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So the last significant tournament of the year done (and congrats to Stefanos Tsitsipas on his first big title), and while we take a breather we can start thinking about what lies ahead in 2020. I think it could be a very exciting year, mainly because the reign of the Big Three seems to be finally cracking, and I suspect we'll have at least one--if not more--Slam titles earned by new names.
So what do you look forward to? Predict? Any other speculations?
A few thoughts:
The main dynamic that interests me is the slow fall of the Big Three combined with the rise of the Next Genners. Some questions involved: Does Roger have one more Slam run in him? Are Rafa and Novak finally showing their age, or can they have one more run of dominance and win a handful more Slams? Who among the Next Genners will emerge as the cream of the crop? And so forth.
Dominic Thiem seems like a serious threat at Roland Garros at least, and maybe elsewhere; Alexander Zverev has regained his form and may be able to take that extra step forward now, and challenge for a Slam; Daniil Medvedev had the best few months of any Next Genner yet, and even though he's slacked off a bit is still a seriously threat. And of course Stefanos Tsitsipas, who I think has the most balanced game of any Next Genner, just won the ATP Finals. Matteo Berretini, Karen Khachanov, and maybe Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, and others, all are Next Genners to watch.
And now we also have an even younger "post-NextGen" emerging, with three players born in 1999 or later now in the top 21. I am very interested in how the two young Canadians will do, Felix Auger-Aliassime (#21) and Denis Shapovalov (#15), as I suspect they'll both threaten the top 10 and maybe even a Masters title. I do think both are still a year or two away from a Slam, though. Alex de Minaur (#18) is also right there with them, although with perhaps less upside (David Ferrer-esque?). And the youngest player in the top 100 at age 18, Jannik Sinner, is showing a lot of potential. Miomor Kecmanovic, Alexei Popyrin, Corentin Moutet, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, even Mikael Ymer and others are all very young guys worth keeping an eye on (and others).
Lost Gen...well, it is feeling more and more like their time is passing them by. I just had a thought that if the Big Four are the Boomers of tennis and Next Gen are Millenials, than Lost Gen is--fittingly--the slacker gen, aka Gen X (spoken as a member of Gen X), who has never really made their mark on the world. Although unlike Gen X, the clock is ticking for Lost Gen and it now seems unlikely that any--except Thiem (if he counts, born in 1993), will ever win a Slam. That said, it was good to see Grigor Dimitrov have a bit of life. He at least (and Thiem) has been able to win big titles. But will Milos Raonic or Kei Nishikori, as they turn 30 in the upcoming months?
Finally, Andy Murray. He's played better than I expected. A year ago I thought he was finished - hip injuries are really hard to recover from. I'm sad to say that I still don't think he'll ever return to his peak form, but he did win an ATP 250 so he could find a way back into the top 20, maybe top 10.
So many others to consider, but that's what came to mind.
So what do you look forward to? Predict? Any other speculations?
A few thoughts:
The main dynamic that interests me is the slow fall of the Big Three combined with the rise of the Next Genners. Some questions involved: Does Roger have one more Slam run in him? Are Rafa and Novak finally showing their age, or can they have one more run of dominance and win a handful more Slams? Who among the Next Genners will emerge as the cream of the crop? And so forth.
Dominic Thiem seems like a serious threat at Roland Garros at least, and maybe elsewhere; Alexander Zverev has regained his form and may be able to take that extra step forward now, and challenge for a Slam; Daniil Medvedev had the best few months of any Next Genner yet, and even though he's slacked off a bit is still a seriously threat. And of course Stefanos Tsitsipas, who I think has the most balanced game of any Next Genner, just won the ATP Finals. Matteo Berretini, Karen Khachanov, and maybe Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, and others, all are Next Genners to watch.
And now we also have an even younger "post-NextGen" emerging, with three players born in 1999 or later now in the top 21. I am very interested in how the two young Canadians will do, Felix Auger-Aliassime (#21) and Denis Shapovalov (#15), as I suspect they'll both threaten the top 10 and maybe even a Masters title. I do think both are still a year or two away from a Slam, though. Alex de Minaur (#18) is also right there with them, although with perhaps less upside (David Ferrer-esque?). And the youngest player in the top 100 at age 18, Jannik Sinner, is showing a lot of potential. Miomor Kecmanovic, Alexei Popyrin, Corentin Moutet, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, even Mikael Ymer and others are all very young guys worth keeping an eye on (and others).
Lost Gen...well, it is feeling more and more like their time is passing them by. I just had a thought that if the Big Four are the Boomers of tennis and Next Gen are Millenials, than Lost Gen is--fittingly--the slacker gen, aka Gen X (spoken as a member of Gen X), who has never really made their mark on the world. Although unlike Gen X, the clock is ticking for Lost Gen and it now seems unlikely that any--except Thiem (if he counts, born in 1993), will ever win a Slam. That said, it was good to see Grigor Dimitrov have a bit of life. He at least (and Thiem) has been able to win big titles. But will Milos Raonic or Kei Nishikori, as they turn 30 in the upcoming months?
Finally, Andy Murray. He's played better than I expected. A year ago I thought he was finished - hip injuries are really hard to recover from. I'm sad to say that I still don't think he'll ever return to his peak form, but he did win an ATP 250 so he could find a way back into the top 20, maybe top 10.
So many others to consider, but that's what came to mind.
It will be a beautiful moment. 
