Before the start of the 2017 Indian Wells tournament, the ATP held an event featuring a few of the players in contention for the qualification to the inaugural edition of the Next Gen Finals. Fans had the chance to meet and hear from the future stars of the mens game.
Two years later, let’s have a look at their career so far.
Taylor Fritz
Age: 21 (28.10.1997)
Turned pro: 2015
Best ranking: 40
Titles: 0
Best Grand Slam result: 3R Australian Open 2019
Fritz became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since Michael Chang in 1988, when he advanced to the Memphis final in 2016 (l. to Nishikori, coached by Chang). Despite being ranked in the top 50, he doesn’t have any significant results or victories yet.
Read more:
– Fourth Memphis title for Kei Nishikori
– Sweetheart Sunday at the Memphis Open
Daniil Medvedev
Age: 23 (11.02.1996)
Turned pro: 2014
Best ranking: 15
Titles: 4
Best Grand Slam result: 4R Australian Open 2019
Medvedev had his big break last year with 3 titles in Sydney, Winston-Salem and Tokyo. He’s one of the in-form players of the start of the season: he reached the Brisbane final, captured his fourth career title in Sofia and advanced to the semifinals in Rotterdam. He’s also the only player to have taken a set to Djokovic at he recent Australian Open.
In 2018, Medvedev led the ATP Tour with 38 hard-court victories (38-15). It will be interesting to see how well he’ll do on clay.
Read more:
– Sofia 2019: Daniil Medvedev cruises to the title
– Brisbane 2019: Nishikori claims the title
Borna Coric
Age: 22 (14.11.1996)
Turned pro: 2013
Best ranking: 12
Titles: 2
Best Grand Slam result: 4R Australian Open 2019
He’s only 22 but it seems he’s already a veteran on the tour: aged 17 he defeated Nadal in Basel in 2014, he made his entry to the top 50 one year later, and won his first ATP title in Marrakesh in 2017.
Feeling his game and ranking weren’t evolving enough, Coric changed his whole team last year. Since then, he defeated Zverev and Federer in Halle for the biggest title of his career so far, and he defeated Del Potro and Federer en route to his first Masters 1000 final in Shanghai, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
He also played an important part in Croatia’s Davis Cup triumph.
Karen Khachanov
Age: 22 (21.05.1996)
Turned pro: 2013
Best ranking: 11
Titles: 4
Best Grand Slam result: 4R Roland Garros 2018
Khachanov defeated 4 top 10 players to claim his first Masters 1000 trophy in Paris last November: John Isner, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic. It was his third indoor title in 2018 after also triumphing in Marseille and Moscow. As a result he was an alternate at the ATP Finals.
He struggled so far this year, with first round exits in Doha, Sofia, Rotterdam and Dubai.
Read more:
– Open du Nord 2015: Khachanov wins the title
Reilly Opelka
Age: 21 (28.08.1997)
Turned pro: 2015
Best ranking: 56
Titles: 1
Best Grand Slam result: 2R Australian Open 2019
The new John Isner? Opelka, the tallest player on the circuit (2.11m), defeated Isner in the first round of the Australian Open and again a few weeks later in the semifinals of the New York Open, with both players combining to strike 81 aces (43 for Opelka) – an ATP record for a three-set match. He then defeated Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur to capture maiden ATP title.
Stefan Kozlov
Age: 21 (01.02.1998)
Turned pro: 2013
Best ranking: 115
Titles: 0
Best Grand Slam result: Q3 Australian Open 2018
The only one so far who did not have his big breakthrough.
In 2014, Kozlov reached two junior Grand Slam finals, where he lost to Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open and Noah Rubin at Wimbledon. He won a few Challengers titles here and there but never managed to qualify for a Grand Slam’s main draw. His current ranking is around the 300th place.
Three more players, Alexander Zverev, Hyeon Chung and Frances Tiafoe were part of the Next Gen campaign:
Alexander Zverev
Age: 21 (20.04.1997)
Turned pro: 2013
Best ranking: 3
Titles: 10
Best Grand Slam result: QF Roland Garros 2018
The leader of the Next Gen players.
At 21, Federer had won 4 titles: an ATP 1000, 500 and two 250 events. At 21, Alexander Zverev has won 10 ATP titles, including four Masters 1000 along with two 500, five 250 and the 2018 ATP Tour Finals. But he has again and again underperformed at Grand Slams: 3 third round eliminations at majors last year and a defeat in straight sets to Milos Raonic in the fourth round of the Australian Open this year. He hired Ivan Lendl to help him progress, let’s see how far he can go.
Hyeon Chung
Age: 22 (19.05.1996)
Turned pro: 2014
Best ranking: 19
Titles: 0
Best Grand Slam result: SF Australian Open 2018
Winner of the inaugural NextGen ATP Finals in 2017, Chung reached the Australian Open semifinals a few months later thanks to wins over Zverev and Djokovic. He then reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells (l. to Federer) and Miami (l. to eventual winner John Isner), and the Munich semifinals (l. to Zverev). He did not compete at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, and reached the second round of the 2018 US Open.
Plagued by injuries, he has an up and down career so far (he has a 1-4 record in 2019), and lacks a big weapon in his game.
Frances Tiafoe
Age: 21 (20.01.1998)
Turned pro: 2015
Best ranking: 29
Titles: 1
Best Grand Slam result: QF Australian Open 2019
The future of US tennis? Tiafoe became the youngest American to win an ATP title since Andy Roddick in 2002, when he claimed the Delray Beach title last year.
He made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open this year after wins over Kevin Anderson and Grigor Dimitrov, before being stopped by Nadal.
Read more:
– Estoril 2018: Joao Sousa triumphs
– Estoril Open 2018: Sousa and Tiafoe to clash in final
A few more young players to watch:
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Age: 20 (12.08.1998)
Turned pro: 2016
Best ranking: 10
Titles: 2
Best Grand Slam result: SF Australian Open 2019
The talk of the season so far.
Winner of his first ATP trophy in Stockholm last year, Tsitsipas made the headlines with his win over Roger Federer en route to the 2019 Australian Open semifinals. He then captured the title in Marseille and advanced to the Dubai final (l. to Federer).
Currently second at the Race, he is the second Next Gen player (after Zverev) to reach the top 10, and many see him as a future world number one.
– Dubai 2019: Federer and Tsitsipas face off in the final
– Rogers Cup 2018: Nadal ends Tsitsipas run, wins 80th title
– Stefanos Tsitsipas makes Greek tennis history in Barcelona
Andrey Rublev
Age: 21 (20.10.1997)
Turned pro: 2014
Best ranking: 31
Titles: 1
Best Grand Slam result: QF US Open 2017
Part of this new generation of Russian players who intend to follow the footsteps of their glorious countrymen Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.
In 2017, as a lucky loser, Rublev won maiden title in Umag, on clay. A few weeks later, he upset Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin to become the youngest US Open quarterfinalist since Andy Roddick in 2001. He reached the Doha final (l. to Monfils) in 2018, but had to deal with a recurring back injury and fell out of the top 100.
Alex De Minaur
Age: 20 (17.02.1999)
Turned pro: 2015
Best ranking: 24
Titles: 1
Best Grand Slam result: 3R Australian Open 2019
The Australian was named the 2018 ATP Newcomer of the Year: he began the season at rank 208, and made his way to the Brisbane semifinals and Sydney final. He also reached the Washington final (l. to Zverev).
This year he captured his maiden ATP trophy in Sydney, defeating Gilles Simon in the semis and Andreas Seppi in the final. Is he the big champion Australia has been waiting since Lleyton Hewitt’s retirement?
Denis Shapovalov
Age: 19 (15.04.1999)
Turned pro: 2017
Best ranking: 23
Titles: 0
Best Grand Slam result: 4R US Open 2017
A player there’s been much talk about is Denis Shapovalov. He first made a name for himself when he defeated Del Potro and Nadal to reach the Rogers Cup semifinals in 2017. He reached the last 4 in Madrid last year.
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Age: 18 (08.08.2000)
Turned pro: 2017
Best ranking: 58
Titles: 0
Best Grand Slam result: Q2 Australian Open 2019
Another young Canadian is making wave these days: Felix Auger-Aliassime. He recently reached the Rio final after wins over Fognini, Garin, Munar and Cuevas and the Sao Paulo quarterfinals. rom number 185 to a career-high number 58 in the span of 10 months, Felix is one player to watch this year.
Who do you think will have the biggest career? Who will win a Grand Slam first?
Photo credit: Tony for Tennis Buzz
Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev on the men’s side, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina and Kristina Mladenovic on the women’s side have dominated the clay court season; while world number ones Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber appeared in big trouble. Here’s our recap of who won what.
Men
Marrakech: Borna Coric
Runner-up in Marrakech last year, Borna Coric came back from the brink, saved 5 match points to overcome Philip Kohlschreiber and capture his maiden ATP title.
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal
Rafa‘s reign in Monte Carlo continues: he defeated fellow Spaniard Ramos-Vinolas, who stunned Andy Murray en route to his maiden Masters 1000 final. With that victory, Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to win 10 titles at a tournament, and the first to win 50 clay-court titless, surpassing Guillermo Vilas (49).
Thanks a lot to Tony for sharing his story and pictures!
Participated in the WTA Draw Ceremony with 2009 BNP Paribas Open Champion Jelena Jankovic and 17-year-old rising star CiCi Bellis.
The NextGenATP players are here to help with the draw and so am I at the BNP Paribas Open.
Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, Borna Coric, Karen Khachanov, Reilly Opelka, Stefan Kozlov:
Picking Federer in the Men’s Main Draw, so you can thank me if that 4th Round Roger/Rafa match happens!
Check out the men’s singles draw and the women’s singles draw.
More:
– Indian Wells 2017: Roger Federer at practice
– Indian Wells 2016: Rafael Nadal at practice
– Meeting Pete Sampras is a dream come true
Thanks a lot to Tony for sharing his story and pictures!
19-year-old Croatian tennis player Borna Coric is one of tennis’ rising stars. He’s currently the youngest player in the top 50, and he was introduced as one of the ATP’s “Next Generation” of tennis stars in a ceremony at the BNP Paribas Open right after I took these photos. Watching him on the practice court yesterday, I had the same feeling I did when I saw young Novak Djokovic here in 2008. Borna drew quite a large crowd at the small Practice Court 19. Catch him now before he moves on to the big courts!
GROUP I EUROPE/AFRICA 2ND ROUND: GREAT BRITAIN – RUSSIA 3-2, Coventry, hard
It was surprisingly the first time Great Britain and Russia met in Davis Cup and it surely was a tie to remember! Brits overturned a 0-2 deficit for the first time since 1930 to clich an historic 3-2 victory over Russia.
“On the practice court on Sunday morning, there was no doubt in our minds we could do this. I’m so proud of the whole team. James’s was a hell of an effort to come back, then Dan came in and he bossed that match. I think it’s one of the best days I’ve seen in British tennis.”
Andy Murray:
“Earlier this year against Russia in Coventry, Dan Evans and James Ward recovered from a couple of body-blow defeats on the first day and responded with victories over Dmity Tursunov and Evgeny Donskoy, players who are ranked much higher than them. A lot of this is down to Leon’s sound captaincy. He has this ability to say the right thing at the right time, to quietly analyse a match and he doesn’t complicate things.”
Dmitry Tursunov defeats Dan Evans 6-4 6-7 6-4 5-7 6-4
Evgeny Donskoy defeats James Ward 4-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 8-6
Colin Fleming/Jonathan Marray defeat Victor Baluda/Igor Kunitsyn 6-1 6-4 6-2
James Ward defeats Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 5-7 5-7 6-4 6-4
Dan Evans defeats Evgeny Donskoy 6-4 6-4 6-1
