Alexander Zverev has become accustomed to the motion that he is the leader of the next generation of men’s tennis.
At the age of 21 he has already claimed nine titles on the ATP Tour, including three at Masters level. Currently ranked fifth in the world, the German is on course to end the season in the world’s top five for the second consecutive time. During his young career, Zverev has been the poster boy of the Next Generation contingent. An campaign set up by the ATP to promote and support players under the age of 21 who are ranked inside the top 200.
“I think that a lot of other young guys are playing great. I think there’s a lot of young guys being top 20, top 30 now.” Zverev told reporters in Paris on Tuesday.
At present there are seven players under the age of 25 ranked in the top 20 on the ATP World Tour. Zverev is one of only three under the age of 21 along with Borna Coric and Stefanos Tsitsipas. It is hoped that the young guns will have the ability to one day fill the void left when the Big Four of tennis retires. A group consisting of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
“I’ve just managed to win, maybe a few more matches here and there and kind of get to the later stages of the big tournaments.” Zverev commented on his development on the tour.
“But there’s a lot of other young guys that are doing great. Tsitsipas is doing really well, Shapovalov has been doing really well this year I thought, especially with the expectations on his shoulders.
“It is not easy for us young guys sometimes, we get expected too much from us.” He added.
It may be chilly outside, but @pablocarreno91 and Sascha Zverev are serving up the heat inside. 💪 #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/KLVZu0oIsT
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Zverev will not be present at the Next Gen Finals in Milan, which will get underway next week. Opting to instead focus on the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. An event with a prize money pool of $8 million.
It is unknown as to what the state of men’s tennis will look like in five years time and who will be heading the rankings. As to which Next Generation players could dominate the tour in the future, Zverev believes the key could be the mental side of the game.
“It’s interesting how to see the other young guys handle it (the pressure) and kind of see how it goes. I think Khachanov and Medvedev are playing great. But we’ll see what the future holds because I think the other young guys are going to get to the later stages of those tournaments as well soon.”
This week Zverev will play in his penultimate tournament of 2018 at the Paris Masters. Seeded fourth in the draw, he will start his campaign against Frances Tiafoe. Another rising star in the sport. Tiafoe, 20, is currently ranked 44th in the world and won his maiden ATP trophy earlier this year at the Delray Beach Open.
“I know his game pretty well, he knows my game pretty well. So there’s no real surprises.” Zverev said of Tiafoe.
“He’s another young guy that’s improving a lot and obviously getting better.”
The upcoming clash will be the fourth meeting between the two players and the first in 2018. Zverev currently leads their head-to-head 2-1.
