Novak Djokovic era is over but a respected tennis voice is predicting a bright future
07/22/2024 09:58 AM
The most glorious era of men’s tennis is coming to an end, but the sport will thrive when Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal join Roger Federer in retirement.
That’s the verdict of respected agent and tennis manager Patricio Apey, who believes the sport is well placed to thrive not that the era of dominance of the game’s greatest champions is ending.
Apey has worked with some of the biggest names in tennis and is currently overseeing the careers of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda, among others.
He is also the mastermind behind The Boodles tennis event, which takes place the week before Wimbledon each year at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire, England.
In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Apey suggested the gloomy predictions that tennis will struggle to thrive without its star names is misplaced, as he pointed to history to highlight his point.
“I always laugh because I’m old enough, sadly, to remember how the eras move on in tennis,” began Apey.
“I loved to watch Guillermo Vilas when I was younger and we had the (Bjon) Borg and (John) McEnroe era.
“When I got into the business, Jimmy Connor was still winning titles. He won his 109th title when I was getting into the tennis business and that is still a record for most titles won in the game.
“Ever since then, I’ve heard people saying tennis is dead when Connor, McEnroe and Borg are gone.
“Well, guess what, along came (Boris) Becker, (Stefan) Edberg and many others.
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“Then we heard American tennis is dead as without their players at the top, the sport will die. Then you have a little guy named Michael Chang winning the French Open, Jim Courier came through and then we had Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
“It’s almost laughable to remember now that people were spinning the same ‘tennis is dead’ stories when Sampras and Agassi were coming to the end of their careers, but then we had the greatest in men’s tennis that lasted for 20 years with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
“This has been arguably the most extraordinary era in the history of any sport.
“We have not had one nation dominating the World Cup and while golf had a dominant player in Tiger Woods for a few years, it’s nothing compared to what we have seen from these three amazing tennis players.
“That said, I have no fear that the next 20 years and beyond will be just fine, even though these three great champions are at the end now.”
Apey went on to suggest Alcaraz and new world No 1 Jannik Sinner will benefit from a tennis landscape elevated by the prominence of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, as he suggested fans around the world are ready for a new chapter.
“The people coming through are just as exciting,” he added. “They are humble, nice people who the public will warm to.
“Look at Carlos Alcaraz, everyone loves this kid. And he is not alone.
“Here is a young man that plays a lightning brand of tennis. He gets up in the morning and he is humble, caring and polite to everyone. Let’s be happy he is in our sport.
“Jannik Sinner is the same. He is a lovely, lovely, lovely guy.
“You have got those two and we don’t know if they are ready to replace Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
“Will either of them be as good as Djokovic and win as many trophies as him? It’s doubtful, but that will be decided over the next 65 Slams.
“What we have now is different. The new guys are dynamic, they can be controversial and there is always space for different actors in any good film.”
Patricio Apey spoke to Tennis365 at The Boodles tennis event which will return for another edition in June 2025.
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