SHAPOVALOV. We are going to depose Federer, Nadal, Djokovic. Medvedev has already started

The Canadian has predicted an end to the dominance of “The Big Three” as soon as next season.

Shapovalov Nadal

For the last two decades, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have been dominating the men’s side of the tennis game. Andy Murray tried to keep up with “The Big Three,” but even he was unable to match their achievements. These three have all broken Pete Sampras’ previous record of 14 Grand Slams. However, a changing of the guard may be in the offing as a new generation emerges to challenge the status quo.

We are going to dethrone them

According to Denis Shapovalov, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic’s time as the best players in the game may be ending. The 20-year-old reached his first tournament final at the Stockholm Open on Saturday. He has declared that the next generation of players is ready to take over from “The Big Three.” The Canadian has predicted that the next tennis season could see many upsets as the new generation establishes themselves at the pinnacle of the game. The Canadian said, “I’m sure that next season there are going to be a lot of upsets. Obviously the Big Three, they’re still playing really well. But I think sooner or later; we’re going to dethrone them.”

Players to follow Medvedev’s example

Shapovalov said that with a little patience, the young generation of tennis players could make a push for the biggest titles. He gave the example of Daniil Medvedev, who has been in top form in the last few months. The Russian has reached six consecutive ATP tournament finals since the Washington Open. The 23-year-old played in the US Open final against Nadal last month. Despite losing the match, he pushed the Spaniard to the limit as the match lasted close to five hours. He recently won the Shanghai Masters this month. Denis feels that many young players will follow Medvedev’s lead and put together a string of impressive performances. He tipped Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas as players capable of improving in the future.

The Canadian will play in his first ATP title this Sunday. He had failed to get past the semifinals in the tournaments he had played this year. This time, however, the 20-year-old defeated Yuichi Sugita to reach the final of the Stockholm Open. Shapovalov will face Serbian Filip Krajinovic in the final. Both players are aiming to win their first ATP title. The world No. 34 said he was happy to make some progress, and he is looking forward to playing in his first final.

Shapovalov in Stockholm, ranking, and results in 2019

Denis Shapovalov Stats info

Ranked no.34, Shapovalov has a 28-23 win-loss record in 2019. The Canadian is playing in Stockholm, where he defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-4 7-63, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-0 6-3 and Yuichi Sugita 7-5 6-2.

The Canadian will play Krajinovic in the final. They have never played each so far on the main tour.

Denis Shapovalov

Embed from Getty Images