Tracking the Emerging Stars of Tennis

[britbox]

I am not sure who you guys are talking about that are coming up fast, because the pace of the few remarkable in the next generation, aside Zverev, is anything but fast.
I would not include Thiem in the next generation, because he is 22 and had been around for several years by now.
He is developing at a fair pace to be a top player, nothing out of ordinary.
The next generation is 21 and under, and the best they have done at RG is R3.
They still have some gap to fill to be true challengers.

You're missing the point - Thiem is a young guy... OK not strictly #nextgen by the ATP's definition but I'd class him as the leader of the new pack... we're seeing him maturing and making huge strides - 21 or 22 - who really cares... First ever Semi and it's on the back of a solid season. Kyrgios (remember him) is improving consistency and has already taken some major scalps in his young career... Zverev is coming up the rankings like a train...

and then we have a bunch of other young guns, yo-yoing in the qualifiers but getting some decent wins when they make the main draw. I think a lot of us feel justified in being excited by these youngsters... and yeah we can play around with statistics but there is a real feel that the landscape is changing for the better... the tide is coming in.

 

[Moxie]

You're missing the point - Thiem is a young guy... OK not strictly #nextgen by the ATP's definition but I'd class him as the leader of the new pack... we're seeing him maturing and making huge strides - 21 or 22 - who really cares... First ever Semi and it's on the back of a solid season. Kyrgios (remember him) is improving consistency and has already taken some major scalps in his young career... Zverev is coming up the rankings like a train...

and then we have a bunch of other young guns, yo-yoing in the qualifiers but getting some decent wins when they make the main draw. I think a lot of us feel justified in being excited by these youngsters... and yeah we can play around with statistics but there is a real feel that the landscape is changing for the better... the tide is coming in.

I agree with you, BB. I don't know where else you'd put Thiem. I think the age boundaries for generations have to be a bit fuzzy at the edges. (And @herios: it's a bit of a stretch to say that he's been around for "several years." I'd say more like about a year and a half that he's looked like he might have something to say for himself.) Overall, it seems that #NextGen is less inclined to swim around in the baby pool for as long as their direct predecessors.

 

[Billie]

I think the younger guys need a few years on the tour to make a name for themselves. The age for playing their best keeps being pushed past early 20s. Thiem will be the youngest guy in top 10 and by a large margin. I think we won't see a teenager zooming through the ranking like some 10 years ago, and before that.

 

[Moxie]

I think it will be a long time before we see a teenager winning a Major again, but the recent crop of teenagers have been doing better than the crop before them. And the early 20-somethings are seeming more keen to break through than the 23-27 group.

 

[herios]

You're missing the point - Thiem is a young guy... OK not strictly #nextgen by the ATP's definition but I'd class him as the leader of the new pack... we're seeing him maturing and making huge strides - 21 or 22 - who really cares... First ever Semi and it's on the back of a solid season. Kyrgios (remember him) is improving consistency and has already taken some major scalps in his young career... Zverev is coming up the rankings like a train...

and then we have a bunch of other young guns, yo-yoing in the qualifiers but getting some decent wins when they make the main draw. I think a lot of us feel justified in being excited by these youngsters... and yeah we can play around with statistics but there is a real feel that the landscape is changing for the better... the tide is coming in.

3-4 quality young players are NOT changing the landscape. The landscape as a whole gets older and older. Have you ever heard of having 51 players in their 30's to enter the main draw of a slam, because that happened at RG.
Only Thiem, Kyrgios, Zverev have been convincing for now. Fritz is very new to the scene and he needs about a year on the main tour to be judged, so I am not criticizing him at all.
Coric train came to a halt for months now and got stuck in the 40-50 ranking range. Chung, disappointingly has slipped out of the top 100.
Pouille is worth mentioning, as he is also progressing well, but I cannot see in him yet a true challenger.
And I am sorry if I am not getting too excited by a bunch of guys in their early twenties, lingering at the bottom of the top 100 ranking. They will be just fillers for old guys who cannot keep up with the tour due to aging or injuries.

 

[britbox]

The three you mentioned are having an impact and they will be the precursor to rest bursting in over the next couple of years.

You're paddling in the ocean looking at a bunch of old fish herios. There are three sharks getting nearer to your spot. I'd say be aware of them rather than keep looking at the stagnant old fish because they aren't going to change the landscape... the sharks will. I'd hazard a guess Thiem will be doing more landscape changing than Rajeev Ram.

 

[britbox]

 

[herios]

Taylor Fritz strikes me as a young man with a good head on his shoulders, mature beyond his age. He actually got engaged in Paris, when he proposed to his fiancée. That is a rare thing these days in the western world, to see two 18 y olds making such a commitment.

 

[herios]

The three you mentioned are having an impact and they will be the precursor to rest bursting in over the next couple of years.

You're paddling in the ocean looking at a bunch of old fish herios. There are three sharks getting nearer to your spot. I'd say be aware of them rather than keep looking at the stagnant old fish because they aren't going to change the landscape... the sharks will. I'd hazard a guess Thiem will be doing more landscape changing than Rajeev Ram.

You are misinterpreting my statement and point of view. I am just underwhelmed seeing how few sharks are out there. Way too few. In order to see things shaken up, we need a dozen of them at least.

 

[Moxie]

You are misinterpreting my statement and point of view. I am just underwhelmed seeing how few sharks are out there. Way too few. In order to see things shaken up, we need a dozen of them at least.

I don't think that's true. It's not like sperm, where you need a certain amount to break through. Tennis players are individual, and Kyrgios is a real threat. Thiem and Zverev are looking strong, too. It doesn't take a quorum to upset the apple cart. It takes specific players maturing, and I think Kyrgios, Thiem and Zverev are on the brink. I think everyone would agree that Kyrgios is the most dangerous floater out there. And if not this year, then next, some of those other kids will start spoiling.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

some 20yr old Russian bloke called Karen krystalmaze or something has just entered the top100.

.that qualifies as big news for young guns these days. :fishing:

 

[britbox]

 

[britbox]

some 20yr old Russian bloke called Karen krystalmaze or something has just entered the top100.

.that qualifies as big news for young guns these days. :fishing:

Karen krystalmaze

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

lol.

the zed has the potential to beat baggy, (I was hoping for dreddy brown v zed but..) I believe zed is close in rank points to the top32.

 

[HellsBells]

Is Fritz in Wimbledon qualifiers or is he auto qualification.

 

[britbox]

 

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[britbox]

Milos Raonic Expresses Optimism And Caution Over Rising Star Denis Shapovalov | UBITENNIS

From www.ubitennis.net - Today, 11:40 PM

Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic has praised his fellow countryman Denis Shapovalov following his breakthrough week at the Rogers Cup.