Djokovic, Medvedev, Zverev: The Masters or the confirmation of the new “Big 3”

So far, for its first edition, Turin has not known a Masters called to become a legend. The Pala Alpitour has glimpsed some nice moments, but nothing that is not likely to sustainably feed memory. The duel between Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev was the highlight of this group stage, no doubt because he was the only one to involve two of the big favorites for the title.

So far, the reading of these “ATP Finals” has been absolutely clear. The three main tenors of this season have quietly validated their tickets for the semi-finals. Three wins for Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, two for Alexander Zverev, who only yielded in the last set tie-break against the Russian.

Behind this well-established order, Turin will have been shaken by a form of sluggishness. Outsiders limping and forced to give up (Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini) replaced by jokers (Cameron Norrie and Jannik Sinner), a rookie confined to an extra role (Hubert Hurkacz), and Andrey Rublev petrified and unable to take his chance timely. It is therefore Casper Ruud who will seal this last square. It is not insulting him to consider him as the tiny little thumb of this quartet.

Since this summer, the debate has become clearer

The Italian final bouquet therefore confirms that this 2021 campaign will have been marked by the emergence of a Big 3 of a new nature, far above the rest of the fray. Novak Djokovic is still there, more than ever. But in the absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who will only have played a bunch of matches for the first and half a season for the second, there have been two new favorite playmates.

Between them, Djokovic, Medvedev and Zverev have won the five main titles at stake so far in 2021, the four Grand Slam tournaments and Olympic gold. Within this trio, the hierarchy is also perfectly clear and follows the logic of the classification. The “Djoker” overlooks everything with his Petit Slam and his final in New York. Medvedev, who pilfered the last Major, beating as a bonus the Serbian in the final, remains at a respectable distance from the boss but noticeably ahead of Zverev, whose crowning in Tokyo cannot totally make us forget that he missed (at least) one Grand Slam final.

Apart from the indisputable case of Djokovic, this trio has also gradually isolated itself, in the heart of the summer. After all, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini, defeated by the world number one in the final of Roland Garros and Wimbledon as Medvedev had been in Australia, could still claim to be involved in this fight. But the clear rise of Sascha Zverev and the difficulties of the Greek and the Italian, who both end this Masters in the infirmary and / or on the kneecaps, have clarified the debate.

Sacred Ruud? It would be the surprise of the century

In Turin, the Big 3 2021 has so far amplified its grip. Two questions remain at the dawn of this weekend’s final sprint:

• Can Casper Ruud undermine this logic by lifting the trophy on Sunday?

• If the Norwegian does not succeed, which of the three cadors will add a leading title to an already exceptional (Djokovic), remarkable (Medvedev) or successful (Zverev) season?

For fans of the recent Masters trend, Ruud is the last hope. Only he can extend the series of unprecedented and different winners who have populated the prize list since 2016 with, in order, the victories of Murray, Dimitrov, Zverev, Tsitsipas and Medvedev. To be frank, that would be a colossal surprise, far more than those mentioned above. His presence in the semi-finals is already a tremendous success for him.

We won’t say it was unexpected, but beating Norrie and the shaky Rublev on Friday was one thing, stringing together successes against Medvedev and Djokovic or even Zverev would give him a dimension that no one can yet suspect at home, much less indoors. . If he succeeds, it will be high time to take a whole new look and see him as anything other than the best Norwegian player of all time. It would be arguably the greatest sensation in tournament history. Put a handful of euros on it if you are a player, but still don’t invest your Livret A on it and even less mortgage your main residence if you have one. We never know.

Djoko, Medvedev, Zverev: To each his own message

Any other outcome than a somewhat “WTF” coronation of Casper Ruud will therefore respond to a certain consistency with regard to the season. But the magnitude of it can vary. For Djokovic, Medvedev and Zverev, a victory on Sunday would be a message to the other two, even if the nature and scope will not be the same.

For Djokovic, it would not only be a way to round off a year of anthology by appropriating a new record (it would equal Federer’s 6 titles), but, perhaps even more, to put on his favorite costume for good, the one with “Boss” flocked on the back. His double failure at the Games and in the final of the US Open did not call this status into question, but he eroded it a little bit. To come back to win in quick succession Bercy and the Masters would amount to dumping the contents of a tanker on this brush fire. As Zverev and Medvedev began to rebel, the call to order would be severe.

For Medvedev, a second consecutive Masters would confirm his status as undisputed dolphin. He would get closer to Djokovic while leaving Zverev a little further in his retro. And if he were to dominate the Serbian in the final, that would be the best way to make it clear that he is ready to go oust the throne in the first half of 2022.

Zverev, finally. The Grand Slams are above everything, and in the winning three-set format, he still has to demonstrate his ability to go to the end, or even to the final in a “normal” context (during his only final at the US Open 2020, the tournament had taken place behind closed doors, with some absences and Djokovic had been excluded from the tournament). But by adding the Masters to the Olympics, the German can afford the two best consolation prizes of the season. In order to do this, the most likely is that he would have to pass over the bodies of Djokovic and then Medvedev, which would add extra thickness to the accomplishment.

This would not fundamentally change its position against the two world leaders. But he must prove that he is indeed in this race. After his Olympic title, we could imagine him quite well living the end of the season that Medvedev experienced. But so far, dismissed in the semi-finals in Flushing by Djokovic then by Medvedev in Bercy, he has remained behind the other two. If the season ends with a third grand final Djokovic-Medvedev on the last three tournaments played by the “Djoker”, the Big 3 will look like Big 2, with a third man certainly far ahead of the others, but at least also away from this duo. Not the most enviable situation for Zverev.