USA TODAY International Edition
Wimbledon needs young guns to rise
The most important tennis tournament of the year will begin Monday, as it always seems to, with a sense of inevitability.
Djokovic. Federer. Nadal. Novak.
Roger. Rafa.
Does anyone else at Wimbledon even matter?
The three dominant names for the last 16 years in men’s tennis — a span of time that used to usher through multiple generations of stars — have to this point proved unmovable and almost unbothered by their competition.
It’s been a spectacle to watch them compete, a joy to see them endure. We might never witness anything like it again. But for the sake of tennis, there could be no better outcome to this Wimbledon than one of the sport’s promising, charismatic stars shaking up the old order. Finally, it’s time.
Beyond the Big Three, who have taken 53 of the last 64 Grand Slam tournaments, only four other active players have won majors. Two of them, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, had surgeries this year that threaten their viability as high-level singles players. None are under 30.
In fact, just three players still in their 20s have made it as far as a Grand Slam final: Dominic Thiem (25), Milos Raonic (28) and Kei Nishikori (29). That’s dangerous for the ATP Tour and tennis in general because even as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic will bring out big crowds to any tournament they enter, their window of competitiveness will eventually close. They can’t be counted on to carry the sport for much longer.
Waiting for the next great generation to earn validation on the biggest stage, however, has been a frustrating pursuit. Every time a player under 22 makes a run in a big tournament or hits the top 30 in the world, they get tagged as a future star. More often than not, whether because of injuries or their development curve simply topping out, they end up fading into the background.
Now a new group has emerged, and the same question remains: Can they actually do it?
At the top of that list is Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20-year-old Greek who looks like a Hollywood template of what a tennis player should be and glides around the court like a young Federer. He has beaten each of the Big Three within the last calendar year, made the semifinals in the Australian Open and is No. 6 in the world. Tsitsipas has the tools of a future Wimbledon champion, and it wouldn’t be a major shock to those inside the sport if that future is this year.
Tennis has been waiting — and waiting, and waiting — for 22-year-old Alexander Zverev to do something noteworthy in the Slams. The 6-6 German already owns 11 ATP titles, including some significant events like last year’s ATP Finals and the Canadian Open in 2017, but his major record is perplexing. As the No. 4 seed at Wimbledon last year, Zverev wilted against qualifier Ernests Gulbis in the third round, losing 6-0 in the fifth set. In the U.S. Open, he didn’t put up much resistance against Philipp Kohlschreiber in another third-round exit. And in this year’s Australian Open, Zverev seemed to be in good form with a great chance to make a deep run until getting blown off the court by Raonic in the fourth round, 6-1, 6-1, 7-6. Until Zverev shows the physical endurance and mental fortitude to make it through a Slam, the doubts will remain.
Then there’s 18-year-old Felix AugerAliassime, the Canadian prodigy who has risen to No. 21 despite having played just one match in a Grand Slam. He has the kind of big first serve and forehand that wins Wimbledon, and he’s 6-2 on grass this year, including a rather routine win over Tsitsipas a little more than a week ago at Queen’s Club.
After that match, which was Tsitsipas’ fifth straight loss to Auger-Aliassime going back to juniors, he brooded: “I have to accept that he’s better than me. I might never beat him.”
He also added: “He has the whole package to play big. I’m sure if he ever gets the difficult chance to play Nadal, Djokovic or Federer, he’s going to beat them, for sure.”
Regardless of who breaks through, tennis is due to see something new relatively soon. While his game still looks great most of the time, Federer will be 38 in August and is much more suited to a best-of-three set format at this point. Nadal is 33 with a litany of injuries that force him to orient his schedule toward Roland Garros and hope for the best everywhere else. Djokovic, the clear favorite at Wimbledon, is trying to grind away at Federer’s all-time Slam record of 20.
As Wimbledon begins, it seems the door is cracked open just enough. Are any of the young guns ready to knock it down?