TMH wrote:

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Spectator wrote:

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The young players are good. Thiem's already top 10 and barring injury or unforeseen circumstances, Zverev, Coric, Kyrgios seem headed in that direction (well, with Kyrgios, one never knows .....) With some of the others, it's just too early to tell: Fritz did well in Challengers late last year/early this year, hasn't actually done so well recently, but clearly has huge potential. Jared Donaldson has looked very solid in the bits I've caught of highlights from his recent forays (and judging from the scores). Halys can be brilliant or awful. Shapovalov, from the bits I've seen of his Challenger matches, looks a major talent. Beyond that, so hard to tell: from what little I've seen of them in Challengers, Kozlov, Tiafoe, DuckHee Lee, et al have evident weaknesses that better players are going to take apart - though they certainly have time to improve! (Haven't seen much of Nishioka or Khachanov or Ymer)

So I'm actually inclined to think that the 25-27s are about to have a little bit of time in the sun. AM and Djokovic are clearly the best two at present. Federer and Nadal are struggling with injury. That means that the thing that has maintained the stranglehold of the 'Big Four' - that everyone else generally had to get through at least two of them to win a tournament - may not be the case any longer. The rest of their generation (Berdych, Tsonga, etc) don't seem as if they're going to make their breakthrough - though I'd love to see Gael Monfils - who has looked super in the bits I've seen of his recent play - realise his potential and win some major tournaments, and Stan Wawrinka is never to be counted out. Which leaves some openings for Raonic, Nishikori, and Cilic - all of whom feel more ready than the younger ones. While I don't like his style of play, Raonic's year has been stellar - would not be at all surprised to see him in the top 4 by year's end.

Oops. And of course, there is THE 27 (just) year old, JMDP. If he comes back at full power, life could be very interesting indeed.

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 Great post, and I agree completely.

We tend to bemoan Andy's misfortune of being in the same generation of three of the greatest ever, but Berdych, Tsonga and Ferrer have fared far worse in this fading era. If they'd been born 5-10 years either side they'd probably have won the odd slam here or there. Certainly no weaker than the likes of Roddick or Hewitt, and far better than some of the players who won slams around the turn of the century.

Murray has done extremely well to be so competitive with the other three and finally break through in 2012 to join them atop the grand slam pedestal. Whilst his slam count is lower than many of the other greats, I think his grand slam final count, Masters titles and now 2 Olympic gold medals (of which two of the great three have never even won once!) put him up there amongst them.

Out of interest, would anyone put him in the top 10 greatest of the open era? There are clearly the other 'big 4', Borg, McEnroe, Becker, Sampras and Agassi all up there, but Murray has to be there, thereabouts. Hopefully he can win a few more slams in the remaining years of his career and put himself there without any shadow of a doubt.

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 To be top 10 in the open era, you need 7 slams. In this context, slam finals don't count for much (especially if you look at the names of the players beaten to reach the final). If you were being very generous, 6 slams including the whole set, might be enough to merit a case. Andy currently has 3 so he's miles away from Becker and Edberg with 6, neither of whom make the top 10. 

Wilander and Edberg each got 8 "Masters" titles though the events didn't have that name at the time. Lendl 22, McEnroe 19, Becker 13. Sampras' 11 is lower than you'd expect. Borg 15, Connors 17. Winning a large number of Masters titles is nothing unusual for multiple slam winners. 

Andy's current list of achievements distance him from the likes of Safin, Hewitt, Rafter, Kafelnikov, Wawrinka, even Kuerten (3 slams). They don't compare well with say Mats Wilander who won 7 slams including Aus, Roland Garros and US Open in an era with lots of stars. Becker and Edberg won 6 slams including Aus, Wim and US Open. 

-- Edited by kundalini on Sunday 21st of August 2016 04:18:59 AM

Did anyone see the incident where Andy came within a whisker of being disqualified ? From what I have seen on Twitter, (check the account @doublefault28), Andy failed to convert a MP and decided to kick the ball away. Problem is, he caught the ball so sweetly on the volley that the ball hit the umpires chair about an inch above the umpires head.

Great volley, but must have been a nervous moment.

Very nice win against Raonic :D
Here's hoping Andy keeps his winning streak going in the final :)

Andy is doing far better than I dared hope this week, straight after the gold medal!

Andy beating Raonic has left the Canadian at WR 6. He would have jumped up to WR 3 if he had won the SF such is the close group from #3 to #6.

With Fed not involved the top 4 seeds for the US Open will thus be Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka and Nadal.

Seeds 5 to 8 will be Raonic, Nishikori, Berdych and Thiem ( or Cilic if he was to win the final ).

Jan wrote:

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I think Berdy has pulled out of US Open.

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Indeed, I see that he has pulled out due to appendicitis 

So, subject to no further relevant pull outs, seeds 5 to 8 will be Raonic, Nishikori, Thiem and Cilic - the last two may switch round though hopefully not.