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Who is the next star of men's tennis ?

Written on 18th September 2020

The “big four” of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray dominated men’s tennis from 2004 - 2017. Their dominance across men’s tennis is shown through them winning 57 of the last 64 Grand Slams. With at least one of them appearing in every final except for three. Even all Olympic Games men’s singles medals during this time has been won by one of them. It’s important also to not forget Stan Wawrinka who has won three Grand Slams in his career. However, with this golden generation now ageing, who will carry tennis in the future ?

Dominic Thiem

Age - 27

Nationality - Austrian 

Current Ranking - 3

After losing three Grand Slam finals and an ATP Tour Finals final the now world number 3 is surely now the undisputed “best of the rest”.  Clinching his first Grand Slam title at this year’s US Open he showed his class dismantling Daniil Medvedev in the semi final in straight sets then beating Alexander Zverev in the final despite being two sets down. A balance of dominance and fighting spirit was shown at Flushing Meadows by the Austrian. He is now fully expected to win more Grand Slams. With a major win on the hard court, as well as two finals on clay at Roland Garros, he looks well equipped on all surfaces. Besides, on grass where he’s never gone past the 4th round at Wimbledon. Thiem looks the most likely to conquer the big three in upcoming tournaments. 

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Stefanos Tsitsipas 

Age - 22

Nationality - Greek

Current Ranking - 6

A former Next Gen ATP Finals champion, Tsitsipas the following year then won the season ending Tour Finals topping off an amazing 2019. In the year, he reached the Australian Open Semi Final despite only winning five Grand Slam matches in his career prior to the tournament. After clinching his second career title he then broke into the top 10. He continued to rise to sixth in the world rankings narrowly losing 8-6 in a deciding set to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open. Disappointing at Wimbledon and the US Open he then won the Tour Finals becoming the youngest winner since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. The attacking baseline player quick rise into a top player has caught the eye and looks set to win a major in the future. 

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Daniil Medvedev

Age - 24

Nationality - Russian

Current Ranking - 5

The 6’6 tall Russian’s style of play is perhaps not what expected by someone of his height. He’s predominantly a baseliner with quick movement playing deep and flat groundstrokes tiring his opponents down and making himself difficult to attack. His best performance at a major came in the 2019 North American swing. Medvedev equalled the record of reaching 4 finals in a row including the 2019 US Open final. Eventually narrowly losing to Rafael Nadal in a five set thriller. He became the pantomime villain in that tournament after being “booed” by the crowd after appearing to snatch a towel off a ball boy angrily. He went on to taunt the fans cupping his ears and claiming their boos “gave him the energy to win”. On top of this, Medvedev also has been fined many times for unsportsmanlike behaviour on court. However, he remains a very effective player despite his unique qualities.

Alexander Zverev

Age - 23

Nationality - German 

Current Ranking - 7

Alexander “Sascha” Zverev burst onto the scene winning two ATP titles and defeating Roger Federer on grass as a teenager. The German had cemented his place in the world’s top 5 in 2018 capping the year off with winning the Tour Finals. However, he is yet to do any real damage at majors but his 2020 has been more successful on that front recently lost his first Grand Slam final at the 2020 US Open and preciously getting to the Australian Open semi final. He has potential and is a good all rounder as well as being praised by Nadal and Djokovic in the past but his second serve has been know for letting him down. 

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Denis Shapovalov

Age - 21

Nationality - Canadian 

Current Ranking - 14

While breaking into the world’s top 30 in 2018 he was still making his debuts at Grand Slams after rising through the ranks quickly. In 2019 he won his first ATP title and reached a Masters final. He then went on to help Canada get to the Davis Cup final eventually losing to Spain lead by Rafael Nadal. Most recently he made the Quarter Final of the US Open. His biggest weapon is his powerful forehand.

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Age - 20

Nationality - Canadian

Current Ranking - 20

Despite his young age, he has already achieved a lot. He became the youngest player to ever reach an ATP 500 final. He also made another two ATP finals that year and entered Wimbledon as the 19th seed. He was knocked out of this year’s US Open by eventual winner Dominic Thiem. Many expect Auger-Aliassime to have a big future especially as his style of play suits all surfaces. 

The Canadian has very good technique and is capable of making amazing shots.

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Alex De Minaur

Age - 21

Nationality - Australian 

Current Ranking - 27

The man cleverly nicknamed the “Speed Demon” due to his on court pace and agility looks set to push on and start challenging those at the top in the coming years. His footwork is considered as one of the best in the world and in 2019 he won three ATP titles as well as finishing as runner up in the Next Gen tournament for the second year in a row. Most impressively during his tournament win in Atlanta he didn’t face a break point and won 116/123 service points across the four matches he played.

Jannik Sinner

Age - 19

Nationality - Italian

Current Ranking - 81

Despite only appearing at Grand Slam tournaments three times in his career, Sinner, is one to watch. He became the youngest player in five years to reach an ATP semi final, beating Gael Monfils along the way. Later on in October 2019 he broke into the top 100 for the first time. The year then finished with him being named as the wildcard for he ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan. He shocked everyone by going on to win the tournament. In 2020, again in his home country, he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas claiming his second win versus a top 10 player. 

Find out more about Sinner and why he is rated so highly despite only playing a few matches, here.

Other notable mentions - Matteo Berrettini, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric, Miomir Kecmanovic, Lorenzo Musetti

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