Is the Lackluster 2014 ATP Finals an Indication of Life After the Big 4 Era?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 14, 2014

commentComment        

The ATP World Tour Finals have been creating a buzz this week, but unfortunately, it's been for all of the wrong reasons. The matches taking place between the top eight tennis players in 2014 have been ridiculously, almost comically, lopsided.

The event has left fans and media members scratching their heads and wondering, "Is this the future of men's tennis? Is this what we're left with after the Big Four are past their prime?"

It might sound like these questions are overreactions, but it really has been a historically bad week at the O2 arena. Of the 11 round-robin matches that have been played so far, 10 have been in straight sets. In 17 of those sets, the losers haven't won more than three games. 



Here are just a few of the head-scratching score-lines: Stan Wawrinka d. Tomas Berdych 6-1, 6-1; Novak Djokovic d. Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-1; Roger Federer d. Andy Murray 6-0, 6-1.

As reported by Kamakshi Tandon of Tennis.com, the straight-forward matches have been a surprise to everyone:

The men's field had looked more open than previous years, given the Grand Slam breakthroughs by Wawrinka and Marin Cilic, as well as Kei Nishikori reaching the final of the U.S. Open. However, Djokovic and Federer have dominated the tournament through the first few days.

'I think it's a big surprise for everybody,' said Wawrinka. 'For us also. It's so strange because this year everybody before the tournament was expecting some big matches because [there] was more surprise during all the year with me winning [a] Grand Slam, Cilic also; [Milos] Raonic, Nishikori being there. So everybody was expecting some big match[es].'

While it's easy to look at this week and buy into a "The ATP is falling!" narrative, as always, it's necessary to dig a bit deeper to see what the real issue is.

First of all, let's look at the state of the Big Four, which has been more mirage than a ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!