Rafael Nadal spent some nice words addressed towards the new upcoming generation of men’s tennis, deciding to focus in particular on the two most bright and promising stars on the ATP Tour: Taylor Fritz and Dominic Thiem.
One-handed stellar backhand Dominic Thiem, born in 1993, has already proven himself on the tour, reaching a career high at No. 18 in the rankings and winning 4 ATP Titles. Taylor Fritz is impressing with his mental strength and rapid progress, having reached last week already his maiden ATP Final in Memphis, losing to Nishikori in straight sets, but holding the court and playing at a very similar level to the one of the top 10 Japanese player. Fritz has almost made his top 100 debut this week – climbing to No. 102 – despite being “only” born in 1997.
The 18-year-old from California and the 22-year-old from Wiener Neustadt will playing one another for major titles soon, possibly already in 3 years time.
Recently Thiem has managed to beat Nadal on the South American red clay, getting his talent acknowledge clearly by the 14-time Grand Slam champion. Rafael then spoke about Dominic and Taylor in a recent interview.
“We long waited for a generation like this one,” said the Spaniard “Last week I saw a young American (Fritz) reaching the final in Memphis. It is a good thing for the tour and for everyone that there are new talented players around. Thiem for example has a great potential. If he keeps improving he can really achieve great things. We all have to congratulate him for the way he played in Buenos Aires”.
Both down to earth and humble, Dominic and Taylor set the example for the new generation of tennis we want to see. Has tennis found his new dominators?
