Ivan Lendl had warned last month that it was too early to make the claim that the era of the big four's dominance in men's tennis was coming to an end after Stanislas Wawrinka's surprising march to the Australian Open title in January.
Ostensibly, it was a false a dawn, and Lendl, Andy Murray’s coach, has been proven right.
It is still early days but the past week at Indian Wells and the magnificent battle for the title between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer shows residency in the upper echelon of men's tennis could remain an exclusive club for a bit longer.
True, Rafael Nadal was blown away by a spirited Alexandr Dolgopolov and Andy Murray got battered by Milos Raonic, and those two vanquishers could potentially play a big part in the season ahead, alongside the likes of Grigor Dmitrov, Ernest Gulbis and Wawrinka.
But Federer, who had looked a spent force in his sorry second-round exit to Sergiy Stakhovsky at Wimbledon last year, reached the final at Indian Wells without dropping a set and Djokovic seems to be rediscovering his mojo after arriving in the United States without a title for the first time since 2006.
The Serb world No 2 brought that mini drought to an end with a typically doughty 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Federer on Sunday night, avenging his loss to the Swiss in the Dubai semi-finals. It was his 17th Masters title and he is now tied with Andre Agassi in third place on the all-time Masters 1000 winners list. The top two are Nadal (26) and Federer (21). Murray has nine.
Together, the big four have won 33 of the past 35 Masters events, with Robin Soderling (2010 Paris) and David Ferrer (2012 Paris) grabbing a day pass into the exclusive club. At the grand slam tournaments, they have shared 37 of the past 41 men’s singles titles since the start of 2004.
This week and his triumph in Dubai has shown Federer still belongs in the big four.
So where does it leave the rest, those who were excited about Wawrinka’s Melbourne success and believed a new era was on the horizon?
“Well, they have to prove it,” Federer said in Indian Wells. “One tournament doesn’t do it all for me yet.
“I mean, it’s nice they believe more in it and it’s nice that they take Stan as an inspiration. That’s great. But they should believe more in beating the top guys than just one-offs once in a while.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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