Clément Pédron, Media365, published on Saturday January 01, 2022 at 6:10 p.m.
Behind the trio of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, another group of pursuers stands out for their results in tournaments. Faced with the form hazards of the first two cities, other young people apply for a final victory.
They are three, maybe even four up-and-coming boys: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev. They are all between 23 and 25 years old and have in common to embody the next generation of monsters of the little yellow ball. Daniil Medvedev is the first scarecrow of this group. The Russian is currently world number 2 and has above all achieved the feat of depriving the “Djoker” of a calendar Grand Slam by winning the last US Open in three small sets in a rematch of the Australian Open where the Tsar n had not shone. For two to three years, Daniil Medvedev has progressed and this is reflected in his results (Toronto, Mallorca and Marseille, US Open in 2021). Alexander Zverev is close to the level of the Russian. The German, current 3rd player in the world, is constantly improving. With six titles (Acapulco, Vienna, two Masters 1000 in Madrid and Cincinnati), the Turin Masters and the Olympic tournament, he has shown that he has the necessary chest to repeat the efforts. Zverev has one of the best records of the field and must now pass the course of a Grand Slam final which he reached only once (US Open 2020).
Rublev still a little tender
Stefanos Tsitsipas also has a pretty crazy record, with 52 wins but 19 losses. The Greek’s season started off pretty well with a semi-final in Melbourne and then a coronation in Monte-Carlo on clay. At Roland Garros, the 4th in the world offered Zverev in the semi-final but collapsed in the Roland-Garros final after leading two sets to nothing. After the Parisian Grand Slam, Tsitsipas missed his first round at Wimbledon and stopped in the third round in New York. As a bonus, he sustained an elbow injury that kept him away from the courts. Andrey Rublev is the least known of the four but not the least talented. The Russian has the annoying habit of missing his appointments when his tennis is less present. With him, it’s all or nothing. The mind of the 5th player in the world is fallible when he doubts, as in the Monte-Carlo or Cincinnati final. Victorious in Rotterdam, Andrey Rublev has won 52 matches this season but must prove himself more solid in the Grand Slam tournaments.
