The year’s second Grand Slam, the French Open is nearly upon us. Over the course of the last few months some players have emerged to look likely candidates for strong Next Gen surges or strong careers in general.
This piece focuses on those who could really break into the mainstream with a good run in Roland Garros
- Alexander Zverev. Alexander “Sasha” Zverev is the man everyone is talking about. The German became the youngest player since Rafael Nadal to win his first Masters title when he beat Novak Djokovic in Rome last week. The win moved Zverev into the Top 10 for the first time in his career. The youngster has always claimed that clay is not his surface, but proved strong enough to take wins from an in-form John Isner and Kevin Anderson in Italian capital. Questions will remain over his ability to go the distance in five sets yet, as he cramped badly in the final set against Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open. The slow conditions and expected hot temperatures in Paris will test him to the limit in the year’s second Grand Slam. Zverev can do it in a best-of-three sets now, but can he do it over five?
- Frances Tiafoe. The American has really shone already this year, bursting into the Top 100 and sits at a very comfortable No.66 in the ATP rankings. The American is the youngest player in the Top 100, having only turned 19 in January. Tiafoe has an excellent record on clay, having won two Challenger titles this year on the surface already. He defeated Tennys Sandgren in Sarasota, and beat Jeremy Chardy for the title in Aix-en-Provence. The American also qualified and won his first match at a Grand Slam at the Australian Open by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round. He has no main draw points to defend, having lost in qualifying in last year. With an increasing reputation on clay Tiafoe is well place for a good tournament. If he can avoid an early encounter with a big name he can play his way deep into the draw.
- Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek youngster will be a name that is not yet very familiar to those outside the inner tennis world. The Greek youngster is only eighteen, but has been in sensational form in the qualifying event, and secured his place in the main draw with a commanding win over German Oscar Otte. He took down the in-form Thomas Fabbiano in the opening round, finishing strongly in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win. He then won both his next matches in straight sets. His surface is clay, having reached the finals of a pair of clay Challengers in Morocco back-to-back last year (l. to Melzer, l. to Janvier.) His ranking actually sits outside the Top 200 at the moment, though it will move back up after the tournament regardless of if he wins a main draw match on account of his strong qualifying run.
- Ernesto Escobedo. The second American to feature on this list, but for a good reason. Escobedo has surged up the rankings and sits narrowly behind Frances Tiafoe in the race of American youngsters. Escobedo sits at No. 74 whilst Tiafoe is at No.66 and Jared Donaldson is at No.72. He joined Tiafoe by qualifying and then winning his first round match at the Australian Open (d. Daniil Medvedev.) He then took a set from David Ferrer in a second round match. Escobedo also won his first Masters 1000 match by defeating Dan Evans, a result that saw him move into the Top 100 for the first time. He has also demonstrated a good temperament. After losing the first set 6-0 to veteran Tommy Haas in Rome, he won the second set, and was within a tiebreak of claiming an unlikely victory. His run to the Houston semi-finals, a run that included a win over John Isner, shows that he has what it takes to compete on clay.
- (Casper Ruud.) The young Norwegian is undoubtedly a star in the making on clay, but the eighteen year-old misses out after a shocking loss in qualifying. The teenager was beaten by Maxime Janvier in the second round. He features on this list simply because of the level of talent that he has displayed on the surface, and would have expected to make the main draw. Ruud won a tournament on his Challenger debut as a qualifier, defeating Inigo Cervantes and Taro Daniel for the title in 2016. This season he reached the semi-finals of the Rio 500 event, defeating Rogerio Dutra Silva and Thiago Monteiro amongst others. His loss in qualifying is his second in a row having also lost to Reilly Opelka in attempting to qualify for the Australian Open. A disappointing exit before the main draw, but a potential star in the making nevertheless.
