Novak Djokovic’s heroics at the Australian Open have led to plenty of debate on social media over the level of different eras in tennis.
Djokovic reached the final at Melbourne Park after coming through a tough five-set classic with Jannik Sinner, dethroning the Italian and denying him a three-peat.
The Serb was ultimately beaten in the final by Carlos Alcaraz, but his level against the ‘new two’ at 38 years of age had many fans questioning whether the current crop of superstars is really as good as the previous generation’s ‘big three’.
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Patrick Mouratoglou weighed in on the discussion, claiming that Sinner is a better tennis player than Djokovic, regardless of the result at the Australian Open.
Boris Becker responded to Mouratoglou, telling him that he is ‘alone’ in his opinion.
Now, Emma Raducanu‘s former coach, Mark Petchey, has made his feelings clear on the debate.
Mark Petchey discusses the current ATP top 20
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Petchey said: “5 Hall of Famers. Rivals making rivals better,” referring to the generation of tennis dominated by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka contesting them.
While the ‘big three’ headlined the golden era, both Murray and Wawrinka managed to win three Grand Slam titles each.
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Petchey continued: “But so much more than that, it made the following pack even better because every week they have to play against a different style of HoF player.
“If we are in the business of [hot] takes. The Top 20 during the 5 HofF era was a lot more stacked than now. Their skill sets were vastly improved by the opposition they faced.”
The current top 20 men’s tennis players in the world rankings
Alcaraz and Sinner are ranked first and second in the world, respectively, with Djokovic currently trailing in third place.
Alexander Zverev, who came agonisingly close to beating Alcaraz in the Australian Open semifinals, is fourth in the world, while Lorenzo Musetti is ranked fifth.
Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton make up places six, seven, eight and nine, while Alexander Bublik is 10th.
| Ranking | Player |
| 1 | Carlos Alcaraz |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner |
| 3 | Novak Djokovic |
| 4 | Alexander Zverev |
| 5 | Lorenzo Musetti |
| 6 | Alex de Minaur |
| 7 | Taylor Fritz |
| 8 | Felix Auger-Aliassime |
| 9 | Ben Shelton |
| 10 | Alexander Bublik |
There are still some big names outside of the top ten, though, such as Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Jack Draper, ranked 11th, 12th and 13th.
Other notable names in the top 20 include Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and Jakub Mensik.
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