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Worth a read.
Not really anything new there, but its good to see some excitement about young players. As as has been discussed quite a bit (perhaps overly so by yours truly, the game has been really lacking a solid group of young players for years. The Raonic, Nishikori and Dimitrov group - while still perhaps having some room for growth - are simply not generating any elite players.
But the next group holds more promise. Tignor seems especially high on Zverev's game, his main concern being his height and perhaps greater risk for injury. He points out that Fritz is less polished but with a great mental make-up.
What I found particularly interesting is how he pointed out that back in 1990, no one thought Seles could surpass Graf, or in 2005 no one thought Rafa could compete with Federer. But it happened.
So while we can look at Zverev, Fritz, Coric, Kyrgios, Chung, and Kokkinakis, or others such as Donaldson, Ymer, Tiafoe, or Rublev, we might not see anyone that screams "future great," but the simple fact is that ALL great players get surpassed and fade, and there are ALWAYS new great players coming up - so SOME of those young players are going to pan out and, if not be all-time greats like Roger, Rafa, and Novak, at least be near-greats in the mould of Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, or Murray.
For me this is the most interesting story in tennis. Yes, I'm enjoying the Tale of Old Man Federer, and whether or not he can somehow manage one more Slam, or the Serbian Epic, whether or not Novak can equal and surpass Federer, and even the Spanish Tragedy or the tragi-comedy that is Andy Murray's career. But I admit to being particularly excited about the next wave of talent that is--finally--appearing on the radar.
Not really anything new there, but its good to see some excitement about young players. As as has been discussed quite a bit (perhaps overly so by yours truly, the game has been really lacking a solid group of young players for years. The Raonic, Nishikori and Dimitrov group - while still perhaps having some room for growth - are simply not generating any elite players.
But the next group holds more promise. Tignor seems especially high on Zverev's game, his main concern being his height and perhaps greater risk for injury. He points out that Fritz is less polished but with a great mental make-up.
What I found particularly interesting is how he pointed out that back in 1990, no one thought Seles could surpass Graf, or in 2005 no one thought Rafa could compete with Federer. But it happened.
So while we can look at Zverev, Fritz, Coric, Kyrgios, Chung, and Kokkinakis, or others such as Donaldson, Ymer, Tiafoe, or Rublev, we might not see anyone that screams "future great," but the simple fact is that ALL great players get surpassed and fade, and there are ALWAYS new great players coming up - so SOME of those young players are going to pan out and, if not be all-time greats like Roger, Rafa, and Novak, at least be near-greats in the mould of Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, or Murray.
For me this is the most interesting story in tennis. Yes, I'm enjoying the Tale of Old Man Federer, and whether or not he can somehow manage one more Slam, or the Serbian Epic, whether or not Novak can equal and surpass Federer, and even the Spanish Tragedy or the tragi-comedy that is Andy Murray's career. But I admit to being particularly excited about the next wave of talent that is--finally--appearing on the radar.
