Who Was The Best Player Of The Lost Gen?

Who is the best of the lost Gen of tennis? These are players born between 1990 and 1996. Some refer to them as the 90s generation of tennis while others call them shadows of the big three. So let's figure out who was the best!
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[@rupinjeremiah9589]

Saddest case was Big Berd. Wimbledon 2010, Berdych absolutely thrashed Federer and Djokovic back to back but still couldn't win the title as he had one more of the big 3 still in the draw. The Big 3 have ruined so many lives.

[@icyolives]

I wouldn’t call multi-millionaire, former top 10 Berdych’s life ruined but I know what you mean. They killed many dreams but created many more 😉

[@Trepur349]

Ferrer is not part of the lost generation, he's older then Nadal and Djokovic. The lost generation is the players that came after them

[@anantakhatri1444]

Yeah Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Anderson, etc. are not lost gen... Lost gen includes Dimitrov, Raonic, Goffin, Nishikori, etc.

[@cchavezjr7]

Being older is the reason he's part of the lost generation. It was the group of players before Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic and after Agassi, Sampras, Courier, etc

[@Trepur349]

@@cchavezjr7 Michael Chang, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Richard Krajicek, Gustavo Kuerten, Pat Rafter, Carlos Moya, Goran Ivanisevic, Marat Safin, Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Leyton Hewitt are all slam winners in the age range between Sampras and Federer. There's only a 2 year gap at the largest between two players in that group. Meanwhile there's a 8 year gap between Del Potro and Medvedev and that group is the lost generation

[@cchavezjr7]

@@Trepur349 This video is talking about the generation that I am speaking to. You can call several generations the "lost" generation but that's up to you. The gap though is much longer than 2 years though. I was playing tennis in college and also studying tennis instruction and history and pretty much everything else about it at that time. Agassi might have still been playing but the actual group of top players at the time had shifted. What I think if odd about videos like these is they say the best players are the ones who actually won the slams. The title should be the "best players who never wont a slam from this lost generation." Chang was part of the Agassi generation though. He was faded out before Agassi even retired. I would also say Ivanisevic was also part of Agassi's generation but he did hold out a bit longer. Dokovic really reminded me of Goran.

[@Trepur349]

@@cchavezjr7 I literally just listed all the names. There's 11 slam winners born between September 1971 and July 1980. That's not a lost generation

[@gab_ale]

Berdych at Wimbledon 2010: QF vs Federer - Win SF vs Djokovic - Win Finals vs Nadal - Loss He would be a legend if he had won that.

[@blaster36000]

It's actually Dominic Thiem who is the best amongst the "Lost Gen", because he was born around the same time as Dimitrov/Raonic, but slightly younger than them; not to mention he is also slightly older than Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Kyrgios (all part of the Next Gen). You can basically say that, Thiem is the "dark horse" of the Lost Gen.

[@mihailopavlovic2027]

He won a GS so you dont really consider him, all of the guys considered havent won a slam

[@blaster36000]

@@mihailopavlovic2027 I forgot to mention Cilic, as well. But his game doesn't have as much notoriety as Thiem's.

[@ST-sk2hx]

Kei Nishikori...he is the best tennis player in Japan. I love him.

[@rodrigobertoncinidias1943]

Berdych is such a legend, bagled nadal in australian open

[@flaviusaetiuspt]

Interesting video, I'd say Marin Cilic and Juan Martín del Potro could be here. Both won a GS but their careers were really hampered by having to play Rafa, Novak and Roger all the time. Cilic made 2 other GS finals against Roger and Del Potro played another US Open final against Novak, but both lost many other matched against those 3 on their way to titles. Whilst Stan Wawrinka could be here too, he did accomplish more by winning 3 GS titles, most of his failures were in Master's 1000 and smaller tournaments even if he did collect a few memorable defeats at the hands of the 3 (Novak in 5 sets a few times, Roger as well and the FO final against Rafa).

[@bonzwah1]

Delpo was not hampered by the big 3, but rather, by his own injuries. He proved several times he could beat the big 3, but his body could not handle his tennis unfortunately. That's part of what make the big 3 so remarkable...longevity. not only could they produce such wonderful tennis, but they did so while taking excellent care of their bodies

[@richietaylor9870]

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with making this video, with these players included, since most have had to deal with the roadblock of the big 3/4. But why did you have to qualify this by stipulating that these were players born between 1990-1996? Ferrer was born in 1982, Berdych and Tsonga in 1985, Anderson in 1986 and Nishikori in 1989! Of all the players featured, only Raonic and Dimitrov were born in the nineties (‘90 and ‘91 respectively). Not to be pedantic but that’s easy to check, and it does take away from an otherwise good video if you drop a clanger like that, right near the beginning.

[@zjzr08]

I'd personally count 89 as the cutoff point (as we went from Del Po and Cilic with 2 Slams and some other big titles to then a relative drought after that batch, IMO) but I agree this video is more about "underachieved" players rather than the Lost Gen as a whole.

[@michaelsheedy]

Stan Wawrinka who played in the shadow of Federer. He did win 3 majors and could wear you down if he was on his game. He and Murray were the Big Two after the Big Three. And Stan the Man is still dangerous.

[@nujeru99]

Wonderful vid. Anderson also had the terrible luck of playing the 2018 Wimby Final vs Novak, after going 27-25 in the 5th set vs Isner in the SFs. He was GASSED for that Final Ferrer was also just as proficient on Hard Courts as he was clay. He was inches away from winning Miami in 2013 (v Murray), Cincinnati in 2013 (vs Fed), and made the SFs of the USO and Aussie Open

[@natoskull2]

But man, Djokovic played a 2 DAYS SF against Rafa Nadal before that 2018 Wimbledon Final! He also should've been tired...

[@nujeru99]

@@natoskull2 that two days SF w/ Rafa allowed for rest in between. Anderson/Isner went 27-25 in the 5th set all in the same day. There was no way Anderson was gonna recover in time

[@ronalddelrosario7405]

Like you, my favorite of that group is David Ferrer. He and Isner absolutely maximized their talent. I think the most entertaining and underachieving was Tsonga. I mentioned that in a different video comment and someone else got incredibly offended by it. I love Tsonga, but unfortunately, because of the Big Three and injuries, I feel he definitely could've won more than he did because I feel he was the most athletic and talented of that generation. But then again, The Big Three and Ferrer (and Nishikori) have shown that having superior defensive skills goes a very long way and Tsonga was only decent at defensive play.

[@diegosotomiranda4107]

Tsonga it's one that i always expected to win at least a Slam, he seemed to have everything.

[@darj617]

Marin cilic. He won the us open in 2014, also played in the finals of AO and Wimbledon, as well as making it to the semis of Roland garros.

[@VladaBB]

Tomas Berdych imp. I love him.

[@Atombender]

Just imagine how many Grand Slams Andy Murray would have won without the Big Three. He is 3-8 in Slam finals and every single loss was against Fed or Nole. And that's not even counting the SF and QF losses. He is still a great champion but could have achieved a lot more.

[@mangstadt1]

Lost generation? I think it should be Lost GenerationS, in plural. So many players have been overshadowed by the Three Monsters. Now at last, with Medvedev and especially Alcaraz, plus other young players who might soon win a major or two, it seems like their reign of terror is coming to an end. The way I see it, the early years of Alcaraz, the Beast, could very well mirror the early years of Federer, who won his first major in 2003, the year when Alcaraz was born, and won ten more between 2004 and 2007, plus six more between 2008 and 2012, and the final three in 2017 and 2018. There is a lot of talk of Sinner and Rune, but whoi knows, maybe the true future rivals of Alcaraz are 13 or 15 years old right now.

[@jawlty]

For me it is Nishikori! I love Dimitorv and Raonic. I really hope Raonic can manage a huge comeback! But Dimitrov is still there..just not at his top level. Nishikori had for me the highest potential.

[@cobra7282]

This video is not about lost gen. Lost gen are the generation of players that came along after the Nadal/Djokovic/Murray era. Guys like Roanic, Dimitrov, Nishikori are lost gen and Cilic is probably the best of them...

[@adamdefreitas2791]

I love the video idea, I just can't believe you didn't mention Waranika or Del Potro, they definitely had the best careers out of any player in the big 4 era.

[@user-oj7co5wm8g]

They both won Grand Slams. Winning just one is considered a successful career so they aren’t likened to the lost gen. Notice Roddick, Cilic, Etc weren’t included.

[@adamdefreitas2791]

True, I forgot about that.

[@vincenzofranchelli2201]

they arent "lost" gen. they somehow won anyway, also Cilic

[@markwillcocks7701]

For me it's either berdych or tsonga both great players

[@TennisBible1]

Lol Ferrer and Tsonga arent part of the lost generation... Why is Ferrer in the thumbnaiL??

[@cchavezjr7]

They were there, just kind of overlapping I guess

[@cchavezjr7]

Because they are part of it.

[@cobra7282]

@@cchavezjr7 No they are not. They were born in early to mid 80s. That is not the lost generation in tennis.

[@johnwelldon4019]

Good video but just to make things clear :P Ferrer is 1982 Berdych 1985 Tsonga 1985 Dimitrov 1991 Nishikori 1989 (29 dec, missed your video by 2 days xd) Raonic 1990 Anderson 1986

[@Mauruud]

Its Ferrer... Easy, most consistent, many titles etc

[@tazmoir]

great channel

[@richarddeese1991]

Thanks. Yeah, I'd have to vote for Ferrer. He was like Nadal before Nadal; a real bulldog who never gave up on a point. I have a spreadsheet I made, which lists all the men's major champions from 2003 to present [thru the Australian Open 2023]. Given that there was no Wimbledon in 2020, that's 80 majors. The Big Three have won 64 of them. That's 80.00%. Unbelievable. The "Other Two" as I call them [Murray & Wawrinka] have won 3 each, for a total of 6. That's 7.50%. Together, these 5 players have won 70 of the last 80 majors (87.50%). No other male player has won even 2 majors in all that 20 year stretch. It took 10 different guys over 20 years to win those remaining 10 majors. There is simply no other period in tennis major history where such a small number of men has dominated the game so thoroughly. To get even halfway there (not quite, in fact), you'd have to go back 100 years to the 1920s. From the early 1920s to the early 1930s, 4 French players won 20 majors in singles and 23 in doubles, plus 6 straight Davis Cups for France. Of course, back then almost nobody outside Australia played the AO, it was just too far away & not prestigious enough. So most players only had 3 chances each year for a major. But that's still not remotely close to the Big Three of today. It's simply unprecedented. In the 90s, we all thought nobody would eclipse Pete Sampras' 14 majors. Now *_three different guys_* have blown that away. Just wow. tavi.

[@Hugo-hh1ev]

What about Davydenko and Soderling?

[@AnswerAb]

Both from the generation before

[@nujeru99]

Yup that was my question too. Along with Fernando Gonzalez and Gäel Monfils. So many GREAT players that were blocked by the Big FOUR

[@brandonm8901]

@@AnswerAb Soderling is over 2 years younger than Ferrer and turned pro the season after. How is he in a generation before Ferrer?

[@vbittencourt]

Dominic Thiem should be in this video.

[@lunchboxhedz292]

Why’d you say at the end, “but he had success on a ther surfaces, like at the 2013 French open” when that’s clay as well?

[@yousifkhalil9655]

Top 4 players of this Era: 1. Djokovic 2. Federer 3. Nadal 4. Murray then secondhand Top players of the Era (grand slam finalists): 5. Wawrinka 6. Del Potro 7. Tsonga 8. Berdych 9. Soderling 10. Ferrer 11. Nishikori 12. Cilic 13. Raonic 14. Anderson Then the Next Gen: 1. Theim 2. Zverev 3. Medvedev 4. Tsitsipas 5. Berretini 6. Kyrgios 7. Ruud Then the New Gen: 1. Alcaraz 2. Sinner

[@pedropelaez]

How exactly are Anderson, ferrer, tsonga, and berdych part of the lost generation when they are older than (or the same age) Nadal, djokovic, and Murray? Same goes for Goffin and Monfils. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@leonkozma9148]

John Eyesner.....how could you butcher his name sooo much 😂

[@Creees]

Hated that generation. So annoying they couldnt defeat the top 3 players The generation was so boring. But it also wasnt so much their fault as the tour was shortened both calender and less 5 set matches Also the courts were all made to be the same speed. The 80s 90s sounded a lot better Also the early 2000s were really cool Hoping tennis and this next generation become fun and exciting again. Not just 3 guys winning everything

[@SDV208]

DEL POTRO, WAWRINKA, MURRAY are the best, two you didn't mention. Next tier is Ferrer, Soderling, Nalbandian.

[@djj6069]

What about Marin Cilic?

[@nikolajokic8405]

What about CIlic and Del Potro did you not count them because they won GS also Wawrinka wasnt mentioned but i guess he is far baove those here because he has 3 slams and is not in the contention

[@diegosotomiranda4107]

Wawrinka it's not Lost gen, he was a late bloomer and he found success un gs constantly appart for the 3 he won, maybe in Masters he couldve do better but parte of his style was that he was more comfortable to long matches cause he sometimes was slow to find rythim

[@nicolaswhitehouse3894]

Out of Raonic, Nishikori, Dimitrov, Dimitrov is the best player of the lost gen. Won Cincinnati, World tour finals.

[@Summon256]

It has to be between Berdych and Tsonga...not sure how you can count them in as "lost gen" though...lost gen usually refers to the players like Nishikori, Goffin, Tomic, Dimitrov and Raonic, all of whom are in the 30-35 age group now...players like Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Anderson, Gasquet, Monfils or Isner are not part of the lost gen... ...If we are talking about true lost gen group, then it has to be Dimitrov! Nishikori won more titles and had better longevity in the top-10, but he never won even one masters tournament, despite reaching 4 finals, but Dimitrov did even though it only happened once! Same thing with ATP finals, Dimitrov won it, while Nishikori hasn't even reached final there once!...Goffin and Tomic are obviously weakest links (especially Tomic!), as for Raonic he never achieved anything substantial aside maybe from reaching that one Wimbledon final by knocking out Federer in the semis, just to be spanked by inferior Murray in the final! LOL 7 of the 8 ATP titles, that he won are all the lowest level in pro tour - which is ATP250! The remaining one is ATP500, so yeah...

[@Ken42908]

Tommy Haas!

[@lvlup3173]

Berdych is saddest guy out of all of them... Someone was definitely setting him up...

[@marcelpaim7200]

Cilic !!

[@andreledoux7143]

Cilic did manage to win a grandslam though, but Djokovic was ruining his career a lot

[@raily9713]

This is in my subjetive opinion regardless the titles: 1. Berdych 2. Ferrer 3. Tsonga ... FAR AWAY 4. raonic 5. nishikori 6. dimitrov ....FAR FAR FAR AWAY 7. anderson

[@videoproductionking4730]

First 🔥💪

[@JiraiyaSama86]

Ferrer certainly made a notable impact to have received big compliments and respect from the Big 4.

[@johnramo245]

What about Monfils?

[@Spacejuno]

Marin cilic is the best player of the lost gen.

[@ErikCB912]

Ferrer, Tsonga, and Berdych are not lost gen. Tsonga and Berdych are 1-2 years older than Nadal and Djokovic and Ferrer is only 1 year younger than Federer. The lost gen players were born in the early 90s. The oldest player I’d consider to be lost gen is Nishikori. You should change the title of this video to something such as “Best players in the big 3 era that didn’t win a slam”

[@iceman1125]

sharapova happened to dmitrov

[@HeavyTopspin]

Don't say "big 4". There is no "big 4". There's only three; Murray is not and never was legitimately in the conversation.

[@danielhkhk7283]

Wrong, Murray was Nr. 1 for 41 weeks. He would have won more grand slams without his injuries. He belongs to the top 4.

[@HeavyTopspin]

@@danielhkhk7283 So would have Del Potro and Wawrinka. He's not part of the conversation for "best player ever", but the Big 3 are. Murray IS an all-time great, but nowhere near the level of Fed/Nole/Rafa.

[@jackquinn9535]

Ferrer is the last name to come to mind Nd you go and pick it, wrong age and anyway ”wrong” player! He is the least talented if tenaciousness does not count. A hounddog of tennis, and all the respect for that. But not an exclting or entertaining player in the strict sense of the terms. Watching his matches was almost as painful as doing squats while singing THERE WAS. FARMER HAD A DOG AND BINGO EAS HIS NAME.. j There are many good candidates on your list. I don’t mind to pick on. But I do pick on you picking the only name you just should drop from the list before you even started!?! C’mon, man!

[@gab_ale]

Stop trying to make "The Big 4" a thing.

[@sreddi83]

Murray - statistically only behind the top 3, Sampras, Agassi. Wawrinka. Del Potro

[@Blackmind0]

Berdych retired !

[@brenhugh]

‘The Big Four’? You are kidding, right?

[@Teutonius88]

Wawrinka has the same number of Grand Slams as Murray. 😂 What an insult to the Big 3 to include Murray among them.

[@brenhugh]

@@Teutonius88 You’re right.

[@richietaylor9870]

Does Wawrinka have 2 Olympic Golds, an ATP Finals title, 14 Masters, 46 titles overall, a World No 1 ranking including Year End No 1? No, he doesn’t. They were called the big 4 by some because all 4 were regularly in the semifinals of big tournaments. No one suggests that Murray was as good, or successful, as the big 3 but they will acknowledge, usually, that he was very much the best of the rest. Especially since he has more wins against the big 3 than anyone else.

[@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266]

@@Teutonius88 Not everything are Slams. Murray had a way superior career than Stan's. I prefer Stan as a player, but objectively Murray was far better, just barely below the B3.

[@icyolives]

Yes, big 4. There’s also a big 3, but we have to acknowledge that Murray was the only other player to consistently make slam semis and finals. He had an elite career that separates him from the non-big 4. Obviously the big 3 were on a legendary level, but doesn’t mean we can’t say there was also a big 4 that was a clear level above the rest.

[@BurnsTennis]

It is a slightly strange idea for a video. I appreciate just a bit of fun. But sadly, a lot of people will be thinking, "who cares" whose the best of the Lost Gen. I am one of those people.

[@prashantshukla3341]

Why include murray he is great but doesnt belong to the 3 goats list