Poll: Which NextGen player will become the best grass court player?

[daggerman]

To date, none of the NextGen players (for these purposes, we'll say that includes players Medvedev's age and younger) have so much as made a QF at Wimbledon, so it's hard to predict who among them will have the best chances to collect Wimbledon trophies going forward.

But based on their games and, secondarily, how they've performed at other grass tournaments, who do you expect to be the best grass player when the dust settles?

I'm making this a multi-choice poll (3 choices max) in case you think no one player will stand out from the pack (or if you'd like to hedge your bet).

 

[Sport]

Zverev, without a shadow of a doubt. He has the best serve out of the Next Gen. He also reached the final of Halle 2017.

 

[DSH]

Mmm...

 

[Jonesy]

Tsitsipas

 

[MeatTornado]

If it's not Tsitsipas I'm going to be extremely disappointed in tennis.

 

[DSH]

If it's not Tsitsipas I'm going to be extremely disappointed in tennis.

 

[Nadal_Django]

I think Medvedev has a perfect game for the modern grass.

 

[zagor]

Ugh, it's more akin to who's gonna become the least bad grasscourter.

 

[MeatTornado]

I think Medvedev has a perfect game for the modern grass.

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard

 

[The Guru]

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard

I mean there are a lot of things to like about his game for grass. His flat groundstrokes and his serve. Then again he can't slice or volley for **** so unless that changes he doesn't have anywhere close to the perfect game for modern grass. So you can rest easy.

 

[MeatTornado]

I mean there are a lot of things to like about his game for grass. His flat groundstrokes and his serve. Then again he can't slice or volley for **** so unless that changes he doesn't have anywhere close to the perfect game for modern grass. So you can rest easy.

He hits flat but often doesn't hit big. He loves to feed neutral balls and play 20 shot rallies.

If he can change his tactics for grass, then that's a different story and I'd love to see it. But right now none of these young guys can seem to do that which is why they all crash out of Wimbledon within the first 2 rounds every year. It's like they think it's still clay season and haven't looked down to notice the surface is green.

 

[The Guru]

He hits flat but often doesn't hit big. He loves to feed neutral balls and play 20 shot rallies.

If he can change his tactics for grass, then that's a different story and I'd love to see it. But right now none of these young guys can seem to do that which is why they all crash out of Wimbledon within the first 2 rounds every year. It's like they think it's still clay season and haven't looked down to notice the surface is green.

Hitting big isn't a necessity at W. Just look at Hewitt, Djokovic, and Murray. The court can do the work for you if you play with controlled aggression. 3 shot rallies and S&V aren't a necessity.

 

[King No1e]

Tsitsipas. He hasn't done anything of note on grass so far, but I'd be very surprised if he doesn't become the man to beat on grass.

 

[MeatTornado]

Hitting big isn't a necessity at W. Just look at Hewitt, Djokovic, and Murray. The court can do the work for you if you play with controlled aggression. 3 shot rallies and S&V aren't a necessity.

And that's what I'm waiting to see. It's a skill that I think can only come with experience, so hopefully he develops it. Right now when I watch him it feels like he's content playing softballs forever and then out of nowhere he'll just go "F it" and rip the ball as hard as he can. When he's in the zone that works great (see Summer 2019). When it doesn't, well, you get all the other results throughout his career. He hasn't quite found the right mix yet. Hewitt, Djokovic and Murray are 3 Hall of Famers, so it's no simple feat being able to win with their styles. Time will tell.

 

[DjokoLand]

That's the saddest thing I've ever heard

He’s not far wrong though Med hits very flat is consistent and the slower grass helps him but yeah it’s kind of sad

 

[Djokodal Fan]

Has to be sisipas. I would be disappointed if he doesn't shine on grass.

 

[StannisTheMannis]

Tsitsipas or Zverev just on the basis that they’re clearly superior overall to the rest of the options. They’ll be better than the rest in every court

 

[Jack the Hack]

I just want to point out that Nick Kyrgios is the same age as Medvedev (24 years old) and he has been to a Wimbledon quarterfinal and two 4th rounds.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Medvedev

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

To date, none of the NextGen players (for these purposes, we'll say that includes players Medvedev's age and younger) have so much as made a QF at Wimbledon, so it's hard to predict who among them will have the best chances to collect Wimbledon trophies going forward.

But based on their games and, secondarily, how they've performed at other grass tournaments, who do you expect to be the best grass player when the dust settles?

I'm making this a multi-choice poll (3 choices max) in case you think no one player will stand out from the pack (or if you'd like to hedge your bet).

Zverev, if he can cut out on those double faults and be as efficient in BO5 as he's been in AO2020..
And by efficient, I mean no 5 setter epics with Journeymen and lucky losers in first four rounds...

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Tsitsipas

If it's not Tsitsipas I'm going to be extremely disappointed in tennis.

Tsitsipas. He hasn't done anything of note on grass so far, but I'd be very surprised if he doesn't become the man to beat on grass.

Just because you have OHBH and play like poor man's federer, it doesn't mean you'll go down as the next gen grass great.
His serve, his slice, his big windy strokes, his movement, return; everything goes against tsitsipas to make him even a cilic level grass courter..

 

[King No1e]

Just because you have OHBH and play like poor man's federer, it doesn't mean you'll go down as the next gen grass great.
His serve, his slice, his big windy strokes, his movement, return; everything goes against tsitsipas to make him even a cilic level grass courter..

He has great variety and the only NextGenner with a good aggressive net game.
The slice would be his biggest weakness on grass, but he can improve that over time. And he has a competent serve anyway.

 

[MeatTornado]

Just because you have OHBH and play like poor man's federer, it doesn't mean you'll go down as the next gen grass great.
His serve, his slice, his big windy strokes, his movement, return; everything goes against tsitsipas to make him even a cilic level grass courter..

Tsitsipas does not have big windy strokes (at least not compared to the rest of his generation). From my recollection his backhand comes further back than his forehand so that would be an issue, but as you pointed out, his slice is no good and that's what he'll need on that wing to compete on grass anyway.

Right now I don't see anything wrong with his serve or movement on grass. The return is a big liability however. It's bad even on hard courts, let alone low bouncing grass.

 

[James P]

Definitely Dustin Brown. Keep an eye on that fella.

 

[Jack the Hack]

Reilly Opelka was the 2015 junior Wimbledon champion. I don't think he has the ground strokes and movement he'll need to win a Grand Slam, but his serve could cause some problems.

Shapovalov was the 2016 junior Wimbledon champ.

Aside from those two, I haven't heard of the 2017 though 2019 junior Wimbledon champs yet. (Fokina, Chun-hsin, and Mochizuki.) Of course, plenty of junior Grand Slam champions never make it big on the pro tour.

Any of those guys on the list could have a breakthrough. I'd lean towards the ones that are currently in the top 20. I also really like Jannik Sinner, but have never seen him play on a surface other than hard courts. He's got a big serve and huge forehand though. Same goes with Wild, who I've only seen on clay.

 

[Tennisfan339]

I dont think Medvedev is bad on grass. He did well in 2017 and last year he only lost in 5 sets against Goffin in the 4th round. Also remember him against Djokovic in Eastbourne in 2017, it was high level match...

Zverev plays well in indoors grass (beat Federer in Halle) but he isn't good in Wimbledon so far.

We'll see for Tsitsipas. He was bad last year in Wimbledon but we'll know better after this year.

The other plays havent played enough on grass. IMO, the trio DNF will continue to dominate on grass for a couple of years.

 

[HuusHould]

Shapovalov was the 2016 junior Wimbledon champ.

Playing good all court tennis. His lefty serve should be an asset as well.

 

[helterskelter]

Big thing helping Medvedev over Tsitsipas on grass is return of serve, which is crucial to being able to win without relying on tiebreaks.

 

[HuusHould]

Big thing helping Medvedev over Tsitsipas on grass is return of serve, which is crucial to being able to win without relying on tiebreaks.

Now you can rely on a buster in every set if you're that way inclined! But from memory we saw evidence if this in the ATP cup doubles, when Tsitsipas's drive bh return was put under pressure it was prone to lamb shanks, whereas when he has a bit more time during the rally it might be considered a strength of his.

 

[HuusHould]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cqBKXWLDSBg&ved=2ahUKEwi85NnM64roAhVqxTgGHQcLA4cQwqsBMAF6BAgEEAc&usg=AOvVaw2TqdPXa3zZLCtVsVpfVb-X

I think this match highlights Shapovalov's case, but he's been disappointing really since then. I mean he ticks all the boxes.

 

[TennisManiac]

I voted for "other" because all of the players on the vote list suck on grass.

 

[Sport]

I voted for "other" because all of the players on the vote list suck on grass.

Zverev reached the final of Halle in 2017 and only that almost unbeatable version of 2017 Federer stopped him from winning the title. He does not suck on grass.

 

[MeatTornado]

Zverev reached the final of Halle in 2017 and only that almost unbeatable version of 2017 Federer stopped him from winning the title. He does not suck on grass.

If almost winning a 500 tournament 3 years ago is evidence of his grass skill, then we have a serious problem. The bar just keeps getting lower for these kids.

Fwiw though, Sascha seems like the same player on all 3 surfaces. Either his serve is clicking and he looks unstoppable or it isn't and he looks more lost than a college player out there.

 

[TennisManiac]

If almost winning a 500 tournament 3 years ago is evidence of his grass skill, then we have a serious problem. The bar just keeps getting lower for these kids.

Fwiw though, Sascha seems like the same player on all 3 surfaces. Either his serve is clicking and he looks unstoppable or it isn't and he looks more lost than a college player out there.

Exactly

 

[Nadal_King]

Tsitsipas and medvedev are best prospects on grass although kyrgios has easily best potential but he is no longer seen as a potential top player for the future is a different topic altogether.

 

[BGod]

1. Shapovalov
2. Felix

 

[SonnyT]

Medvedev, he's the one most similar to Djokovic.

The biggest minus is his mentality, he's winless in 5 setters!