MADRID: If there was one key thing to take away from the men’s draw at the Madrid Open on Thursday, it is that life after the ‘big four’ is blossoming.
For the first time in history there will be two Next Generation players in the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 tournament. Borna Coric notched up a shock straight sets win over world No.1 Andy Murray. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev downed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4. Their win’s was not just luck. Coric’s pressure proved too much for a lackluster Murray. Meanwhile, Zverev is on an eight-match winning streak.
“I think a lot of young guys are coming through, and a lot of young guys are starting to play great tennis.” Said Zverev.
Playing tennis during an era with four of the greatest ever players to play the sport is tough. It is for this reason the governing body of men’s tennis, the ATP, is pushing hard with their ‘NextGen’ campaign. The concept is to promote and guide the younger players on the tour with the hope they can maintain the popularity of tennis in the future.
Coric and Zverev are just two of those players the ATP is nurturing. It remains to be seen what the future holds for these players. Part of their developments as athletes is the ability to mature on the tour. A concept Coric appears to be excelling at.
“I’ve been doing really well as very young. Also my expectations were very high, which was maybe not very realistic. I think at the moment when I was 32, I was not really 32. My tennis was for maybe 60 or 70. That’s my opinion.” The 20-year-old reflected.
At the age of 20, Zverev is the youngest player ranked in the top-20. This season the Hamburg-born player has already won two ATP titles in Montpelier and Munich. Earlier this year, Rafael Nadal described the German as ‘a player with all the great shots.’
“Zverev is a player that is in a position that he has all the great shots. He has a great serve, he has all the ingredients to be a top player and I really believe he will do.”
The most pressing fact of the two youngsters achievements is that they have generated more publicity than that of Andy Murray’s exit. A sense of excitement erupted around the Caja Magica as fans and media watched the next generation at work. The encounter between Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem (slightly older than the Next Gen) was one of the matches of the day.
When Federer and Co end their illustrious careers it will be a huge loss for the sport. What it won’t be is the end of it with the younger generation finding their footing on the tour.
The future of tennis is a bright one.
