The biggest tennis stars of the last decade

Tennis is a sport that has been growing for decades. The sport seriously developed as racket technology improved and the biggest tennis stars of even just thirty or forty years ago would not stand a chance against the best players of today. In this article, we will explore some of tennis biggest stars of the last decade.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is the man who epitomises tennis at its very best. On the court, he is possibly the greatest of all time but what sets him a level above every other player is his class. The man exudes charisma and even his playing is elegant and graceful. The one handed backhand is slowly fading out of the ATP, but Feds managed to be the very best with his. Of course, his achievements on the court back up his claim to be the greatest. Over the last ten years, he has won five Grand Slams and the last decade was not even his best. He won the Australian Open three times and Wimbledon twice, with the most recent being in 2018. It is unlikely that we will ever see the Swiss win another Grand Slam, but for someone of his prestige, you never know.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, the current world number one, is the only player who has dominated Federer in the last decade, apart from Rafael Nadal on clay. The Serb’s greatest victory against Federer came in the final of Wimbledon 2019. The longest of the competition’s history, Djokovic triumphed in five sets, with the last set being decided in a tie break at 12-12, the only ever grand slam final to be decided in this format. The Serb had to save two match points in an absolute classic but he came out on top. Djokovic has to be admired for his quality, and for most tennis fans, the contest between the best ever tennis player is between him and Roger. He has no obvious weaknesses in his game and is the best returner on the tour, which helps him negate some players that rely on their serve. In the last ten years, Djoko has won an absolutely incredible 16 grand slams, including a whopping seven Australian Opens.

Rafael Nadal

The third member of the Big Three, Nadal is undoubtedly the best ever clay tennis player, and some of his fans point to him as the best of all time, and he certainly has a claim. Nadal’s record at Roland Garros is staggering: he has played 95 matches and won 93 of them, making him a favourite with the bookies like Findbettingsites.co.uk anytime he plays there. This comes to a 97,8% win rate. Other than Nadal’s ten victories at Roland Garros since 2010, he has also won four US Opens and a Wimbledon. He is a part of very few players to have won all four Grand Slams in the Modern Era and his ferocity on the court is unmatched. Rafa has the ability to get the ball back in the most unlikely situations, and even a slight mistake will be enough for him to capitalise at his best.

Honourable mentions

Although the Big Three stands head and shoulders above the competition due to their consistency at the top, a couple of other players have proved they can also be the best. Andy Murray managed to win three Grand Slams in the past ten years, as well as many more finals. One Wimbledon victory came against Djokovic and was a very memorable match, especially thanks to the home crowd who were completely behind Murray. Stan Wawrinka also managed three Grand Slam victories and when at his best, he is a different breed. Nicknamed ‘Stanimal’, when he is in the zone, he becomes an absolute beast on the court. Several players are good enough to beat the Big Three if the three perform averagely, but Wawrinka might be the only one good enough to beat the Big Three when they are at their best!