N

o, not really.

Roger Federer noticed it a few weeks ago and Andy Roddick wasn’t far behind. Where, they asked, were all the youngsters?

There’s a real hint of stagnation in the world of men’s tennis after Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer once again split the Majors in 2010. And to emphasize the point there was only one new player in the elite 8-man ATP tour finals in December (Tomas Berdych).

But most worryingly of all there are no teenagers in the top 100.

“It’s become more physical and more mental and maybe they need longer to break through now,” said Federer at the Tour finals in London.

Robin Soderling, who only capitalized on his talent at the age of 25 agreed. “The sport has become a bit tougher, it’s much more physical than say 10 years ago. It takes a couple of years to build up your body to be able to compete with the style of tennis now.”

Roddick blames the slower court surfaces which turn matches into wars of attrition. “I think when I was coming up the conditions were a little faster and you could rely less on your body.”

Roddick’s point was borne out on the fast surface at the ATP finals where only three of the 15 singles matches went to three sets.

“It’s a tough ask of an 18 or 19-year-old to play the kind of tennis we have today 40 weeks a year,” said the 28-year-old American.

“I weigh more than I used to and everyone is now bigger and stronger making it so much harder for younger players.”

The fact is there are only two 20-year-olds in the top 100, Lithuania’s Richard Barankis (ranked 85) and Japan’s Kei Nishikori (100). Gone are the days when a teenager could turn the draw at a Major upside down.

“It’s quite surprising for me,” says Federer “because when I was coming up there was [Lleyton] Hewitt and [Marat] Safin and Roddick and [Juan Carlos] Ferrero and [Tommy] Haas. They were all in the top 100 as teenagers. Then you think of Boris Becker winning Wimbledon when he was 17 and Michael Chang the French Open before that.”

The only teens to succeed in recent times are Rafael Nadal (French Open winner at 19) and Novak Djokovic (Australian Open winner at 20). Both matured early and had the strength and athleticism to deal with the year-round battering, but both have also struggled with serious injuries.

The average age of the World’s top 20 is 25.4 years (youngest —Marin Cilic, 22) suggesting that it takes a long time to climb to the top. And these elite players are big men as well with muscles to cushion the blows.

The smallest in that top 20 is David Ferrer at 5 feet 9. The average height is an astounding 6 feet 3 with a weight of 83 kilograms. The tallest is American John Isner at 6’9”. Not far behind, at 6’6” are Cilic, Berdych and Sam Querrey.

So it’s easy to see why, at the moment, you need to be a superman to make it anywhere near the top. The likes of John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Stefan Edberg, to name but a few, would have struggled to make it.

So come 2011 don’t expect to see a new young gun shooting his way into a grand slam final, starting with the Australian Open next month.

Federer and Nadal will be there once again, with Murray, Soderling or Djokovic making a guest appearance. If Gael Monfils can avoid injury he could get very close.

Catch Christy Simson on updates on the Australian Open on SportsCenter, every weekday night at 7:30 and 10 p.m. on ESPN.