‘Big Four’ staying put: Murray, Nadal

Veteran tennis stars confident they are still formidable in grand slams

NEW YORK: Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal insisted yesterday that they have no intention of loosening their grip on power despite the sport’s ‘Big Four’ slipping into the twilight of their careers.

Murray, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have carved up 46 of the last 53 majors between them.

The physical cracks are starting to show — Djokovic and Nadal have been bothered by wrist problems in recent weeks, while 35-year-old Federer has shut down his 2016 season due to a knee injury.

But Murray, described by top 10 rival Kei Nishikori as ‘Ironman’ for his battling run to the Olympic Games gold medal in Rio, says that at 29 years old, he is using his age as a motivating factor.



“I’d imagine I’d be playing at this level for three, four more years, max,” said Murray, the holder of three grand slam titles. “I hope I’m still playing like this when I’m 38 years old, but it’s pretty unlikely. I’m actually using that as a positive that you have to make the most of every opportunity.”

Nadal, a year older than both Djokovic and Murray at 30, has endured a catalogue of injury woes throughout his career, mostly involving his knees and wrists.

His most recent left wrist problem forced a withdrawal midway through the French Open, kept him out of Wimbledon and prevented even practicing for two and a half months.



But the Spaniard then went on a marathon run at the Olympics where he lost in the semi-finals of the singles but won gold in the men’s doubles.

“The ‘Big Four’ are getting older. But still Novak is number one, Andy number two,” said 14-time major winner Nadal. “I got injured, but before the injury I was third in the race [for the Tour finals] and not very far from number two. It’s obvious that we will not be here forever but I think I can play to the level I had before my injury for the next three, four years.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2016.

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