What Happened to the Next Generation of Men’s Tennis Stars?

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at Internationaled.org

Published: September 2, 2015

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This time last year, Rafael Nadal had withdrawn from the U.S. Open with a wrist injury. Andy Murray was still recovering from minor back surgery, and the big talk on the ATP Tour was about all the young guns—Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios—surging toward the top. 

A year later, and those younger players seem to have taken a step back. On Wednesday, Dimitrov lost a five-setter to Mikhail Kukushkin. Murray sent Kyrgios packing on Tuesday, and Nishikori lost on Monday.

Meanwhile, Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and even Richard Gasquet—a bunch of veterans—are outperforming the youngsters. 

What happened to the so-called youth movement in men's tennis?

The ATP Top 20 includes 13 players aged 28 or older. Six of them are in their 30s. Dominic Thiem, 21, is the youngest. 

We're not even into the third round of the 2015 U.S. Open, and already the anticipated generational shift seems on hold. 

In 2013, James Blake called Raonic and Dimitrov the best of the bunch. At the time, Jerzy Janowicz had just advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals and was considered one of the best up-and-coming young players on the tour. In evaluating their talent, Blake told Tennis.com that Dimitrov had the biggest upside, but he'd fear playing Raonic the most:

Out of those four guys, I'd least like to play Raonic because of that serve... It could be a set and 3-all in the second set, you don't feel you're into the match because he's won so many free points off his serve, he's missed a lot of balls on the return game, and he hasn't given you anything to really feel like you're into the match. That to me makes it uncomfortable.

Raonic, ranked No. 10, has been one of the more consistent young players. Nishikori, who turns 26 in December, is a little older than the others and by far the most accomplished....
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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