# Is Andy Murray the "new king" for mens tennis in 2017?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-andy-murray-the-new-king-for-mens-tennis-in-2017/777591>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [January 20, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-andy-murray-the-new-king-for-mens-tennis-in-2017/777591 "2017-01-20T00:35:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 6

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-andy-murray-the-new-king-for-mens-tennis-in-2017/777591/6 "2017-01-20T14:25:29Z")

</div>

> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#):
>
> Just as little aside, I’m watching Federer play Berdych and…as much as I like watching Murray, there has never been a more beautiful site in tennis…perhaps in sport…than Roger Federer on the top of his game. There seems to be minimal effort and the power seems to come from nowhere, wonderful to watch.
> 
> He’s had 6 months out, he’s 35 and he’s just demolished Berdych in straight sets.

Agreed. Whenever Federer plays Murray I’m not sure who I really want to root for (a bit like Ivanisevic vs Henman all those years ago). I suspect romanticism beats patriotism, even (or perhaps especially) if it’s the final at Wimbledon.

I’m going to make the same prediction here as I have made for the last 2 or 3 years - Federer will win one more Grand Slam this year, and then retire, either immediately or at the end of the season (probably the former). And Wimbledon is probably the one at which he has the best chance, though clearly he’s still got it in him to beat Murray next week.

> [@AK84](#):
>
> Murray is a combination Roddick and Hewitt. Like the former, he has had the misfortune (as stated above) to be playing against some truly all time greats, but like Hewitt he also (since Fed and Nadal’s decline) has had the advantage of playing in a transitional era, so he can rack up a few more Grand Slams.
> 
> In short, he is an Agassi. Andre was a great player, but after being blocked by Sampras for the major part of his career, he was lucky to still be at his near his best when Sampras declined, those last 3/4 Grand Slams flattered him.
> 
> The question now is will Djoker’s decline be as sudden and final as Pistol Pete’s?

I think that’s true up to a point, but I think he’s overall a better player than either Roddick or Hewitt - his serve is better than Hewitt’s and his groundstrokes are better than Roddick’s, his athleticism and tenacity are comparable to Hewitt as well. I think the opposition he is currently facing is tougher than either, as well - Federer, Djokovic, and even Nadal are far from done yet. Around 2003 there were literally no greats of the game anywhere near their peak.

As for Djokovic, I doubt he will decline quickly. For one thing, nutrition and sports science has advanced a lot in 20 years. For another, his game is much more rounded than Sampras’s - Djokovic will be among the favourites for the French this year, which Sampras couldn’t win even at his peak, against fairly mediocre opposition. And Sampras was my first tennis idol. Unlike many, I never got bored of watching that serve.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-andy-murray-the-new-king-for-mens-tennis-in-2017/777591)._