James Blake says it is incredible that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are all playing in one era

What's the story?

Former World No. 4, James Blake, recently hailed Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic as the three greatest tennis players of all time. In the interview, the American not only talked about how incredible it is that they are all playing in the same era but also commented on how this affected American men's tennis.

In case you didn't know

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have dominated men's tennis since 2003. During this time they have won a combined 55 Grand Slam titles between them and have spent nearly 1000 weeks at world number one.

The heart of the matter

Former tennis professional, James Blake remarked that,

"It's been pretty incredible to have three of the greatest players of all-time playing in one era."

He didn't leave it there, however, and explained how this fact is impacting the younger generations. The American stated,

"That makes it tough for anyone outside that group to win Grand Slams. Those top guys are continuing to play at an incredible level. They’re getting better and better as the years go by.”

Additionally, Blake also went into some detail about how it has impacted American men's tennis having all three of the legends come from Europe. He recalled,

"I know Andy (Roddick) felt a lot of that pressure. It’s tough because the American men were so dominant in the 70s and 80s and even into the 90s. The fans became so used to Americans being in Grand Slam finals every time."

For American tennis, it has, indeed, been a shock. When Andy Roddick won his first and only Grand Slam in 2003, many believed this was a continuation of America's 30+ year dominance over Men's tennis. None could have predicted what would follow, however, and American Men's tennis has never really recovered since.

James Blake took this happening as not wholly negative though and remarked that in the past. He said,

"It was the power countries of America, Australia, France and England. Now there’s way more globalisation. In general, that’s good for the game.”