Dominant trio in men's tennis gets thumbs up

Is this the toughest era ever in men's tennis with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the top, and Andy Murray lingering thereabout? Andre Agassi and John McEnroe certainly seem to think so.

"I think it's an incredible time, actually," said McEnroe. "I think we better enjoy it while it lasts. The shots that these guys can come up with is phenomenal."

Agassi said: "Their commitment to excellence and the epic matches they have played, along with their varying styles, has really raised the level of tennis for everyone to a point it has never really seen before."

Federer, however, begs to differ and pointed to the Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and Agassi era, and to Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.

But has tennis really seen a quartet as good as Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray? The first three have won 29 of the last 30 major titles between them and there are no signs of their dominance coming to an end anytime soon.

You could make a case for McEnroe, Connors, Bjorn Borg and Guillermo Villas in the 1970s when they shared 22 of the 30 grand slams between 1974 and 1981. The quartet of Lendl, Mats Wilander, Edberg and Becker dominated the latter half of the 1980s, winning 19 of 23 titles before the arrival of Sampras, Jim Courier and Agassi.

Were they as good as the present day four? McEnroe and Agassi clearly do not think so, and most fans would agree with those legends.

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