It is one of the most important questions of the new season: Are Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic able to stand up to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer after their return?
The tennis year 2017 couldn’t have started much more crazy: Federer against Nadal in the final of the Australian Open – this constellation seemed unimaginable even for the boldest optimists.
Twelve months later, history could repeat itself. This time it is Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic who return to the Grand Slam stage after a long break in Melbourne. However, it remains to be seen whether the convalescents will be as furious as their long-standing rivals.
Much will depend on health status. While Murray has been struggling with hip problems for months, Djokovic was only able to start training a few weeks ago because of his elbow injury.
“It will depend on how fit Novak and Andy are,”says Paul Annacone. Pete Sampras’ long-time coach has no reason why Djokovic and Murray can’t be at the top next year together with Federer and Nadal. They don’t stop being great just because they’re getting older,”the American said in the podcast Beyond the Baseline.
Murray and Djokovic are difficult to beat, especially because of their playing style,”Especially when three of the five sets are played, they hardly give free points. We’ll see what they’re like at the beginning of the season.”