Will the young talents live up to their hype?
The future of tennis will look very different when the ‘big four’ retire, but some young players have already become the likely replacements. Dominic Thiem has become a household name this season with four ATP titles and a semifinal appearance at the French Open. The world No.8 recently defeated Federer at the Stuttgart Open on his way to winning the title. Shortly after his loss, Federer praised the talented 22-year-old.
“I think it’s unbelievable to see how he is backing it up. He’s definitely playing with confidence right now. I saw especially in Stuttgart, things were not good for him many, many times and he stayed calm,” he said.
Thiem isn’t the only young gun to watch out for. Alexander Zverev has also laid out his intentions with a strong run to the final of the Gerry Weber Open. In his Wimbledon draw he could play Tomas Berdych in the third round, a match that he is capable of winning. Then he could play in an interesting fourth round meeting against Thiem.
The Australian duo of Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios have previously demonstrated their high level of talent on the grass. They will both be a danger in the tournament, but for those two it is more about their consistency on the court than ability. Other young talents to watch out for include 32nd seed Lucas Pouille (a potential third round rival for Stan Wawrinka) and Kyle Edmund (a possible second round opponent for Novak Djokovic).
