The Tennis Debate: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's unchallenged dominance shames the chasing pack

Agree with the arguments put forward here? Disagree? Have your say in the comments section below.

First of all, a caveat: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the greatest tennis players of all time, and their collective renaissance this year has been nothing short of sensational.

Sunday's Shanghai final for instance - won in straight sets by Federer - was hugely enjoyable, and provided another chance to marvel at how these two legends of the sport continue to challenge and inspire one another. 

But, let's not kid ourselves - the rest of the field has had a collective shocker in 2017.

This year was supposed to be dominated by the next chapter in the Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic rivalry, but both men have been laid low by injury and burnout, while Stan Wawrinka - the final member of the 'Big Five' - has been sidelined with a knee injury. 

The struggles of those three presented a huge chance to the ATP's chasing pack to finally step from outside of the shadows and start winning majors. 

Instead, the likes of Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych have grasped the opportunity with about as much conviction as Mesut Ozil tracking back after an opposition midfielder. 

Raonic and Nishikori have had their injury problems (yet again), but for Berdych, Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov it's been another season of some good results,  some pretty wretched ones. 

Of the young players coming through, Dominic Thiem enjoyed another run to the French Open semi-final, but once there looked as out of depth against Nadal as he had done a year earlier when thumped by Djokovic. It's worth remembering that Thiem is 24 years old now, and should really be kicking on and starting to break through. 

Alex Zverev, 20, must be commended for making great strides this year and winning two Masters titles, but at the majors he has not gone further than the last 16 and suffered two first-round exits. 

Nick Kyrgios meanwhile has been, well Nick Kyrgios. 

All of this has presented Federer, 36 and Nadal, 31 with an opportunity to clean up and win slams seemingly at a canter, despite - or perhaps because of - having injury-plagued 2016 seasons. Both have won slams without dropping a set, while Nadal did not have to beat a player ranked in the top 25 to claim the US Open. 

This is not to diminish what the pair have achieved in 2017, but given their age and recent injury problems, it's fair to ask the chasing pack: is that really all you've got? 

Have your say in the comments section below