I recently posted the message below (with slight modifications; I originally posted it on Saturday before the 5/4 rankings came out) on another, non-tennis message board and thought it would be appropriate to post here as well. Feel free to share your thoughts on any or all of the players mentioned below.
I like to keep an eye on the young, ascending players (essentially the teenagers, though I'll include some 20 year olds) on the ATP Tour. Things have been busy in recent weeks with a few of them, and pretty much all of them have posted some notable clay court results the last few weeks. Here's an update, with players listed in order of current ranking (ranking as of 5/4/15):
*Nick Kyrgios (Australia), age 20 (DOB: 4/27/95), ranking 35 - Kyrgios has been relatively quiet this year up until this week, playing in only four tournaments and only making noise at the Australian Open (quarterfinals). However, at this week's ATP 250 Estoril Open in Portugal, he has celebrated moving into his 20s by advancing to the final, the first time he's gotten past the quarters in a Grand Slam or ATP Tour event. It is not out of the realm of possibility he could be a seeded player at the French Open if things break right.
*Borna Coric (Croatia), age 18 (DOB: 11/14/96), ranking 53 - Coric continues to impress, winning at least one match in every tournament he's entered (all ATP Tour events) except one since advancing to the semifinals at Dubai (ATP 500) in late February. Like Kyrgios, he played the Estoril Open (ATP 250) this past week, making a solid run to the quarterfinals. He has comfortably qualified for the French Open, and continues to climb the rankings, pushing close to the top 50.
*Hyeon Chung (South Korea), age 18 (DOB: 5/19/96), ranking 88 - Chung has had an excellent start to 2015, improving by roughly 80 spots in the rankings since the beginning of the year. Though he did not play this past week (and will play a Challenger event this week rather than Madrid), he's already won two Challenger events (including the recent Savannah event on clay), appeared in three Challenger finals, and done no worse than the semifinals of his five Challenger events so far this year. He also got through qualifying and advanced to the round of 16 in Houston (ATP 250) and won a main draw match at the Miami Masters. Chung should be ranked high enough to make the main draw directly at Roland Garros.
*Thanasi Kokkinakis (Australia), age 19 (DOB: 4/10/96), ranking 103 - Kokkinakis has been quiet over the last month taking a mini-break from tournament action, but like Chung has made a solid rise in the rankings since the beginning of the year, rising about 50 spots in the rankings. The highlight of Kokkinakis' season so far was his run to the round of 16 at the Indian Wells Masters, but he's also won at least one match in either qualifying or the main draw at every tournament he's played in (all ATP Tour events) except one this year, plus a Davis Cup match. He's actually advanced through qualifying to make the main draw at four tournaments (ATP 250 events in Memphis, Delray Beach, and this week's clay court event in Istanbul, and the ATP 500 event in Acapulco), and he also won a main draw match at the Australian Open. Kokkinakis may have a chance to make the main draw directly at the French Open.
*Alexander Zverev (Germany), age 18 (DOB: 4/20/97), ranking 110 - Zverev has experienced a slower climb in the rankings so far in 2015 compared to some of his contemporaries, but he continues to post solid results. He advanced through qualifying to the main draw in the ATP events in Marseille (ATP 250) and Miami (ATP 1000), winning a main draw match in Miami. He also advanced to the quarters of the Irving Challenger tournament, annually one of the top challenger events every season. (It is played during the second, full week of Indian Wells, so many top players who lose early at Indian Wells will play Irving.) This past week Zverev won a main draw match at Munich (ATP 250).
*Jared Donaldson (United States), age 18 (DOB 10/9/96), ranking 160 - Donaldson has had a solid 2015 so far, moving up about 100 spots in the rankings. The clear highlight during the first four months of 2015 was his tournament win at the Maui Challenger in late January/early February. Donaldson won his first ATP Tour main draw match in Memphis in February, and over the last three weeks has posted quarterfinal, quarterfinal, and semifinal runs at clay court challengers in Sarasota, Savannah, and Tallahassee.
*Andrey Rublev (Russia), age 17 (DOB 10/20/97), ranking 266 - Rublev has shot up through the rankings so far this year, improving about 170 spots since the beginning of January. He has won at least one match in either qualifying or the main draw of every tournament he's entered (2 challengers, 4 ATP Tour events), including advancing through qualifying to the main draw in Barcelona (ATP 500) and winning main draw matches in Delray Beach (ATP 250), Miami (ATP 1000), Barcelona, and this past week in Istanbul (ATP 250).
*Francis Tiafoe (United States), age 17 (DOB 1/20/98), ranking 293 - Tiafoe has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the rankings so far in 2015, improving about 850 spots since the beginning of the year. He started the year by playing five ITF Futures events, winning one tournament, advancing to the finals in two others, and reaching at least the quarterfinals in all five tournaments. More recently (and more impressively), he's played clay court Challenger events in Sarasota, Savannah, and Tallahassee, advancing to the quarters, semis, and finals respectively in those three tournaments. His recent performance at the clay court challengers earned him a wild card spot into the main draw at Roland Garros.
*Stefan Kozlov (United States), age 17 (DOB 2/1/98), ranking 437 - like Alexander Zverev, Kozlov has had more modest success in 2015, moving up only about 30 spots in the rankings. However, the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist has still been winning matches on the ITF Futures and ATP Challenger circuits, in addition to making his ATP Tour main draw debuts at Memphis and Delray Beach. Kozlov's best showing so far this season is a quarterfinal appearance at the Maui Challenger in late January/early February.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing and hearing more about these guys and other young, ascending players (and that includes the good, young female players too, such as CiCi Bellis) and can't wait to see these guys play both one another and some of the top ranked players in the world in hopefully the not-too-distant future. That's particularly true of Kyrgios and Coric, both of whom have a little cockiness in their personalities. (I really can't wait to see those two guys play one another.) Not all of these players are future top 10 players, but it is likely many of them will be and at least one or two of them could eventually ascend to #1 in the world or become a future Grand Slam champion. It will be interesting to see them write their stories in tennis.
I like to keep an eye on the young, ascending players (essentially the teenagers, though I'll include some 20 year olds) on the ATP Tour. Things have been busy in recent weeks with a few of them, and pretty much all of them have posted some notable clay court results the last few weeks. Here's an update, with players listed in order of current ranking (ranking as of 5/4/15):
*Nick Kyrgios (Australia), age 20 (DOB: 4/27/95), ranking 35 - Kyrgios has been relatively quiet this year up until this week, playing in only four tournaments and only making noise at the Australian Open (quarterfinals). However, at this week's ATP 250 Estoril Open in Portugal, he has celebrated moving into his 20s by advancing to the final, the first time he's gotten past the quarters in a Grand Slam or ATP Tour event. It is not out of the realm of possibility he could be a seeded player at the French Open if things break right.
*Borna Coric (Croatia), age 18 (DOB: 11/14/96), ranking 53 - Coric continues to impress, winning at least one match in every tournament he's entered (all ATP Tour events) except one since advancing to the semifinals at Dubai (ATP 500) in late February. Like Kyrgios, he played the Estoril Open (ATP 250) this past week, making a solid run to the quarterfinals. He has comfortably qualified for the French Open, and continues to climb the rankings, pushing close to the top 50.
*Hyeon Chung (South Korea), age 18 (DOB: 5/19/96), ranking 88 - Chung has had an excellent start to 2015, improving by roughly 80 spots in the rankings since the beginning of the year. Though he did not play this past week (and will play a Challenger event this week rather than Madrid), he's already won two Challenger events (including the recent Savannah event on clay), appeared in three Challenger finals, and done no worse than the semifinals of his five Challenger events so far this year. He also got through qualifying and advanced to the round of 16 in Houston (ATP 250) and won a main draw match at the Miami Masters. Chung should be ranked high enough to make the main draw directly at Roland Garros.
*Thanasi Kokkinakis (Australia), age 19 (DOB: 4/10/96), ranking 103 - Kokkinakis has been quiet over the last month taking a mini-break from tournament action, but like Chung has made a solid rise in the rankings since the beginning of the year, rising about 50 spots in the rankings. The highlight of Kokkinakis' season so far was his run to the round of 16 at the Indian Wells Masters, but he's also won at least one match in either qualifying or the main draw at every tournament he's played in (all ATP Tour events) except one this year, plus a Davis Cup match. He's actually advanced through qualifying to make the main draw at four tournaments (ATP 250 events in Memphis, Delray Beach, and this week's clay court event in Istanbul, and the ATP 500 event in Acapulco), and he also won a main draw match at the Australian Open. Kokkinakis may have a chance to make the main draw directly at the French Open.
*Alexander Zverev (Germany), age 18 (DOB: 4/20/97), ranking 110 - Zverev has experienced a slower climb in the rankings so far in 2015 compared to some of his contemporaries, but he continues to post solid results. He advanced through qualifying to the main draw in the ATP events in Marseille (ATP 250) and Miami (ATP 1000), winning a main draw match in Miami. He also advanced to the quarters of the Irving Challenger tournament, annually one of the top challenger events every season. (It is played during the second, full week of Indian Wells, so many top players who lose early at Indian Wells will play Irving.) This past week Zverev won a main draw match at Munich (ATP 250).
*Jared Donaldson (United States), age 18 (DOB 10/9/96), ranking 160 - Donaldson has had a solid 2015 so far, moving up about 100 spots in the rankings. The clear highlight during the first four months of 2015 was his tournament win at the Maui Challenger in late January/early February. Donaldson won his first ATP Tour main draw match in Memphis in February, and over the last three weeks has posted quarterfinal, quarterfinal, and semifinal runs at clay court challengers in Sarasota, Savannah, and Tallahassee.
*Andrey Rublev (Russia), age 17 (DOB 10/20/97), ranking 266 - Rublev has shot up through the rankings so far this year, improving about 170 spots since the beginning of January. He has won at least one match in either qualifying or the main draw of every tournament he's entered (2 challengers, 4 ATP Tour events), including advancing through qualifying to the main draw in Barcelona (ATP 500) and winning main draw matches in Delray Beach (ATP 250), Miami (ATP 1000), Barcelona, and this past week in Istanbul (ATP 250).
*Francis Tiafoe (United States), age 17 (DOB 1/20/98), ranking 293 - Tiafoe has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the rankings so far in 2015, improving about 850 spots since the beginning of the year. He started the year by playing five ITF Futures events, winning one tournament, advancing to the finals in two others, and reaching at least the quarterfinals in all five tournaments. More recently (and more impressively), he's played clay court Challenger events in Sarasota, Savannah, and Tallahassee, advancing to the quarters, semis, and finals respectively in those three tournaments. His recent performance at the clay court challengers earned him a wild card spot into the main draw at Roland Garros.
*Stefan Kozlov (United States), age 17 (DOB 2/1/98), ranking 437 - like Alexander Zverev, Kozlov has had more modest success in 2015, moving up only about 30 spots in the rankings. However, the two-time junior Grand Slam finalist has still been winning matches on the ITF Futures and ATP Challenger circuits, in addition to making his ATP Tour main draw debuts at Memphis and Delray Beach. Kozlov's best showing so far this season is a quarterfinal appearance at the Maui Challenger in late January/early February.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing and hearing more about these guys and other young, ascending players (and that includes the good, young female players too, such as CiCi Bellis) and can't wait to see these guys play both one another and some of the top ranked players in the world in hopefully the not-too-distant future. That's particularly true of Kyrgios and Coric, both of whom have a little cockiness in their personalities. (I really can't wait to see those two guys play one another.) Not all of these players are future top 10 players, but it is likely many of them will be and at least one or two of them could eventually ascend to #1 in the world or become a future Grand Slam champion. It will be interesting to see them write their stories in tennis.
