The guys in the over-30 crowd sure know how to play tennis a lot better than their younger counterparts. Roger Federer reconfirmed that opinion on Sunday at the All England Club in London, England. The 35-year old defeated the 28-year old Marin Cilic in the Wimbledon 2017 final in straight sets, Federer winning his 19th Grand Slam men's singles title in doing so.
First title at Wimbledon in 5 years
It was the first title that Federer won at the All England Club since 2012, when he defeated Andy Murray in the men's singles final. For ages, it did in fact look as though that would be Federer's last title from Wimbledon.
Since then, Novak Djokovic has blocked Federer in two finals. Meanwhile, Andy Murray claimed a couple titles. Last year, in 2016, when Federer lost to Milos Raonic, it looked like the unproven players on tour were finally going to show the elder veterans that tennis was about youth. However, that was not to be at Wimbledon 2017 as tennis' Lost Generation stayed lost.
Marin Cilic isn't part of The Lost Generation, despite the fact that he fell in the Wimbledon final on Sunday. Cilic won the 2014 US Open, beating Federer en route and Kei Nishikori in the final. That's something that can never be taken away from the Croat, even though right now he'll certainly be lamenting the 2017 result in the Wimbledon final.
The Lost Generation includes Nishikori, it includes Raonic, it includes Grigor Dimitrov, and it includes David Goffin. Those are four players that have now been around for ages and they have enjoyed plenty of opportunities in big tournaments to win a title. Not one of them has won a Grand Slam yet and not one of them has won a Masters Series title.
They are a quartet of players, all born after after Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro (the youngest players that have won a Grand Slam at some time in their career), that simply hasn't been able to sideline the Big Four.
Lost Gen's results at Wimbledon
At Wimbledon 2017, Nishikori went out early, losing in the third round to Roberta Bautista-Agut.
Raonic went out sort-of late, losing in the quarterfinals to Federer in uneventful straight sets. Dimitrov went out in the middle of the tournament, also losing to Federer and also losing in straight sets. Meanwhile, Goffin was a part of the pre-tournament withdrawals as he continues to suffer from an ailment that he picked up at the 2017 French Open.
None of Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, or Goffin have ever played tennis that could compete with the best tennis of any player in the Big Four. Rafael Nadal is 31 years old and he's the active French Open champion. Roger Federer is 35 years old and he's the active champion for both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Murray, at the age of 30, is the current No.
1 while Djokovic, at the same age, has been No. 1 for the majority of weeks this decade. One way or another, the Big Four continue to keep the Lost Four out of big matches or at least out of the winner's circle after the big matches.
Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, and Goffin combine for zero titles at the Masters Series level and the Grand Slam level combined even though they are all in their mid-20s. When will just one of them get over the hump? Since they haven't done it by now, there's absolutely no telling when they will. It could be that the Lost Four get over the hump of the Big Four just in time to be too late.
Where is the next great player?
What does that mean? It means that the players coming up behind the Lost Four might be the ones to watch.
Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev are the bright lights. The latter already has a Masters Series title at the age of 20. That one title at that level is more than the Lost Four have combined over decades more of combined experience.
The story of Wimbledon 2017 is truly about Roger Federer winning a Grand Slam at the age of 35. The story between the lines is where the heck is the next great player? You can talk all you want about Federer being great as he is. But there is a point to be made about the missing talent. There's a huge lull in the 20s crowd right now, which makes you wonder if we're really going to be waiting a few more years for Zverev and Thiem to put the Big Four to bed.
If that's the case, there's no pressing need for any of Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, or even Stan Wawrinka to consider retirement. There should be negotiable paths to the finals of big tournaments for years to come still.
