)   4.AM(7030)   5.DP(6785)

 

07/05/2010:   1.RN(10745)   2.ND(6905)   3.RF(6885)   4.AM(5155)   5.RS(4935)

 

12/27/2010:   1.RN(12450)   2.RF(9145)   3.ND(6240)   4.AM(5760)   5.RS(5580)

 

07/04/2011:   1.ND(13285)   2.RN(11270)   3.RF(9230)   4.AM(6855)   5.RS(4325)

 

12/26/2011:   1.ND(13630)   2.RN(9595)   3.RF(8170)   4.AM(7380)   5.DF(4925)

 

07/09/2012:   1.RF(11075)   2.ND(11000)   3.RN(8905)   4.AM(7460)   5.DF(5430)

 

12/31/2012:   1.ND(12920)   2.RF(10265)   3.AM(8000)   4.RN(6690)   5.DF(6505)

__________________________________________________________

 

07/08/2013:   1.ND(12310)   2.AM(9360)   3.DF(7220)   4.RN(6860)   5.RF(5785)

 

12/30/2013:   1.RN(13030)   2.ND(12260)   3.DF(5800)   4.AM(5790)   5.DP(5255)   6.RF(4205)

 

07/07/2014:   1.ND(13130)   2.RN(12670)   3.RF(6100)   4.SW(5770)   5.TB(4410)   10.AM(3040)

 

 

Once Murray joined the other three on September 8, 2008, the Big Four established a virtual lock on the top four spots in the rankings for 5 years. Soderling managed 11 weeks at #4 in late 2010 and 2011; Del Potro managed just 3 weeks in 2010 after having won the US Open in 2009. I may have missed someone else, but I can’t find them for this period. I think they would have held the lock longer except for Nadal’s gimpy knee in 2012, Federer’s back in late 2012 and 2013 and Murray’s back in 2013.

 

Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are back on top, but Murray has yet to fully regain his pre-surgery form and results. Finally, in the last few months, we have seen the emergence of a few younger players to actually challenge these elite athletes, in particular Raonic, Dimitrov, Nishikori and even Gulbis. Veteran members of the old guard like Ferrer and Berdych have continued to nip at their heels, but seem not to be able to get over the top. Wawrinka created a stir winning the Australian with offensive all court play, but he seems to have gone back to “failing better”. Del Potro appeared for a while to be the next heir to the throne, but he has gone back under the knife. Tsonga and Monfils are fun to watch and always dangerous, but they just don’t look like they will be earning a spot in the top 5.

 

The Big Three have reclaimed their perch atop the game for the moment; it remains to be seen if Murray can rejoin them above the fray. In Part 3, I will take a closer look at how these players dominated the later rounds of the Grand Slam tournaments and maintained their distance from the rest of the players. Yeah, I know, I promised to do that in Part 2, but best laid plans of mice and men …

 

10sChiro

 

to see other articles by 10sChiro, go to

https://archive.10sballs.com/category/columnists/dr-chiro/

or

https://archive.10sballs.com/author/don/

 

For more information about about lessons with TennisChiro at Griffith Park or Arcadia Park or his videotaping and analysis service, just dial **tennispro on your cell phone. You will get a text with his email and phone number

Topics: 10s Chiro, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis, The Big Four

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