THE changing of the guard in men’s tennis has “officially” happened and the Big Three Era is over, according to John McEnroe. Jannik Sinner, 23, bookended the year by winning the US Open in New York , eight months after he won the Australian Open. His contemporary Carlos Alcaraz, 21, celebrated in the summer months by doing the French Open-Wimbledon double.
It is the first time since 2002 that none of Roger Federer , Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic had won a Major - the latter losing the Wimbledon final to Alcaraz for the season running. Those tennis titans dominated the sport with 66 Grand Slam titles between them over two decades - kickstarting their dominance with Federer's maiden crown at the All England Club in 2003. And this is the first time since 1993, and only the third occasion in the Open Era, that the four Slams are held by guys aged 23 and under.
READ MORE ON TENNIS America’s seven-time major winner McEnroe , 65, said: “It is the official changing of the guard. “I do think it will open the minds of other players to think they have got a shot at it as well. “These guys can’t possibly – can they? – dominate like these last three guys have.
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