Tennis is back. Did you miss it? The season resumes from today, December 27, with the United Cup opening proceedings in Perth, Australia.
Will H: Seems to be a generational transition brewing in the men’s game at the moment. Young guys like Jack Draper, Arthur Fils, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and Ben Shelton seem poised to break into the top 10 and knock some of the previous generation (Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz) down a peg. Do you agree, who do you expect to make a real push next year, and are there other names you’d throw in?
Charlie Eccleshare: I think I agree. My only hesitation is that I don’t know if that agreement comes from a selfish perspective rather than an analytical one. That isn’t a knock on Rublev, Tsitsipas, and Hurkacz; it’s just exciting to have new blood and there’s a sense with those three (and others of similar vintage) that it may never happen for them at the very top level.
Maybe the next generation, without the kind of baggage those in their mid-twenties have built up, can be a genuine threat at the sharp end of majors… But that’s what was said about Tsitsipas et al. when they were about to replace nearly men like Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, and Milos Raonic.
All four of Draper, Fils, Mpetshi Perricard, and Shelton have the weapons to be a genuine threat to the very best — they already are on their day — and they certainly have it in them to push for top-10 places next year.
Other names to look out for are the world No. 50 Shang Juncheng of China, who’s only 19 but possesses an excellent all-round game, and the exciting Brazilian Joao Fonseca (18), who looks like a star of the future. Belgian Alexander Blockx looks like one promising name on the Challenger Tour.
Of those slightly older, Flavio Cobolli (22 and ranked No. 32 after a breakthrough year) could make an impact, though he’s less explosive than some of his peers. World No. 25 Tomas Machac has serious weapons and could be a real threat if he can add some consistency to his game. Where does Holger Rune fit into all this? At 21, he’s younger than Draper and Shelton, but his trajectory makes it feel like he’s in the Tsitsipas category.
Matt Futterman: John Isner reached No. 8 and made the Wimbledon semifinals. He also banked $22.5 million in prize money. That’s pretty good. Mpetshi Perricard may have more weapons and is smaller, so he likely moves better. I think we need to see him for another year before we figure out who he is.
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