Rafael Nadal: “This Era is Going to End”

World No.2 Rafael Nadal dispatched the next-generation star, Matteo Berrettini in straight sets 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-1 in 2 hours and 35 minutes to reach the 27th major finals at the US Open 2019 on Friday.

Rafael Nadal will meet a first time Grand Slam finalist, Daniil Medvedev for the title match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday. The 18-time Grand Slam champion is however not inspired by the thought of continuing the dominance of the ‘Big four’ at the Grand Slam events.

Since the 2016 US Open, the ‘Big Three’ – Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic have shared all the 11 major titles among themselves. The era of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and to some level Andy Murray has been described as the best era in the history of the sport.

However, the 33-year-old believes that they don’t need to hold the era of ‘Big Four’ as at some point of the time a new generation will take over and mark an epoch in the history of tennis.

In the post-match press conference, a reporter asked Nadal whether the motive of winning the US Open 2019 is not just winning a Grand Slam but to extend the ‘Big Four’ era – to which Rafael Nadal replied, “What big four?”

Talking about extending the ‘Big Four’ era, Rafael Nadal said, “We don’t need to hold this era anymore. We have been here for 15 years almost. Hopefully, but for my personal interest.”

The Spaniard rejected the notion that he needs to win the US Open 2019 title to continue their dominance and keep their run alive, as he admitted that their era is going to end.

He continued, “At some point, these days, going to happen sooner than later that this era going to end. Is arriving at the end. I am 33. Novak is 32. Roger is 38. Andy is 32, too.”

The three-time US Open champion further concluded that he is not anxious about the end of the ‘Big Four‘ as new champions will always rise in tennis. “The clock is not stopping. That’s part of the cycle of life. I’m not much worried about this because in tennis always going to be great champions.”

It has been 62 Grand Slams since either of the Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have been in every major semifinal. The domination shown by the three has been unparalleled and does not seem to stop.

The next-generation players have posed a challenge to them but have failed to win a major tournament. However, Daniil Medvedev has a chance to break this record in the finals against Nadal on Sunday. Will it be the beginning of the end of an era?