Edited: No player currently 30 or younger has won a major

[Sweet Jesus]

In history, there have been 32 majors won by guys aged 30 and older but that includes the last 14 and counting.

The last man to win a major in his 20s was Murray, aged 29.

There's nothing comparable to that streak of 30-somethings winning majors. It's basically Laver's grand slam year in 1969 as the next longest streak.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Nadal did it 3 years in a row at the French (many moons ago).

But I mean that is the point, it’s a huge task to penetrate through all of them.

You don't have to beat all 3. Thiem could have beaten 2 of them and won a major. Wawrinka did that twice.

Granted, it's hard when the players trying to do it aren't good enough to do it. And that's why they've not won any majors.

Don't frame it as some impossible ask when Wawrinka did it twice.

 

[Caesar]

The invention of copoly strings in 2004 fundamentally changed the game in a way that has not yet been fully recognised by most casual observers, including OP.

In the future we will continue to see most players peak later, stay at the top of the game longer, and win more whilst they are there.

 

[The Speaker]

Yes, strings definitely make 39 year old men run around like they were 20 years younger.

 

[Caesar]

Yes, strings definitely make 39 year old men run around like they were 20 years younger.

Copoly strings (and the flow on effect they have had on racquets, players, administrators, etc.) have made the game more about experience and endurance than strength and speed.

Male endurance athletes peak in their mid-30s. Plenty of top marathoners and ultra-marathoners are competitive even into their 40s.

 

[The Speaker]

Copoly strings (and the flow on effect they have had on racquets, players, administrators, etc.) have made the game more about experience and endurance than strength and speed.

Male endurance athletes peak in their mid-30s. Plenty of top marathoners and ultra-marathoners are competitive even into their 40s.

uh huh

 

[Caesar]

uh huh

Strong rebuttal

 

[The Speaker]

Strong rebuttal

Well you've pretty clearly convinced yourself of this logic and have no interest in exploring other explanations, so I really don't see any point in going further with it.

 

[Caesar]

Well you've pretty clearly convinced yourself of this logic and have no interest in exploring other explanations, so I really don't see any point in going further with it.

There is no reason to think that PED use is any different today than it has been for the last 30+ years.

 

[The Speaker]

There is no reason to think that PED use is any different today than it has been for the last 30+ years.

I would say the records of Da Big Three give some reason to think that it is different, which is not the same as it being new.

 

[Caesar]

I would say the records of Da Big Three give some reason to think that it is different, which is not the same as it being new.

Like I said, not if you have a good understanding about how copoly strings have affected the game.

 

[The Speaker]

Like I said, not if you have a good understanding about how copoly strings have affected the game.

This is mind boggling stuff from you. If they've changed the game so that players are reaching their peak in their 30s, someone like Tomas Berdych should still be playing and thriving. In fact, there should be plenty of 30+ challengers to Da Big Three.

Instead we're getting their best challengers come from a younger era, and all their contemporaries are retiring.

 

[Caesar]

This is mind boggling stuff from you. If they've changed the game so that players are reaching their peak in their 30s, someone like Tomas Berdych should still be playing and thriving. In fact, there should be plenty of 30+ challengers to Da Big Three.

Instead we're getting their best challengers come from a younger era, and all their contemporaries are retiring.

Tomas Berdych, a prodigious flat hitter, did not play a style of game that benefited from the copoly era.

 

[The Speaker]

Tomas Berdych, a prodigious flat hitter, did not play a style of game that benefited from the copoly era.

Right, so the top three conqeuerors of all come just happen to be the only ones who play a style beneficial with the racquet, even though one of them went through an obvious decline that he suddenly came out of.

 

[Caesar]

Right, so the top three conqeuerors of all come just happen to be the only ones who play a style beneficial with the racquet, even though one of them went through an obvious decline that he suddenly came out of.

All three were to an extent ahead of their time in the sense that they played their formative tennis in the pre-copoly era but fortunately developed games that were very well suited to the changes in the game that copoly strings induced. It gave them a significant advantage that they have parlayed into a solid grip on the game which is today as much political as anything else.

I would wager they all dope as well, but that is unique to them neither in the current field nor compared to prior eras.

 

[The Speaker]

I would wager they all dope as well, but that is unique to them neither in the current field nor compared to prior eras.

This is the only thing that matters, and how they dope compared to other players today and players from previous eras is exceptionally important to the legitimacy of professional tennis.

 

[Minidisc MD]

Nadal: veins, huge arms, moody, weirdly missing from US Opens

Federer: went to absolute s**t at about 32, looked done and everyone would've respected it, bounced back very quickly and highly and won more Slams and is still making rake at near 40. clearly just obsessed with money now, weird arguments to supporting awful companies and even betraying an arse-kicking Nike contract. probable psycho

Djokovic: amazing diet, ludicrous discipline, but that body is just freaky. he never looks worried, great timing of breaks...

the game is cooked y'all! Agassi was made to be an a-hole because he smoked meth but the dude is far more talented, revolutionary, and honest than the rest. won't get into cry baby Sampras.

 

[Minidisc MD]

The invention of copoly strings in 2004 fundamentally changed the game in a way that has not yet been fully recognised by most casual observers, including OP.

In the future we will continue to see most players peak later, stay at the top of the game longer, and win more whilst they are there.

okay so... where's the perennial number 5 seed or something then if they're all behind the big three?

Kyrgios is angry and gives up for a reason. he's a noble soldier.

 

[Hamingja]

What they take would make even Lance blush IMO.

I still think going from 16 seeds to 32 makes a really big difference as well.

I mean Thiem took Djokovic to 5 in the final at the Australian Open. If he was playing someone ranked 20th in the world in the second round instead of Alex Bolt he'd have been goneskis right then and there.

The big players don't need to be wound up week 1 of a grand slam, they can just go in at 70-80% and build with little risk they are going to run into someone capable of rolling them in the first 3 rounds.

 

[Caesar]

This is the only thing that matters, and how they dope compared to other players today and players from previous eras is exceptionally important to the legitimacy of professional tennis.

This is the mentality of someone who looks at results rather than understands the sport.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

The invention of copoly strings in 2004 fundamentally changed the game in a way that has not yet been fully recognised by most casual observers, including OP.

In the future we will continue to see most players peak later, stay at the top of the game longer, and win more whilst they are there.

So the game has changed!?

Yeah that argument has been made repeatedly. Sure, now it's about the strings. Let me take a moment to "fully recognise" this game-changing piece of information.

What a load of horse s**t.

 

[Roobs321]

Given the corona situation, Cilic & Del Potro turning 32 as the youngest slam winners seems a given at the minute. Scary when you consider Del Potro won that slam 11 years ago.

 

[Ross]

Looks like we'll finally get our first male major winner born in the 90s. And all it took was Federer being injured, Nadal withdrawing because of a pandemic and Djokovic hitting a lineswoman for it to happen.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Looks like we'll finally get our first male major winner born in the 90s. And all it took was Federer being injured, Nadal withdrawing because of a pandemic and Djokovic hitting a lineswoman for it to happen.

Yeah that's all it took. Not long now.

 

[JackNah_8]

looks like we have to update the title