What if you watched tennis for a few years till 1992, went into a deep sleep afterwards and woke up again in 2008? Would you believe what happened during that decade and a half?

At the time this is what Tennis looked like:

  • Nick Bollettieri’s Prodigies: Like out of a factory came a bunch of teenagers in the late ‘80s changing the way tennis would be played forever. They hit hard and flat using the new gen fibre rackets and  never gave up the baseline. One of them had become the ultimate pin-up boy of the game but needed four Grand Slam finals to win one. Another, not quite the favorite pupil, in the meantime took the game by storm establishing himself a bonafide number one. Andre Agassi was the pretty boy, the latter being Jim Courier.

  • Seles Too Good: In the late ‘80s a West German tornado had blown away all that stood before to become an undisputed number one. While she was losing an average of less than five matches a year, her opponents and the public found her too tough, too self-absorbed and only moderately likeable. Whatever praise she received was probably so little it did not seem to matter.

    But then something happened - she lost focus when her mentor of a father got involved in a scandal. Too bad because a shrieky giggly teenager, another Bollitierie product, was plotting a two-handed attack to take the No.1 slot. That girl lifted seven Slams out of 12 between 1990-93. Everyone rejoiced because now we had a rivalry at hand to compare with Martina and Chrissy’s.

  • Sun Had Not Quite Set: Martina Navaratilova, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg. These were household names still delivering their worth having graduated into well-liked veterans, although Martina was the only real veteran by age and tenure.

  • The Superpower: The  Soviet Block had never bothered to promote tennis with only Czechoslovakia  churning one great after the other for a few years. However, the true tennis superpowers in the post WWII period had been the US, Australia and Sweden. With the fall of USSR it was as if America was ready to rule the world. Talents like Sampras (already a US Open winner), Chang (French Open winner) and Capriati (at sixteen having done everything but win a Grand Slam) were waiting for spotlight presently hogged by their countrymen Agassi and Courier, America was way ahead of all its rivals.

    • What happened?

    • Bollitierie Still Productive: Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic are big tickets but no man has come out of his factory to match those illustrious pupils of the '90s.

    • Tragedy Called Seles: After winning eight Grand Slams before she turned 19, Monica managed only one more. It was not because she burnt out or got injured but a madman stabbed her in the name of helping his compatriot Graf reclaim the No.1 ranking. Graf, instead of being hated more, went on to beat a series of injuries and tragedies to retire as the greatest singles female tennis player of all time; also being well liked.

    • The American Legends: Off at least five who had set out, only two, Sampras and Agassi, entered the history books - as the most successful Grand Slam campaigner and the ultimate tennis statesman respectively. Courier proved to be only an extra long flash while Capriati became first the biggest burnout story, then the biggest comeback. In the last ten years only two American men have won Grand Slams.

  • Spain And Russia Arrive: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Sergei Bruguera, Carlos Moya, Conchita Martinez, Juan Caslos Ferrero, Albert Costa – all Spanish, all won Grand Slams but never added too much to the game's legacy. All that changed with Rafa Nadal. Russia, in the meantime, turned into such a powerhouse that  at every point in time in the last five years there has been atleast one man and three women in the top ten. Sharapova, Safin and Kafelnikov even became number ones. Of late Serbia has become another stronghold with such young stars as Novak Djokovic, Ivanovic and Jankovic settling into top three slots.

  • Decade Defining Women: Women’s tennis, which was used to having one or two players dominate an era, produced four different greats after Graf who were undisputed champions - but only while fit. They were Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Justine Henin. In between Lindsay Davenport had extended streaks at No.1, too, using more guile than athleticism.

  • Federer And Nadal: And lastly, just when pundits (read players past their prime) were writing off the current crop saying the best period of tennis was behind it Federer and Nadal took the sport to glorious new heights. While Federer seemed to be racing towards all-time greatness playing the most perfect tennis any man has ever played, Nadal set base on European clay to erect a fortress and build on his athleticism to develop into a true all-court player and Federer’s worthy rival and heir. It does not hurt that these two are also the best behaved athletes on the planet.

    •  So if you woke up today and are in shock, keep heart - for tennis is in good hands.