Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played a marginal role this year, thanks to a series of physical problems that limited their appearances on the pitch. Excellent year for Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, who significantly reduced the gap from Novak Djokovic, especially (and only) on hard courts.
During an exclusive interview with Tennis365, former Chilean tennis player Fernando Gonzalez turned his gaze to 2022. Gonzalez analyzed: “These last two seasons have been quite peculiar due to COVID, which has disrupted almost all sectors.
2021 certainly went better than 2020, but there are still problems related to travel and displacement. We hope that next year will sanction the definitive return to normality. I really hope so, because so many exciting things are happening in our sport.”
He also added: “First of all, it will be interesting to see what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal can do in 2022. There are huge expectations for Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, who have had an excellent second half of 2021.”
Gonzalez: “2022 a crucial year for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal”
Gonzaez then concluded: “The Russian won his first Grand Slam in New York, while Zverev won at the ATP Finals in Turin. Among the very young, I really like Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner.
Both have great talent and will be among the protagonists of the men’s circuit in the years to come.” 2021 has given many interesting ideas, waiting for the Davis Cup finals to come alive. Novak Djokovic literally cannibalized the first part of the season, having scored three Grand Slam titles.
The world number 1 defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final at the Australian Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros and Matteo Berrettini at Wimbledon. The Serbian champion therefore targeted the Grand Slam, an epic feat that was only achieved by Rod Laver in the Open Era.
If successful at the US Open, the 34-year-old from Belgrade would have overtaken eternal rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to rise to 21 Majors. Paralyzed by tension and physically exhausted, Nole gave up in three sets to Medvedev at Arthur Ashe Stadium.