Running (albeit late) 2012 Aussie Open thread

No. Because none of them are American.

 

Blue font missing...right?

 

When he's healthy, del Potro. Unreal power, if questionable conditioning.

 

Light blue font.

 

Borg, Connors, Lendl and McEnroe dominated at slightly different eras. Connors and Borg, yes although the greatness of Connors is that he won before Borg, during, and after. McEnroe simply squelched Borg but Borg had already been great. Lendl's greatness did not come until Borg was gone and Connors was unfortunately measured by great 5 setters against Aaron Krickstein, not a major championship.

This is a great era because Fed is still great, though not quite his prime (although he looks the same to me, just that he's losing to Nadal and Djoker.), Nadal dominated just 18 mos. ago, and now Djoker after being Murray to Fed/Nadal, is now the undisputed Champion/No.1.

 

After 1978 US Open, Connors never beat Borg. His next major win was at 1982 Wimbledon against McEnroe. Five setter, come from behind win. Then he won the 1982 US Open against Lendl who had beaten McEnroe in the semifinal. John was a three time defending champion.

 

The big difference in this era is that there are really only three players who are threats at any men's Grand Slam and a fourth who should be but can't quite get over the hump (Murray). The fact that the 2009 U.S.Open was the only time that a non-Big Three player (Juan Martin del Potro) has won a Grand Slam since the 2005 Australian Open tells you just how much of a gap there is between the best players and everyone else.

During the period from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s, Borg, McEnroe and Connors were certainly the most successful. But there were a dozen players in any Grand Slam field with the potential to win (especially on unusual surfaces). Guillermo Vilas won three Grand Slams. Johan Kriek won a couple of Australian Opens. Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl were becoming factors. Even guys like Roscoe Tanner and Vitas Gerulaitis could sneak into a final or win a major.

The final few days of Grand Slams are incredible right now and feature some of the best tennis you can imagine; but in terms of the quality and intrigue for an entire tournament, it's hard to beat the late 1970s/early 1980s.

 

Borg also retired during Connors' resurgence.

Or was that the reason for Connors' resurgence?

 

I guess this is the whole point of the conversation, but: does this say more about the field in 1970 or the top tier today?

 

Top players didn't contest Australian at that time. Borg never entered it, McEnroe stated going late in his career. Connors entered it once.