Diamond Age has Begun

It's BS to let them vulture the next two years of slams. Talk about future weak era arguements. 2003-07 will be forgotten.

It's just that top 3 fanbases have their own agenda behind every demand and what they expect from these youngsters. It's just too transparent.
 
It's BS to let them vulture the next two years of slams. Talk about future weak era arguements. 2003-07 will be forgotten.
It just goes to show that these LostGen players have made life a little too easy for the entire decade. Other than Wawrinka, no one has done anything since 2004 to speak of. Big4 >>>>>>>> anyone else during this period.
 
Kyrgios won't even be as good as Scud, forget about him. Zverev has a chance if he matures. Thiem has a chance if Nadal loses early. Coric has a chance if a major opens up but it's still too early to say with him.

I don't think Scud was particularly that good anyway. Kyrgios has some hidden potential. He's just too lazy about it and also, very emotional and sensitive and that goes against him. But still, I'd like to keep my options open. Kyrgios may turn things around you never know.
 
Nothing has been born.Djokovic destroyed the best Next Gen star giving him only 3 games and then defeated comfortably another Next Gen Star.The next year will be the same as this year - the old Guys will rack up the Slams (Djokovic,Nadal) and the Next Gen and the young players overall will again be left with nothing
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Pretty boy Zverev will win some. I don't like the idea of it very much, but it would be better than Djokodal duopoly.
Looking at the next 10 years, I wouldn't mind Zverev getting his crap together and being the nextgen Darth Vader (we always need someone to root against) but now he's Dark Helmet. (and I will be so sad if no one gets the reference)
 
I don't think Scud was particularly that good anyway. Kyrgios has some hidden potential. He's just too lazy about it and also, very emotional and sensitive and that goes against him. But still, I'd like to keep my options open. Kyrgios may turn things around you never know.
I don't think either of them were/are that good, that's why I made the comparison. Kyrgios is all serve. He'll hang around the top 20 for a couple more years then drift off.
 
I don't think either of them were/are that good, that's why I made the comparison. Kyrgios is all serve. He'll hang around the top 20 for a couple more years then drift off.

Kyrgios is not all serve. He's just too lazy to move or chase balls. I like the guy. I saw his match vs Andy at Rogers though he lost right away, you could still see glimpses of talent. But anyway, time will tell I guess. Hope he sobers up in time to win a slam or two. That won't be so bad now.
 
Kyrgios is not all serve. He's just too lazy to move or chase balls. I like the guy. I saw his match vs Andy at Rogers though he lost right away, you could still see glimpses of talent. But anyway, time will tell I guess. Hope he sobers up in time to win a slam or two. That won't be so bad now.
Kyrgios will be a poor man's Philippoussis at best. He just doesn't have the dedication and that's like the foundation of foundations to achieve anything. I agree with Sabratha here. He's done for the season and he'll already be 24 years old in April. Time won't wait for him.
 
Kyrgios is not all serve. He's just too lazy to move or chase balls. I like the guy. I saw his match vs Andy at Rogers though he lost right away, you could still see glimpses of talent. But anyway, time will tell I guess. Hope he sobers up in time to win a slam or two. That won't be so bad now.
You're looking for a Safin but all I'm seeing is a Philippoussis.
 
I think Zverev and Coric should be there in the mix next year. Both Tsitssipas and Shapo still need some time to evolve. I wish Kyrgios was a bit more serious - then he could have joined Zed, Coric and Theim but let's see if something triggers him somewhere. And there are still a number of youngsters waiting to be exposed and their time will too come one by one as well. Those who care for a change, like us, we just need to be patient. Very exciting time, really.
That's why I'm doing this thread. Posters like TP seem clinically depressed or something. In post 2 I discuss the trajectories for the top new players on the radar. Things look very, very good.

I'm dancing in the street that pigeons like Raonic, Cilic, Anderson, Dimitrov, Nishikori, Berdych, Ferrer are gone or on the way. Yet TP wants to build up there likes and morn their demise or something. Fedralinas are definitely very guilty of building up Berdych who has been embarrassing Fed since back in the great vacuum at 2004 Olympics. The guy has just never done that much and he was very good around 2010-2011, but otherwise he's been a total pigeon. Berdych won 13 titles in his career and none of them impressive. Even during his peak stats period he's got like zip titles. Medvedev FFS has three titles this year and his Japan Open run is more impressive than anything Bendych won lol.

These Big4tarts have hardly watched anything this last year because they don't see the pigeons of yore and decry everything as weak. This thread is here to inform that we are entering the greatest period of tennis. We have the Big 3 still extremely good, a giant chasm called the LostGen, and now this new group of great, great players coming up that track with the best. This is one of the most interesting times in tennis history. Federer got to play a little bit with Agassi and barely with Sampras. We've got some real overlap and huge talent coming up.

Already we've had Shapo out of nowhere light up Nadal (and Delpo) last year at Rogers Cup. (Shapo is making fine, fine progress this year.) Now Tsitsipas shows up and he's beaten Thiem on clay, Djokovic, Zverev, and Anderson on hard at Rogers Cup. R16 at Wimbledon. And Tsitsi sneaks back into matches in a big way and got Nadal into TB lottery at Rogers Cup out of nowhere. These are not easy things to do. Zverev of course has already pretty much beaten them all save Nadal who barely got off the hook in Rome this year. These are historic matches and part of the great overlap we're lucky to see in the Diamond Age.o_O

Fast hard courts is something I'd consider a current weakness for the new group of players and yet we have Coric and Zverev show up at Beijing and do extremely well. I don't fancy Paris for this group, but these are still exciting times with Coric, Tsitsipas, and even Medvedev with a ghost of a chance of making WTF this year given 10th might make it with Delpo out and Nadal very questionable especially on heels of bad experience last year with the same scenario.
 
I don't think either of them were/are that good, that's why I made the comparison. Kyrgios is all serve. He'll hang around the top 20 for a couple more years then drift off.
I'm predicting a Kyrgios/ Raonic Wimbledon final just once some time after the Big 3. The only chance either will ever have.
 
I'm predicting a Kyrgios/ Raonic Wimbledon final just once some time after the Big 3. The only chance either will ever have.
If I were to bet I think it'd be a semifinal with a Big 3 member in the final. Raonic will win then lose another GS final. Reaches No. 3 again then declines. Kyrgios never breaks the top 10 or if he does it's like 9 or something.
 
If I were to bet I think it'd be a semifinal with a Big 3 member in the final. Raonic will win then lose another GS final. Reaches No. 3 again then declines. Kyrgios never breaks the top 10 or if he does it's like 9 or something.
Hard to see anyone else winning it outside of the Big 3 I agree. Even Murray with a bum hip is probably better on grass than these youngsters. They may improve and prove me wrong, but I don't see it anytime soon.
 
That's why I'm doing this thread. Posters like TP seem clinically depressed or something. In post 2 I discuss the trajectories for the top new players on the radar. Things look very, very good.

I'm dancing in the street that pigeons like Raonic, Cilic, Anderson, Dimitrov, Nishikori, Berdych, Ferrer are gone or on the way. Yet TP wants to build up there likes and morn their demise or something. Fedralinas are definitely very guilty of building up Berdych who has been embarrassing Fed since back in the great vacuum at 2004 Olympics. The guy has just never done that much and he was very good around 2010-2011, but otherwise he's been a total pigeon. Berdych won 13 titles in his career and none of them impressive. Even during his peak stats period he's got like zip titles. Medvedev FFS has three titles this year and his Japan Open run is more impressive than anything Bendych won lol.

These Big4tarts have hardly watched anything this last year because they don't see the pigeons of yore and decry everything as weak. This thread is here to inform that we are entering the greatest period of tennis. We have the Big 3 still extremely good, a giant chasm called the LostGen, and now this new group of great, great players coming up that track with the best. This is one of the most interesting times in tennis history. Federer got to play a little bit with Agassi and barely with Sampras. We've got some real overlap and huge talent coming up.

Already we've had Shapo out of nowhere light up Nadal (and Delpo) last year at Rogers Cup. (Shapo is making fine, fine progress this year.) Now Tsitsipas shows up and he's beaten Thiem on clay, Djokovic, Zverev, and Anderson on hard at Rogers Cup. R16 at Wimbledon. And Tsitsi sneaks back into matches in a big way and got Nadal into TB lottery at Rogers Cup out of nowhere. These are not easy things to do. Zverev of course has already pretty much beaten them all save Nadal who barely got off the hook in Rome this year. These are historic matches and part of the great overlap we're lucky to see in the Diamond Age.o_O

Fast hard courts is something I'd consider a current weakness for the new group of players and yet we have Coric and Zverev show up at Beijing and do extremely well. I don't fancy Paris for this group, but these are still exciting times with Coric, Tsitsipas, and even Medvedev with a ghost of a chance of making WTF this year given 10th might make it with Delpo out and Nadal very questionable especially on heels of bad experience last year with the same scenario.


Nope. Lost too much gen between rising crop and ageing "fading" (presumed to fade) legendary crop such that there will never be a truly great confluence of primes.

Also as usual I think you're jumping the gun. It merely has potential to develop into one of the most interesting times in tennis history but this is based on your own projection of what's going to happen, and the gens may miss various boats much like I've just projected. For it to happen the ageing legendary generations must be strong for years to come and the crop you are touting must rise quickly. If that happens then sure, we might enter a great few years of tennis with legendary battles which will only reveal their true significance way down the road. Still, it all depends on the true strength of that young crop as compared to generations which follow them, because the vacuum they will inherit sure will be juicy.
 
Lmao there won't be "deep runs" from any of them anytime soon! Nor in 2019, neither in 2020! Not until Djokodal are done chasing Fedr's legacy! Until then - tough luck for these youngsters! Lol
 
The big 4 + Stan collective age is the only thing that will allow for a next Gen star to break through

I expect Djokovic and Nadal to clean up the tour in 2019, however one lapse in consistency is going to lead to someone other than those 2 winning. If Ned doesn’t play well in WTF and beyond, the elderly’s last bastion will probably be Novak.

My prediction is that if both Ned and Nole stay healthy and are consistent, they’ll meet at at least 2/4 of the slams.

@Meles do you see any of the next Gen breaking through Nole and Ned if they mirror 2018 season? Except Djokovic would ofc do better early in the year this time

The only thing I’m worried is about age, consistency, and injury. Djokovic should skip Dubai and Doha and just play masters + Beijing.

If Ned plays like he did 2018 in the clay season(which was considerably worse than 2017, but still a huge force to reckon with) and Djoker plays like he has past Wimby this year I legitimately don’t see the next Gen breaking through. Even if Ned doesn’t hold up his side of the bargain on clay, we can assume Djokovic can pick up some slack.

However, like I said before, burnout will be a huge problem. I’d even consider Djokovic skipping one of the clay masters not named Rome

Thoughts?
Sorry. Just saw this. The Diamond Age has gone off with a bang.:D I was actually thinking about posting this thread around Auz Open, but thought we needed it now so just threw it out today.

My take on Djokovic is I can find little to complain about. He's playing the perfect schedule and did the right thing after Laver Cup egg in considering wildcard next week, but now with Shanghai final his schedule is set for the year and I'm sure he'll be bribed back to Qatar before Auz Open next year, but he might be better off at Brisbane might be my only foreseeable complaint. He probably should take advantage of his age on clay, but it just doesn't lay out well so I'd think he'll play them and I expect he won't have it so easy on clay where NextGen is most formidable so it should work out. Djokovic is Wimby favorite over Fed once again and it would be a miracle if NextGen got Tsitsi or Zedrot into SF or something.

Nadal is still no joke and it really all depends on his injuries as we saw him get taken down effectively by matches with three new players in a row (Khach, Basilashvili, and first hard court match with Thiem). If Nadal plays at same level as 2018 RG (lower than 2017 which was very high), then he can be had. I don't think Djoko can do it straight up. I'd say both Thiem or Djokovic would take him down in a cold, wet low bouncing final. The only player I can really imagine beating Nadal in high bouncing conditions might be Jarry if he finds another level in 2018. Jarry is tall and makes Soderling look like a pusher. Jarry would have to have his footwork go up a notch to have a shot, but easily hardest hitter on clay ever. Jarry is clearly a notch below Soderling in the footwork department, but Jarry should be faster in 2019, its just a matter of how much. Jarry has already beat Thiem on clay so he can handle heavy balls. Tsitsipas has a whiff of a chance as well, but I'm skeptical given the Barcolona final with Nadal.
 
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@Meles

You are desperate for it to be a golden age because you are currently so invested in tennis and want to witness the rise of greatness and it distorts your outlook. You are looking for everything that points to the qualities of those who are next and clinging onto every potentially positive signal and producing forecasts from it, but how much effort have you gone to in contextualising your statistics? Even if you've gone a long way in doing so, does it not strike you how at odds with reality the indications might be with what's actually happening, because of factors that don't readily reveal themselves through numbers?

I appreciate that these threads are intended to have a bombastic and grandiose flair to them which somewhat form a caricature of what I'm sure are slightly more measured inner thoughts, but you're ever so eager for your projections to already be the case when they're not. On a conceptual level, having great talent still going strong across such a broad span of generations can (and perhaps does) lead to the deepest field the game has ever seen but it has to be tempered with the fluid relative state of affairs within the game rather than looked at in isolation on an absolute scale across history, and despite the potential absence of precedent it does not neccessarily offer up the realistic potential of the deepest and greatest era when one takes a closer look at the spread of the great players which comprise the active player base and the very real possibility of a rise of the young coinciding with a fall of the old.
 
Nope. Lost too much gen between rising crop and ageing "fading" (presumed to fade) legendary crop such that there will never be a truly great confluence of primes.

Also as usual I think you're jumping the gun. It merely has potential to develop into one of the most interesting times in tennis history but this is based on your own projection of what's going to happen, and the gens may miss various boats much like I've just projected. For it to happen the ageing legendary generations must be strong for years to come and the crop you are touting must rise quickly. If that happens then sure, we might enter a great few years of tennis with legendary battles which will only reveal their true significance way down the road. Still, it all depends on the true strength of that young crop as compared to generations which follow them, because the vacuum they will inherit sure will be juicy.
And yet we've had the appetizers I listed.

My projections are doing rather well. Zverev over performed in 2017 and shocked me on hard courts. He surprised me again in 2018 with the Madrid/Rome run. He's been done again at end of year, but I think he's due for something a bit better at end of 2018 and surely his team won't have another horrible off-season like last year. I gave Zverev a chance to move up in the rankings. He go to defacto #2 on clay and took advantage this year. Sadly the rigors of RG had him injured for grass so that opportunity faded. Overall he's fine. Thiem also has done extremely well this year given his fractured ankle. My Coric and Rublev clay predictions were derailed by injury, but Coric has kept on delivering in spurts and just not where I expected. I under forecast Medvedev and Khachanov. Shapo reworked his serve, but is tracking well. I never went Chung crazy, nor Edmund and it took me a while to warm up to Shapo. Tsitsipas is having a crazy good year all beyond my hopes. He's still playing well, but I'm not confident on fast courts just like I was before Rogers cup.:D

I don't really buy into the significance of the historic matches. These matches are inevitable given the rankings proximity of this new wave with the Big 3. Its something new and even the one-legged Coric match with Djoko was a good one. I'll take Khach v Nadal 4 hours and 20 minutes 4 set match over Nadal v Ferrer all day long. Something new and interesting and we've not even seen the likes of Tsits vs Federer.

I may be jumping the gun a tad in that I just thought of this thread after a long post a couple days ago and wanted to wait til right before Auz open to see form of youngsters off of off-season. The only projection I'm uncomfortable with is Felix Auger-Alliassime and he'd still be hard to call. At this point I'm using rankings progress where he had been ahead of Djokoray in the graph early in this thread. In the great TTW tradition I offer this thread to wake up the tennis world to the fact that these are fascinating times with incredibly new and interesting matches.
 
Supporting scouting report on young players moving up through rankings. Its really quite a crop with Edmund turning 24 in January getting back on track after multiple Tonsil issues have derailed his year, but now has moved back up to 13 in the ATP race. With his serve and forehand plus the rest of his game, a slam can't be ruled out down the road. He's got an excellent chance of making top ten next year.

Jarry burst onto the scene this year and just turned 23. Big serve and ultimate aggression plus oddly a clay based game. 36 in ATP race and probably rising until Rio next year. Top 20 can't be ruled out by then if he takes to Australia like has to North American hard courts. Wins over Thiem on clay and Cilic plus the Rio SF and Sao Paulo Final.

Medvedev has really astounded of late including his dismissal of an in form Nishikori in the Tokyo final. The ultimate troll who loves to take down local heroes with the entire fan base against him. Red hot form and 18 in the ATP race. 3 tourney wins this year. The tall Medvedev is making great strides with his serve game so top 10 next year or very close seems in hand especially since a bad knee destroyed his 2018 grass results. Has a suddenly more efficient game yet also can grind with the best from the baseline. Auz Open should be favorable surface ongoing as well. Turns 23 in February.

Khachanov has had a banner year and has stunned me with his hard court results post Wimbledon despite facing some very tough opponents:
R32 Hard Stefanos Tsitsipas Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6(8) H2H 2.10 - 1.69
40 / 2018 Beijing
R16 Hard Juan Martin Del Potro Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6(4) H2H 1.33 - 3.25
38 / 2018 St. Petersburg
R16 I Hard Stan Wawrinka Karen Khachanov 7-6(10) 7-6(1) H2H 2.40 - 1.57
35 / 2018 US Open
R32 Hard Rafael Nadal Karen Khachanov 5-7 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3) H2H 1.10 - 7.50
32 / 2018 Cincinnati Masters
R16 Hard Marin Cilic Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4 H2H 1.50 - 2.50
32 / 2018 Canadian Masters
SF Hard Rafael Nadal Karen Khachanov 7-6(3) 6-4 H2H 1.20 - 4.80

Khach is on fire and turns 23 in May. 23 in ATP race and likely top 20 by year end. Can't be rules out for slams with his serve and ground game.

Chung also turns 23 in May and has floundered this year due to injuries, but slowly climbing back late this year. Its easy to be pessimistic, but still 24 in race and a good chance of making top 20 by year end. Showed his stuff at Auz Open so can't be ruled out from slam contention as his serve game inevitably improves over the coming years; just needs some healthy patches.

Coric is just 21 years old (22 come November) and with his penchant for beating Fed he could make a deep slam run soon. 11th in the ATP race and he's got the stats to win Roland Garros and the matchup with Thiem, Zverev, and Nadal. Some injury issues stopped his progress on clay. With his wins over Fed on grass and hard this year hard to rule him out from winning any of the slams. Possible multi-slam winner, but the biggest choker of the bunch and some injury issues.

Zverev turns 22 in April and obvious potential to win all four slams.

Rublev turns 21 this month and has been derailed by horrible fractured back injury just before clay season. Hard to be optimistic, but top 5 potential in the long run for sure. Still very young.

Tiafoe turns 21 in January and sits at 41 in the race with loads of long run potential. Could easily win some slams and highly regarded by McEnroe.

The cream of the crop:
Tsitsipas - just turned 20 in August and my favorite player of the bunch. Tremendous potential on clay and has delivered big time on all the other surfaces this year. 14 in the ATP race and should be top ten in short order. Has every facet of the game. A clay court version of Federer with a far, far superior backhand. Will have a good shot at winning all four majors in his career.
de Minaur - turns 20 in February and already 28th in ATP race. A lot of serve for his height and tremendous speed. Could easily be a slam winner. An odd game given the "Demon" has spent a lot of time, but currently doesn't have the power to thrive on clay (top tier counter puncher.) Hard to rule out from slams like his mentor, the even more diminutive Hewitt.
Shapovalov - turns 20 in April, slight blip this Summer due to serve overhaul, but his return game up nicely this year and serve game awesome for his age and height. 27th in ATP race and with his impressive, surprise clay season can't be ruled out from winning all four majors in his career.
Auger Alliasime - just turned 18 in August. A little bit far out with the stats and I'm not happy with his failure to make Milan this year after being in range last year. Has game to win slams on all surfaces, but because early and the slowdown in ranking progress I'd say top ten assured in the future.

What are the prospects for these players ongoing:
1. Edmund at near age 24 is pretty much done making rapid progress, but should slowly improve for years to come.
2. Jarry's clock is ticking at age 23 and we'll soon see what he can do on clay next year. Might have one more big speed boost to propel him up the rankings. Really Med, Khach, and Chung in the same boat with another performance jump possible in 2019.
3. Coric amazingly has two more years where he may have big performance jumps so his prospects are very, very bright.
4. Rublev and Tiafoe with three more years where big performance jumps likely.
5. Tsitsi 3.5 more years with big jumps possible
6. Four more years of rapid progress for Shapo and Demon.
7. 5.5 years for FAA

Loads and loads of talent on the horizon. Strong Era has begun with unprecedented potential through 2030.

We've had the big 4 for over ten years now. FAA, Tsitsi, Shapo, Zverev and Coric have potential to win all four slams. Coric has potential Murray caliber career possible. And the other 4 big 3 potential. Throw in de Minaur and Tiafoe plus Rublev with some slam potential and its quite a group not even accounting for the obvious threat of the Medvedev and Khachanov serve games. DIAMOND ERA INCOMING CONFIRMED.o_O

De Minaur is not the cream of any crop. And certainly not of a crop that also contains Zverev and Coric.
 
Nobody between Borg and Sampras could hit double digits. And this era was strong enough to have guys like McEnroe, Lendl, Wilander, Edberg, Courier, and Becker. You really think these mugs today could do better than Lendl?

Well, they do play 4 majors a year, and someone (once The Big 3 become too old, or retire) won't be there, so... I can't analyze the young guys as optimistically as @Meles or as pessimistically as @Ann. Will a few emerge to carve up lots of titles, will there be one or two dominant forces, or will there be lots of parity among 8-10 guys? Stay tuned. As far as Lendl, he was great (19 major finals, 8 wins, great throughout the years), but one reason he didn't win more was because there was strong depth at the top, as you indicated.
 
@Meles

You are desperate for it to be a golden age because you are currently so invested in tennis and want to witness the rise of greatness and it distorts your outlook. You are looking for everything that points to the qualities of those who are next and clinging onto every potentially positive signal and producing forecasts from it, but how much effort have you gone to in contextualising your statistics? Even if you've gone a long way in doing so, does it not strike you how at odds with reality the indications might be with what's actually happening, because of factors that don't readily reveal themselves through numbers?

I appreciate that these threads are intended to have a bombastic and grandiose flair to them which somewhat form a caricature of what I'm sure are slightly more measured inner thoughts, but you're ever so eager for your projections to already be the case when they're not. On a conceptual level, having great talent still going strong across such a broad span of generations can (and perhaps does) lead to the deepest field the game has ever seen but it has to be tempered with the fluid relative state of affairs within the game rather than looked at in isolation on an absolute scale across history, and despite the potential absence of precedent it does not neccessarily offer up the realistic potential of the deepest and greatest era when one takes a closer look at the spread of the great players which comprise the active player base and the very real possibility of a rise of the young coinciding with a fall of the old.
I'm calling this the Diamond Age and I think it has the advantage because of the overlap with the Golden Age greats. The Golden Age started with Fed hoovering up majors with no end seemingly in sight and then we had Nadal and by 2007 Djokoray brought further light to the darkness. The frenchies were nice and a few others hailing a new period of great tennis. We still have the greats all near the top of their game in the last year now set firmly to overlap with the future grand crop of talent.

I'm deeply impressed with the current group which is the best in a decade. I watch tennis all the time and I'm not mired within just watching the Big4. Thiem is in here try to carve out a career in his clay prime, but its not going to be easy. Diamond age should be in full force on 2019 clay. The next frontier will continue to be US Open series cemented with their change in court surface. Lets review the landscape outside of the majors.
IW Delpo over Fed (Coric challenge in SF)
Miami Zedrot makes his way to final, but still quite weak and Isner prevails in 3.
Monte Carlo Nadal wins over Nishikori who got into final over aforementioned Zedrot
Madrid Zedzilla historic win unbroken with dominating win over Thiem still coming back from fractured ankle, but good enough to handily beat Nadal.
Rome Zedzilla near win over Nadal with amazing dominant comeback in 2nd set into 3rd before rain delay cooled his play
Queens/Halle Cilic with epic comeback win over Djoko. Coric trounces Fed
Citi Open Zverev wins agains
Rogers Cup Tsitsi infamous run and shows his grit coming from nowhere to take 2nd to TB with in form Nadal
Cincy - bad draw for NextGen and Djoko shows he's betterer than the rest
Tokyo/Beijing - Medvedev triumphant over Nishikori in top form. Basilashvilli fills the void of weak draw.
Shanghia - two NextGen in SFs with Coric over Fed

The count in finals. LostGen (including Delpo/Cilic) takes IW, Miami, Queens, and a weak Basilashvili triumph in Beijing. Nishi finals in MC and Tokyo.
Big 3 has final in IW, wins Monte Carlo, Rome, Cincy, and Shanghai. Final in Cincy.
NextGen has final in Miami, wins Madrid, final in Rome, win in Halle, win at Citi plus finalist, finals in Rogers, and Shanghai

Big 3 takes the day with big wins and total of 6 finals or better, but NextGen has 8 finals or better. Lostgen fills some voids early with 6 finals or better.
 
De Minaur is not the cream of any crop. And certainly not of a crop that also contains Zverev and Coric.
Demon has had two finals this year and he only arrived in 2018. By ranking he's much better than he looks when you watch him play. Did you miss his tussle with Cilic at US Open?
 
Well, they do play 4 majors a year, and someone (once The Big 3 become too old, or retire) won't be there, so... I can't analyze the young guys as optimistically as @Meles or as pessimistically as @Ann. Will a few emerge to carve up lots of titles, will there be one or two dominant forces, or will there be lots of parity among 8-10 guys? Stay tuned. As far as Lendl, he was great (19 major finals, 8 wins, great throughout the years), but one reason he didn't win more was because there was strong depth at the top, as you indicated.
Lendl was a tight player like Coric, far, far better to be sure. I'll warrant he's underappreciated even by his slam count and had to deal with technology change, but still the most snake bitten top player easily of all time including his failure to take Wimbledon.
 
Lmao there won't be "deep runs" from any of them anytime soon! Nor in 2019, neither in 2020! Not until Djokodal are done chasing Fedr's legacy! Until then - tough luck for these youngsters! Lol
Don't be ridiculous, the Big 3 haven't been holding the fort well at all.
Only Fed with SF at Auz Open. Only Nadal with SF at RG. Nadal v Nole SF at Wimby. Only Nole at US Open. That's a whopping 5 SF spots out of 16. Do you think the rest will be occupied by LostGen or geriatrics like Isner, Anderson, and now Delpo and Cilic? NextGen will be filling a lot of those slots the next two years.
 
Fedralinas are definitely very guilty of building up Berdych who has been embarrassing Fed since back in the great vacuum at 2004 Olympics. The guy has just never done that much and he was very good around 2010-2011, but otherwise he's been a total pigeon. Berdych won 13 titles in his career and none of them impressive. Even during his peak stats period he's got like zip titles. Medvedev FFS has three titles this year and his Japan Open run is more impressive than anything Bendych won lol.

.

another one of those sh*tposts from Meles.
After that Oly. 2004 loss, Federer dominated Berdych, winning like 8 or 9 matches in a row from 2005-09.

and the bold part is another load of bullcr*p.
 
My ONLY hope is Tsitsipas. He just turned 20 and shows some spark.
There you go! He's a fascinating player. I really like how he won't over play. His backhand has held up so well outside of clay much to my surprise and he's able to basically start with consistent play that allows him to get a feel for his opponent. He can step it up. He played a hot Anderson rather well at Shanghai and brought a lot of pace to get back into the match. I think he just learns so much from this approach rather than trying to punch through players with power all the time. 6' 4" and very, very speedy for his height. Tremendous finesse, and he'll be adding speed over the next three seasons and power for much longer. I'm rather amazed at how the Fedralinas have classified such an amazing player as a pusher when his clearest parallel is Federer himself. Just an amazing, amazing player to me. Dives better than Becker. Every shot is strong for Tsitsi and soon all be obvious weapons. I can't think of a thing he does wrong.:p
 
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