Paris (AFP)
After provocations in 2019, millennials of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev will finally go to conflict with his elders Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer who once again dominated the tennis season ?
Among the ladies, the season was marked by the hatching of the Australian Ashleigh Barty who finished the world N.1 year at the end of a road paved with gold: with 11.3 million dollars coming notably from her titles at Roland Garros and the Masters in Shenzhen, she has amassed more tournament earnings than Federer (8.7 M USD). In the earnings ranking, the 23-year-old player is only beaten by Nadal (16.6 M USD) and Djokovic (13.2 M USD).
Together, Nadal, Djokovic and Federer again won the four Grand Slam tournaments (Australia and Wimbledon for Djokovic, Roland-Garros and US Open for Nadal) as well as 5 of the 9 Masters 1000 (Djokovic in Madrid and Paris, Nadal in Rome and Montreal, Federer in Miami) and the new Davis Cup (Nadal with Spain).
And they once again took over the podium at the end of the year, in order Nadal (33), Djokovic (32) and Federer (38).
But 2019 was not a long, quiet river for this legendary trio: injuries and fatigue almost derailed their season ... but not as much as the rising guard.
- Series of 12 Majors -
Because if Djokovic and Federer dropped out at Flushing Meadows a few weeks after playing at Wimbledon one of the most Homeric finals in history (13-12 at the tie break of the 5th set for the Serbian), Nadal went to the end New York but had to deliver a titanic fight in the final against the Russian Medvedev.
This 23-year-old grand ladder almost became this September 8 the first player outside Big 3 to win in a Grand Slam tournament since Stan Wawrinka at the US Open 2016 and thus end a series of now 12 tournaments Major shared between these three players only ...
During a breathtaking August-October quarter, the Russian won his first two Masters 1000 (Cincinnati and Shanghai) and played 6 finals in a row in as many tournaments with 3 titles in passing, before collapsing from fatigue at Masters and forfeit the Davis Cup.
In total, he is the player who has won the most matches this season (59), ahead of Nadal (58) and Djokovic (57) whom he has beaten twice (Monte-Carlo, Cincinnati).
- Serena loses -
He thus reached the 4th world rank, his best ranking, which he sold at the very end of the year to Dominic Thiem. Finalist at Roland-Garros, the 26-year-old Austrian beat Federer then Djokovic at the London Masters, before yielding in the final against Tsitsipas.
The Greek (21) thus won the best title of his career and reached his best ranking (5th), during a season where he beat Nadal on clay from Madrid, Djokovic in Shanghai and Federer at the 'Australian Open, Rome and Masters.
In 2018, it was Zverev who won this Masters tournament. The 2019 season did not allow the 22-year-old German to confirm. But he still reached the half in London after beating Nadal and Medvedev. He also beat Federer in Shanghai.
The new female generation is on its side in place: certainly Serena Williams (38) remains the player to beat when she is entered in a tournament ... but sometimes she loses. As in the final of Wimbledon and then the US Open where she aimed, respectively against Simona Halep (28 years old and 4th in the world) and Bianca Andreescu (19 years old and 5th), the title record in Major (24). The American finished the year in 10th place in the world.
The throne of the WTA was generally shared between Naomi Osaka and Barty. The Japanese moved there on January 28 and sold it to the Australian on June 24, with a short acting 4 weeks in August-September. Will the new duel lead to last in women's tennis?
© 2019 AFP