Premonitoryly, already in 1991 and in a television interview, Antonio Gala described a more boring future world in which the vast majority of people would respond in the same way to the same stimuli. The famous writer predicted that a new paradigm and artificial intelligence would dictate the way we act both personally and professionally.
We have reached this future scenario and the world of sports, evidently, is no stranger to the new reality. This artificial intelligence that we all already know, access to greater general knowledge and the completely widespread use of statistics and studies of all kinds, have meant that it is trained in the same way in Spain, the United States or China, and that young people players, almost from their beginnings, are being prepared and almost uniformly programmed by their respective coaches on the same principles and fundamentals. Medical analyzes and studies decide, here and beyond the Atlantic, how long training has to last, how much load a player must bear and what tactical exercises each of them must perform to optimize their capabilities to the maximum.
On the one hand, all this means that in the current game it is difficult to see big differences in the approaches of the parties. When we analyze the statistics of the different matches, we see a great similarity in all of them. Strategies invariably respond to the designs that technological analyzes have established, since, since everyone has the same data, there is a general tendency to respond in the same way. On the other hand, all this has also caused the distances between the players to have definitively narrowed. And yet, as much as the above is a confirmed reality, the truth is that in almost all competitions the best athletes in each discipline continue to reach the final rounds.
Already fully enjoying the second and final week of Roland Garros, we can confirm that there have been no surprises on either table. It seems that in the women’s team a certain lost normality is being recovered. It is once again common to see the best tennis players in the final rounds of major competitions. Six of the eight best in the ranking They have reached the quarterfinals. And, if we except the very young Mirra Andreyeva, who at 17 years old and running as a clear candidate for number one in the WTA in the coming years, who is logically further back on the list (38th), the next worst ranked is number 12 of the world.
On the men’s side, the worst seed to reach the quarterfinal round was Alex de Miñaur, eleventh in the world.
What, then, is what escapes the dictates of new technologies so that, despite having spectacularly minimized the qualitative distance between athletes, those who we already know are the best continue to win? Obviously, and I have already stated it on other occasions, the factor that is as determining as it is difficult to control is the emotional response. This is where the differences between the contenders are marked.
At this Roland Garros we have seen it again in different matches. Alexander Zverev managed to resist his elimination when after going 4-1 down, with a double break In the fifth set in his third round match against Tallon Griekspoor, he felt the pressure excessively and could not prevent the German player’s comeback. The case of Novak Djokovic is similar. In his last two matches he has been in serious trouble as he has been at a disadvantage of two sets to one in both of them. In the last one, for example, and when Francisco Cerúndolo had a 4-2 lead in the fourth set, the Serbian player was able to control his nerves well and offer the best version of himself.
I fervently hope that this continues to be the case, not to take away opportunities from other less positioned players, but because if we manage to evolve to the point of equating the human being with a machine, I don’t know how we can get excited about our personal growth.
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