Courting greatness
From Boris Becker’s acrobatics in 1985 to Roger Federer’s languid brilliance in 2003, Wimbledon has provided the stage for many of tennis’ most formidable novices to secure their first Grand Slam. Yet since Federer clinched the first of his seven Wimbledon crowns, nobody outside of the sport’s so-called “big four” has had a look-in at the All England Club, with the Swiss, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray sweeping all before them. A quick glance at the bookmakers’ favorites for this year’s title shows few expect the quartet to be dethroned any time soon. Yet with the world’s current top five all now in their 30s, perhaps this is the year for a new generation to announce their arrival. Here we take a look at some of the up-and-comers who could cause an upset.
With his single-handed backhand, Austria’s Thiem boasts one of the best shots in men’s tennis, and another impressive claycourt season saw him emerge as the only person to beat Nadal on his beloved red dust this year.
En route to the French Open semifinals for a second straight year, Thiem destroyed Djokovic, winning the third set 6-0 in 20 minutes, to further underline his growing stature in the game.
Questions remain, however, as to whether the claycourt specialist, who often stands deep behind the baseline to receive serve, can adapt to the slick lawns at SW19, where he has never gone past the second round.
Zverev’s swashbuckling game has already seen him tipped as a future Grand Slam champion and he comes into Wimbledon with some pedigree, having won three tour titles this year.
The younger brother of world No 30 Mischa, Zverev showed his grasscourt prowess by reaching the final at Halle only to lose in straight sets to Federer, who he beat at the same event last year.
His season, however, has not been an unmitigated success: Days after beating Djokovic to win the Rome Masters, he crashed out of the French Open in the first round to Fernando Verdasco.
Pouille made his mark when he ousted Nadal from last year’s US Open in a pulsating fourhour, fourth-round upset.
That led Spain’s now 15-time Grand Slam champion to remark that Pouille “could fight for the big things the next couple of years”.
The Frenchman’s grasscourt pedigree looks good after he reached the quarterfinals at the All England Club last year, and he underlined his progress by claiming his second tour title of the season at the Wimbledon warmup event in Stuttgart. Nick Kyrgios (Australia) Age 22, ranked No 20
Unpredictable Kyrgios’ three appearances at Wimbledon could be viewed as his fledgling career in microcosm.
It is three years since he gave an early glimpse of the irresistible power at his disposal to blow then world No 1 Nadal off Center Court in one of the most extraordinary upsets in the tournament’s modern history.
Since then, however, the Aussie’s progress seems to have stuttered amid criticism of his attitude, behavior and commitment.
He faced accusations of tanking at Wimbledon in 2015 in a fourth-round loss to Richard Gasquet, while his loss to Andy Murray 12 months ago prompted John McEnroe to criticize his temperament. Borna Coric (Croatia) Age 20, ranked No 42
Having reached a career-high 33 in the world in 2015 Coric is one of several young players who have been tipped for great things but have found the next step tricky.
The former junior US Open champion slumped to 79 in the rankings earlier this year, but then claimed his first ATP title in Marrakesh in April. Chung Hyeon (South Korea) Age 21, ranked No 54
Chung Hyeon is among the games’ brightest young talents and showed a glimpse of his potential when he took Kei Nishikori to five sets in the third round of the French Open, his best Grand Slam performance.
He was a runner-up in the 2013 Wimbledon boys’ singles. Denis Shapovalov (Canada) Age 18, ranked 164
Reigning Wimbledon junior champion Shapovalov sneaked into this year’s main draw with a wild card, but is undoubtedly a promising talent.
He beat Briton Kyle Edmund to reach the second round at Queen’s before pushing former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych to the limit in a three-set defeat.
Aiming to join world No 7 Milos Raonic as the only other Canadian in the top 100, Shapovalov made headlines earlier this year when he was disqualified for striking umpire Arnaud Gabas in the eye with a ball after hitting it aimlessly towards the crowd during a Davis Cup tie against Britain.