FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. – The events that have transpired on the lush green fields of the country’s most famous tennis courts, the land which once housed the 1964 World’s Fair, have been nothing short of incredible, as they usually are. However this year, they’ve been particularly captivating – and some trailblazing – as well.
The US Open started out with 15-year-old CiCi Bellis garnering wide attention by defeating women’s No. 12 seed Dominika Cibulkova in the first round, though she lost in the second round to Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas.
Danish darling Caroline Wozniacki was next in the spotlight, defeating tennis cynosure Maria Sharapova and eventually finally winning by default in the semifinals when her opponent Shuai Peng had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair due to intense cramps. Wozniacki fell to Women’s No.1 seed Serena Williams.
The Men’s U.S. Open tournament arguably started out like clockwork, with three of the ‘big four’ of men’s tennis – Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray – dominating play, save Rafael Nadal out for an injury. In a surprising turn of events, however, the two remaining superstars, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, both lost in the quarterfinals. Federer lost – in straight sets no less – to Croatian Marin Cilic. Djokovic lost to up-and-coming Japanese player Kei Nishikori, to the shock and astoundment of the nation. Djokovic is the men’s No. 1 in the world, but on this day he was bested by Nishikori, the men’s No. 10 seed.
Finally, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori went at it in the finals. Neither had ever been to the finals before, so the win would be a first for someone, unlike the victories of many previous U.S. Opens. It seemed an equal match, but Cilic took it with quickness, outdoing Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
All these newcomers at the Open raise questions; is the sport in the midst of a sea change? Somewhat. The up-and-coming players seem to be getting younger and younger – Cici Bellis, for example – but even the tennis greats were once young and in the spotlight. John McEnroe dominated the sport for much of his young adult life, but even he started young, winning his first Grand Slam title at just 20 years old.
The players still recognized as the world’s gold standard in tennis, the ‘big four’, have seceded small parts of their respective thrones, but they aren’t over just yet. After all, the man still holding the men’s World No. 1 title, Novak Djokovic, is only 27. His counterparts, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, are 27 and 28 years, respectively. 33-year-old Roger Federer seems to see the sun setting on the true pinnacle of his career, but he can still be a competitor.
Perhaps the sport is experiencing somewhat of a shift towards welcoming a younger generation; a similar trend has also been observed recently in the golf world.
However, it seems mostly like the world’s top tennis players are going to have to start sharing their spotlights with the sport’s freshest and best talent like Nishikori and Bellis. Eventually, these players may be at the top of the rankings, potentially ousting out today’s tennis greats; at some point, the crown will need to be passed down from the ‘big four’ on to the next generation.
Perhaps we’ve witnessed the very beginning stages of the change at the U.S. Open. Will it start snowballing? Will Djokovic and Federer avenge their semifinals losses this year? We can only wait until the next Grand Slam to see.