Radek Stepanek believes the NextGen players' inconsistency is what is keeping them a notch below the Big 3

What's the story?

Former top 10 player Radek Stepanek recently discussed why the NextGen has yet to truly challenge Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, collectively known as the Big 3. The Czech acknowledged the talent of some of the NextGen players but argued that they are not consistent enough to pose a real threat to the Big 3's dominance.

In case you didn't know...

Some of the NextGen players, such as Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, have reached finals of big tournaments and have even won some of them. However, they have failed to loosen the Big 3's stranglehold over the Slams.

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have combined to win the last 12 Majors, and have not been challenged much by the younger generation while doing so. The closest that anyone came to breaking through was Daniil Medvedev, who took Nadal to five sets in the US Open final this year.

Daniil Medvedev (L) with the US Open runner-up trophy

The heart of the matter

"We have been saying that it is coming for the last three or four years but it's still not here," Stepanek said about the much-anticipated overthrowing of the Big 3 dominion.

He went on to suggest that the delay is largely due to the inconsistency of the younger players.

"They are still going up and down too much compared to these three guys (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic), and that's what divides them in the late stage of the Slams."

Radek Stepanek during his playing days

Stepanek further used Zverev's and Tsitsipas's inconsistent 2019 seasons to prove his point.

"It will be interesting to see when the time comes, you see Stefanos Tsitsipas playing unbelievably well, he had a little slower summer but he is back in top of his game. There is a lot of young guys, Sascha (Zverev) did not have a good year but looking strong here in the last week of the season," Stepanek said.

Still, the Czech did admit that the end of the Big 3 was inevitable, and that nothing can stop that.

"It's coming, you can't stop it but it will be interesting to see when it comes."

What's next?

Stepanek has raised some valid points. We have been predicting the NextGen revolution since 2017, but it hasn't come to pass yet. As the Czech mentioned, while some of the NextGen have made great strides over the last few years, they have not been enough to dethrone the Big 3.

Zverev has often said that he wants his generation to reach the pinnacle of tennis through their talent and not just by the Big 3 retiring. That is a good attitude to adopt, but if the NextGen want it to happen they need to step up their game.

It is wrong to say it's just the Big 3 stopping them at the Grand Slams, as they have often been defeated by lower-ranked players in the early rounds of tournaments too. It remains to be seen whether they can show the week-in, week-out consistency required to reach the top, the way the Big 3 do.