What Makes The Top 4 Different From The Rest?

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With 20 of the seeds still left in the Mens Singles (subject to change after results) with every chance that the number might go as low as 16 which would mean that in a field of 32 left we could see the field in the mens half be opened up nicely for the 'Big 4'.

My question is this.

What seperates the 'Big 4' from the rest of the field? (apart from Slams won)

What is missing from the rest of the fields game that prevents them making indentations into the Top 4?

Discuss

No player bashing!

Someone will argue it

It was an honest post showing no bias to any one player.

Laverfan - good points but aren't those clips from masters events? Whoever said the one who is best on the day wins, may well be right. That tends to be Rafa, Djokovic and then Federer. Who knows? Maybe Murray has worked out the mental thing. We wait and see.

Mrs L wrote:Laverfan - good points but aren't those clips from masters events? Whoever said the one who is best on the day wins, may well be right. That tends to be Rafa, Djokovic and then Federer. Who knows? Maybe Murray has worked out the mental thing. We wait and see.

Yes, they are all Masters, Toronto and Shanghai 2010.

Against Muller Rafa played two TB sets and a bagel. It is an analyst's nightmare.

Federer needed multiple match points against Nalby and so did Djokovic against Baggy.

Murray needed a fourth set against Looby, the old warhorse.

If Fedal are consistent in winning, Djokurray are consistent in getting to the SF stages.

Apart from Tenez's 'physical' argument, I think the top 4 are pretty close.

Laverfan

Agree that, particularly on hard courts, the A game of the top 4 is pretty close (I'd say Djoko and Roger being slightly ahead of Rafa and Andy, but by so little that any one being a little below that standard gives the others an opportunity - obviously their order changes round a bit on different surfaces, with Roger and Rafa being equal best on grass and Rafa best on clay).

As I mentioned earlier, one of the things that has set Roger and Rafa ahead of their contemporaries for a number of years is how rarely they play poor matches, especially in slams. Djokovic has certainly upped his level from the USO last year and is now right up there, perhaps better than Federer in this regard. Andy is getting there, but is still a level below the top 3 at this.

The guys below the top 4 are all capable of producing one-off performances where they beat one of the players above them, but do not have the same consistency of either performance or result (possibly excluding Del Potro, who might yet get back to the elite group, making a top 5). Not sure that there is any particular single factor that any of them could work on to close the gap - I think it is perhaps more that the cream of the game has risen to the top and the guys below take their positions depending on who puts in the most good performances over the previous season.

Guys, Nigel Harman from The Times found this debate fascinating. So congratulations and thanks to all those who particpated with their views.

Thanks

You mean this actual 606v2 debate interesting? Source?

He saw the link on Twitter and shared with his followers finding it interesting. So well done to you posters.

I run the tennis twitter and asked him to RT this article, which he did.
He also confirmed he read the article and found it fascinating.

The best RT i had was from @Wimbledon.
It went out to 124,000 followers with a direct link to the tennis section here.

Well done YI Man. Thanks

So, the forum is being read by those in the "know"...interesting!

Cheers, it was a great feeling.
Within seconds of the Wimbledon RT, 167 guests shot online.

Ive asked Neil if he would do a Q&A, just waiting to hear.

There is a lot of advertising happening behind the scenes.

If anyone is on Twitter and wants to follow any of the v2 accounts, all the links are on our portal feature.

That would be awesome YI Man.

Is great you were able to reach people in the press circle. Well done mate.

Good stuff, and it shows what can happen when an interesting question is asked.

The polls are very popular on Twitter, so if you have any ideas for some please get them up. LK, once we have a few votes & comments on yours today i'll try for some RT's using it.