The United States is the country that must invest the most money in formative tennis. A training center in Orlando belonging to the USTA, a budget vastly higher than everything or almost everyone and endless tournaments (from the US Open to an M15). Not to mention the growth in the number of boys who accept a scholarship to study at a university, where they can maintain their dream of being a professional at some point while they dedicate time to their university careers. Although there was a time of drought and it seems it will continue a little more (Wimbledon saw 70 Grand Slams without an American champion. The last one was Andy Roddick at the US Open 2003), the light at the end of the tunnel seems to emerge. Gone is the time of Agassi, Sampras, McEnroe, Courier, Connors or Chang, there is a litter of young players, the famous ones called Next Gen, who have been hitting the door hard in 2021 and that sooner rather than later we will have them fighting for the most valuable titles.
Sebastian Korda, Brandon Nakashima Y Jenson Brooskby They are the three clearest exponents of a generation that will mark the future of the North American giant. Beyond these cases, it is impossible to leave out of the list other players who could finish making the leap in the following seasons, although it seems difficult to imagine them winning a ‘Slam’. So much so that Taylor Fritz (42º / 23 years old), Reilly Opelka (36º / 23), Frances Tiafoe (53º / 23), who said a few days ago that he looks with the tools to be top10, and Tommy Paul (55º / 24) should be kept in mind. Anyway, the expectation lies with his other compatriots.
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LIFE OF THESE TENNIS PLAYERS
TIME: 21 years. Son of the mythical Petr Korda, Sebastian is the greatest promise of American tennis. Despite some doubts that arose about him when he did not reap the best results in the first tournaments to which he was invited, since the return from post-lockdown tennis he has been one of the young people with the best performances. Plus, Andy Roddick and John McEnroe rave about him.
Current 45 in the ranking, he started this year as 119th in the rankings and, consequently, managed to advance more than 60 places with a ranking frozen for much of the season. Final in Delray Beach, champion in the Quimper 1 Challenger, quarter-finalist in the Miami Masters 1000 (win included against a top-10), winner of the ATP 250 in Parma and fourth round at Wimbledon. A fan of Marat Safin and a friend of Agassi, he has been achieving small achievements in 2021. Event by event, he seems to be willing to break a new bar.
NAKASHIMA: 20 years just turned. From position 170 in January 2021 to 89 this week. Remarkable progress from the San Diego, California-born during the first seven months of competition. Although he showed certain weaknesses on the clay tour, his great level is noticeable on fast courts: he has an interesting serve (not as powerful as that of Isner or Opelka), he goes well to the net and exchanges flat shots with the odd. rythm change.
In terms of results, he lifted the Quimper 2 Challenger, overcame the tough qualifying at Acapulco and Wimbledon and got two consecutive ATP-level finals (Los Cabos and Atlanta) with outstanding triumphs against Querrey, Isner himself, Raonic or Thompson. “I think in tennis, above any other factor, there is the mental game. That has been my biggest improvement this season,” he said recently in an interview. He is already sixth in the Race to Milan.
BROOKSBY: 20 years. He started the season outside of the top300 and is currently in the top 130. Also, he was unemployed for a month due to an injury that did not allow him to compete in the Wimbledon classification. He won the Potchefstroom 2, Orlando and Tallahassee Challengers, as well as reaching the Cleveland Challenger final. His last big appearance was at the ATP 250 in Newport, where he lost in the final against Kevin Anderson.
Right handed two-handed backhand, it’s a piano lover and admires Rafael Nadal by the mental strength of the Spanish. Every day he is better physically armed, he has a solidity from the bottom of the track and can adapt comfortably to any surface. In fact, he had great results on hard, grass and clay (he surpassed the Roland Garros classification).
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