The tennis world has always had superstars to look up to; the likes of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and more recently Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. These last four players have held sway over the men’s tennis playing field for the last 15 years.
But all great players have to succumb to age and right now we are wondering who the next generation of superstars will be? Who would you put your money on? The recent Rogers Cup might hold the answer.
The first and most obvious candidate for topping the new generation up to now has been the German, Alexander Zverev. The 6’6″ 21-year-old is currently ranked number four on the ATP circuit.
So far this year Zverez has won three ATP singles titles; Munich, the ATP Masters in Madrid, and the Washington Citi Open. But his recent defeat by a certain Greek in the quarterfinals of the Toronto Masters also points the way to another top contender for the next men’s tennis superstar. That player is, of course, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In beating the well-fancied Zverev, Tsitsipas has underlined his potential as becoming one of the new men’s games’ superstars. It’s not just the fact that he beat the German star, it’s the way he did it. He came back after having to save two match points – no easy feat against such a fast-serving opponent.
But of course it’s not just his victory over Zverev that has fired the imagination; there is also the fact that he knocked Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic out of the Rogers Cup in the third round – that after putting Dominic Thiem to the sword in the second.
Tsitsipas’s victory over Zverev meant that the young Greek tumbled his third straight top 10 adversaries. It also meant that he is the youngest men’s tennis player to record three top ten victories in the same tournament since a certain young Spaniard (Rafael Nadal) back in 2006 in Monte Carlo. But more was to come.
Having pushed the Wimbledon winner out of the competition, Tsitsipas next faced the defeated Wimbledon finalist, South African Kevin Anderson. It didn’t really matter who came out on top as far as the Greek’s reputation was concerned. He has already done enough to make the tennis world sit up and take notice of him. But, win he did, and he now became the first unseeded player in a final in Toronto since Nicolas Kiefer back in 2008.
In the other semi-final Spaniard Rafael Nadal, seeded number one, and who came from a set down to beat Marin Cilic in the quarters, knocked out Russian, Karen Khachanov, in two straight sets.
So, the scene was set for a classic David and Goliath final – 32-year-old veteran Rafa Nadal against the unseeded Tsitsipas. The fact that the game was also due to take place on the young Greek’s birthday seemed like it might provide the outsider with a special birthday present.
However, it was not to be. In the end, the Spaniard won in straight sets – 6-2 7-6. Some of Tsitsipas’s brilliant shots of earlier games didn’t come off for him in this final, and in the end, Nadal’s skill, experience, and dogged determination to win saw him take his 33rd ATP World Tour Master 1000 title.
But make no mistake. Tsitsipas is set to become a household name in the tennis world in the near future. His great showing, to topple four top ten professionals in reaching this, his first Masters 1000 title is, bodes well for Stefanos Tsitsipas, and he has everything it takes to become master of the new tennis generation.
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