Australian Open: Young Guys Are Joining The Party
SteemSports Presenter: @writingamigo
SteemSports Editor: @theprophet0
Australian Open is as interesting as it ever was this year, especially with so many new guys showing that they are ready to take the torch from the old wolves such as Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer. Tennis evolves more and more every year and that cuts the distance between the top class players and youngsters who are eager to become world's best players one day. If 10 years ago we had no doubts about who will play in the finals of the major events, now we can not be sure anymore. Of course, guys like Federer still remain favorites in the eyes of the fans and even bookies, but let's face it - the world of tennis has more tremendous players than it ever had and we shall forget the days when one or two guys dominated the tour.
Even though Nick Kyrgios, Zverev and Thiem dropped out relatively early, we saw their potential to one day come on top. I was extremely impressed with Kyrgios talent - if this man learns how to love tennis the way that other guys do, he will become world's number one. I do not doubt it. Yes, he is just way too superior, and his shots, including the best serve on tour, are out of this world.
But let's look at other guys too. I can agree that Tennys (such a bad ass name) Sandgren is a one hit wonder and will probably never have a better opportunity to win something big in his career (I like the guy, but he is a little limited and already 26). That said, he deserves all the attention and good words he gets these days because not everyone can beat Wawrinka and Thiem in the same tournament. However, players like Edmund and Chung are the ones I was talking about earlier in the articles. These players will change the hierarchy in the tennis world.
If Chung will manage to play the way he does in Australian Open, which I am certain he will, we are looking at the world's number one at some point in his career. Chung's game is so similar to Novak Djokovic's that I couldn't tell if it was Djokovic playing against his younger and fitter version in the 1/8 of Australian Open. To think that Chung is only 21 and he managed to produce such a wonderful match and keep his emotions intact, makes me scared. I am afraid that Federer, Nadal, and the guys from this older generation has only a couple of years left before the tennis changes even more and leaves them behind. But for now, let's enjoy the show of old wolves teaching young prospects what the tennis is all about. What do you guys think, does Edmund and Chung has any chance to beat Federer (or Berdych if he wins tonight) and Cilic? I have a feeling that it might be a little early just yet and we will see Cilic and Federer in the final, but who knows.
Would be interesting to see which tennis player is going to dominate the next decade , the next crop of stars seem fairly matched to each other .
You're right, AO this year is interesting in term of results and originality. It's always good to see the next gen growing up and causing trouble to the big 4 (which may not exist anymore sadly or not ).
I am wondering about 2 issues I have seen. First the temperature. Is it really wise to maintain matches under 40°C ? And not even for the players, but for the spectators. I have seen some poor match with exhausted players during the first week. I think the question makes sense.
The other point has been recall by Rafa and I think he is absolutely right. Rafa, Djoko, and even Murray have raised a lot the global tennis level. To do that, they worked on the physical part, becoming real warriors on the court. This physical work has a clear impact on the body raising the number and the gravity of injuries. I think the ATP has to find solutions (calendar review, tournament format review, ...) to adapt to this game evolution. If not the coming years will be weird. We will probably see an incredible Zverev, Thiem, Chung, ... during 1 year before an injury and a long recovery such as Murray or Djoko nowadays.
Else the players might make there own revolution, and Roger started it with the Laver cup, but maybe that's the future of tennis :-)
Yeah, I agree with the part about injuries. I remember the interview in which Mcenroe said that they used to party every day and enjoy life and players nowadays don't do that anymore because of the intensity. It's good for the fans, but for the players... not so much. However, no one would understand seeing how the level of the game drops or seeing fewer tournaments. I guess the only solution for players is to participate in fewer tournaments throughout the year and take care of their health firts.
Hard for the players to limit themselves. I am sure solutions can be found. Maybe create a lighter ATP season for the best players only, and a secondary one for the next (reviewing the ATP points distribution). Limit the number of tournaments for each player. Increase the tournaments duration (even if it means more tournaments at the same time).
I am not saying that it is easy or that these solutions are good. But doing nothing might be really harmfull for this sport.
And for the prognostic part, be careful, if Berdych keeps the level he had since the beginning of the AO, I would place a little coin on him :-)
Yeah, I expected him to do great as well today. It seems he fallen apart after that unfortunate first set. it seems like Berdych doesn't believe that he can ever beat Federer.
Good to see some young guys coming through but hard to see anyone dominating in the way the likes of Federer/Nadal/Djokovic have done at various points in their career. We could soon be in for a very open era where we see lots of different male grand slam winners.