Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal have been dominating pro tennis for more than a decade. Still, there are 3 young guns that seem to be ready to take their place: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sascha Zverev, Daniil Medvedev.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
At 21 years of age, the young Greek is pure box office. Stefanos is arguably the most loved player among the new generation for various reasons. His tennis is beautiful to see. He is extremely aggressive, and he loves hitting the ball early to charge at the net as soon as he can. In addition, he keeps intact the wonderful legacy left by Pete Sampras and Roger Federer: a beautiful one-handed backhand. In addition, Tsitsipas has a very interesting personality that goes beyond the tennis court. He loves to show his “quirks” on social media and girls love him.
Tsitsipas has demonstrated an unusual mental toughness, especially during the last ATP Finals. He looked completely confident when he was playing the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Greek impressed because during crunch time against the Swiss Maestro, it was the legendary Roger Federer to fold… not Stefanos.
Tsitsipas didn’t hide the fact that he is confident that he is already close to winning his first slam. It’s not sure if the Greek will conquer his first major in 2020, but he seems to be destined to glory.
Sascha Zverev
The German had a very complicated year after he won the ATP Finals in 2018. Sascha won just 1 title in Geneva and he ended the season ranked “only” no.7. Of course, many would dream having his year, but it was expected more from him. Zverev had a fight and a lawsuit with his former agent Mauricio Apey and a complicated relationship with his former girlfriend Olya Sharypova. The German is now linked to top model Brenda Patea.
At 22 years of age, Sascha has won already 11 titles and among them 3 Master ATP1000 and 1 season’s finale. It is legit to consider him as one of the very best in the years to come.
Daniil Medvedev
The Russian has been probably the biggest surprise of the year. Daniil has rather uncharacteristic tennis, but he is incredibly tough from a mental point of view. Medvedev hit the headlines for reaching 6 consecutive finals and winning 2 master ATP1000 (Cincinnati and Shanghai) this year. Currently ranked no.5, Daniil will be one of the forces to reckon in the years to come and he might very well win a slam in 2020.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.6, the Greek played his last match on the 17th of November when he defeated Dominic Thiem 6-76 6-2 7-64 in the final in London to win his 4th career title.
This year Tsitsipas has a 53-25 win-loss record. The Greek conquered 3 titles in 2019 in Marseille, in Estoril and in London. Stefanos was the finalist in Dubai, in Madrid and in Beijing.
Alexander Zverev’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.7, Alexander played his last match on the 16th of November when he capitulated to Dominic Thiem 7-5 6-3 in the semifinal in London.
This year Alexander has a 41-24 win-loss record. Zverev conquered 1 title in Geneva. The German was the finalist in Acapulco and in Shanghai.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev played each other 5 times. The head to head is 4-1 for Tsitsipas.
The last time that they played, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 6-2 in the R in Nitto Atp Finals on the 13th November 2019.
Here the highlights.
