Djokovic, Federer and Nadal: No Young Talent Can Scale Their Heights

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. With the dust just settling at Flushing Meadows following this year's U.S. Open, now is the time for celebrating the victory of Rafael Nadal. 

The Spaniard's achievements this year have been nothing short of extraordinary. Not only has he shown tremendous physical resilience to keep his tendinitis at bay, but he has also displayed a strength of character and belief that is only seen in those at the very pinnacles of their sports.

Nadal has swept all before him in the American hard court season—all the more impressive, given many commentators didn't give him a prayer on the firmer surface this year. Some thought he would only focus on clay tournaments for the rest of his career. 

However, there is a nagging feeling in the recesses of the minds of men's tennis fans the world over. With Nadal's body surely unable to withstand the strains of the tour for many more years, combined with the slightly alarming drop in form from Roger Federer in 2013, is a golden era of tennis set to come to a close?

The youngsters for whom so much hope was reserved have so far failed to utilise their full potentials. The band of players earmarked as future Grand Slam champions from an early age, such as Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic, Jerzy Janowicz and Kei Nishikori, are yet to give serious indications that they are ready to fill the shoes of those who have stayed at the summit for so long.

Of those five, the best performances at Slams have been Nishikori's quarter final at the Australian Open in 2012 and Janowicz's semi appearance at Wimbledon this year. Both runs were halted by Andy Murray, one of the four stalwarts of men's tennis.

These young players are the ones who are supposed to challenge the order at the top of the sport. It's certainly what Novak Djokovic, Federer and Nadal did when they burst onto the scene.

Federer won his first Grand Slam at the age of 21. Djokovic was 20 when he lifted his first major title, whilst Nadal was only 19 when he picked up his first of tennis' most coveted prizes.

Tomic is currently 20, whilst Raonic, Janowicz and Dimitrov are 22. Nishikori is 23. They're still in the infancy of their careers for certain, but Djokovic said last year at age 24 he felt at the peak of his powers. 

Particularly concerning for many would be the progression of Dimitrov. Touted for so long as a future world No. 1, given the weighty tag of "Baby Fed" before he could make his own stamp on the game and lauded by many as one of the key talents for the future, his career to date hasn't lived up to the billing.

His only victory against one of the Big Four was the stunning win over Djokovic in Madrid, but this was followed up by a meek exit at the hands of the Serb in the third round of Roland Garros. He is yet to win a title on the ATP tour.

The pressure on these young players is almost certainly unfair. They have three players at the top of the game who could all legitimately argue to be considered amongst the best who have ever picked up a racquet. Murray is no mean understudy to these three, having picked up two Grand Slams of his own to go along with Olympic gold and 28 career titles.

The problem is that tennis fans have been treated to such exceptional displays in the last decade or so that it is only natural to look beyond the greats still playing and see, frankly, not very much ready to step into their places.

Most concerning is the performances of America's youngsters. On the women's side, Sloane Stephens has made the step up and is set to be a Grand Slam fixture for years to come, whilst at 18 years old Madison Keys has an extremely bright future ahead of her.

The men, however, are a different matter. Jack Sock (20), Denis Kudla (21) and Ryan Harrison (21) are ranked 88, 96 and 106, respectively, and of those three, only Sock has advanced past the second round of a Slam. There is American representation in the top 32 but, at 25 and 28, Sam Querrey and John Isner can hardly be described as exciting future prospects.

Not only is the USA's great tradition in tennis being very legitimately threatened, but it is symptomatic of a wider malaise in the sport. There are fewer young players pushing the established elite to their limits, and with those players approaching the latter halves of their careers at the very least, the gap is yawning to the next generation.

Tennis has endured periods of mediocrity before (the post-Sampras/Agassi, pre-Federer/Nadal years spring to mind), and its popularity is surely only on the rise, given the performance levels of its four main performers.

The worry is, though, that when this quartet hangs up their racquets, the current crop is not looking capable of matching the heights hit by this incredible era.

As Joni Mitchell so famously sang, "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone." Tennis supporters around the world will surely be hoping that the paradise of the last 10 years doesn't become a parking lot.