The Official Teenage Tennis Talent Thread

stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
The pre-'95 generation has let us down so far. Let's track the next crew of talent here and see if we have any emergence from this already crowded candidates to give us something to cheer for through the rest of this decade and into the Roaring 20's.

Rublev is on the court right now vs Giraldo in the ATP Istanbul 250.

In the Tallahassee Challenger, Francis Tiafoe upset the #1 seed Bagnis and has a shot to secure the USTA WC for RG but he will be competing with Jared Donaldson for that slot if they both reach the final.

Hyeon Chung won the Savannah Challenger last week but apparently is headed back to Asia for some more Challenger tourneys rather than going to Europe.

Borna Coric had a tidy win over Chardy @Estoril ATP250. Faces WC Machado next. Home crowd will be against him.

Thanasi Kokkinakis qualified at Istanbul but went out 1R vs nemesis Lajovic (now 0-3 h2h).

Nick Kyrgios has been disqualified...from this thread! He just turned 20 Monday so no more teenage dreams.

Help me out with your updates or correct my omissions!
 
Wynter

Wynter

Legend
Ymer crashed out of the Turin challenger the other day which was slightly surprising.

Quinzi still hasn't got up to speed on the pro tour, starting to think he may not make it.
 
D

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
I firmly believe Kokkinakis Thanasi is successor of Federer/Djokovic brand of versatile and consistent Tennis. Throw him on surface/condition you want, he will excel.
 
Sysyphus

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
Great thread; will definitely follow!

Shame that Rublev fell apart in the third, but he is consistently showing that he is already competitive on the highest level.

Watched Kozlov versus Smyczek in Savannah, and versus Arguello in Tallahassee. In both matches he displayed some top-level tennis in short bursts, but folded completely mentally and threw away sets where he was up a break. More or less given up on that front.

Tiafoe is on a roll in Tallahassee, and has certainly escalated his level this spring. Looks like he's having his breakthrough.
 
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okdude1992

okdude1992

Hall of Fame
Like I said in the other thread, Rublev has the best all around game of these young guys. Respectable loss to Giraldo this week. He'll be joining Coric in the top 50 very soon. Chung has been dominating the challengers. He needs to play more ATP events, now that he is top 100. I watched some of his matches last week and man, that guy has an elite backhand already, reminiscent of Novak. Tiafoe has really come on strong and surprised me. Really begun to fix the technical issues he had even 6 months ago. Kozlov has really stagnated since he made that challenger final last year.

Keep an eye on Duckhee Lee, stringertom. He has already won 3 or 4 futures at 16, and is ranked in the 300s.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
^^^Thanks! Knew I left a couple out...Kozlov was a nice catch on your part.

I'll add a couple more. The Zverev that fits here, Alexander, played Sarasota but lost to Bagnis. He then went home to Germany for the Munich 250 and won vs Becker and then got steamrolled by Kohlie, broken four times and winning only 10 points on return with a lone break.

A question mark for me is Jasika's path. He played a couple of Challengers at home in Oz after Melbourne with 1R losses, then went to France for an indoor HC Challenger (lost 3R to ERV, won 1R vs Chung) but no activity since then. Is he injured?
 
K

King Fed WW

Guest
Wawrinka could be a help, he knows a thing or two about the upcoming teenage talent.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
This thread was very much needed. Great thread.

How's my wildcard for greatness, Frances Tiafoe, doing?

Lots of great wins recently.. 18-2 deciding set record this year, or so I hear.

Quinzi is frustrating at the moment. His backhand was a dream at times in the junior Wimbledon final against Hyeon in 2013.

Where are you at. WHERE ARE YOU AT? WOMBO COMBO.

***

We would have seen a Hyeon-Tiafoe final but McGee got the best of Tiafoe in the semi-finals of Savannah.


Now, did I hear that Orlando Luz was having some recent success?

In other news, Thomas Johansson has been appointed as the new coach for Borna Coric.

http://www.puntodebreak.com/2015/04/29/thomas-johansson-entrenara-borna-coric
 
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Ace of Aces

Ace of Aces

Semi-Pro
It looks like the USA has a decent group of 17-18 yo players. Donaldson and Tiafoe both have the weapons and athleticism to make it on the main tour. Kozlov on the other hand has no power, and I think at best he is the next Mike Russell. Haven't seen Mmoh, Taylor Fritz or Tommy Paul play. Has anyone watched enough of their games to have an idea of their strengths and weaknesses?
 
Algo

Algo

Hall of Fame
Nathaniel_Near said:
Now, did I hear that Orlando Luz was having some recent success?
Click to expand...

yeah, he reached semifinals in Santos, Brazil Challenger last week.

Guessing Garín, Jarry and specially Lama, are already too old for this thread :lol:
But if they're not: Jarry and Lama playing each other in Sao Paulo R2, Lama won the first set 6-3. Edit: 6-3 6-3.
Garín also in R2, plays Pella next
 
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T

tennisbae

New User
Ace of Aces said:
Haven't seen Mmoh, Taylor Fritz or Tommy Paul play. Has anyone watched enough of their games to have an idea of their strengths and weaknesses?
Click to expand...

From what I've seen of Mmoh and Fritz, which is very little, Mmoh has a good forehand, nice serve, and a fairly weak backhand. Fritz has a huge serve and good forehand, possibly weak footwork. Here's a good match of Fritz vs Rublev from this year if you have time.
 
Algo

Algo

Hall of Fame
Tiafoe to Tallahasee QF, beat Aubone 64 36 61
I get a " more focused Fognini" vibe when I see him.
 
J

JRAJ1988

Guest
Quinzi beat Chung in the Wimbledon Boys final in 2013 yet it's Chung who's evolved as a tennis player and Quinzi is barely Qualifying for Challengers.

Sometimes losses spur you on.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Algo said:
Tiafoe to QF, beat Aubone 64 36 61
Click to expand...

LOL. Yet ANOTHER 3-setter. Yes, Tiafoe has been incredible in deciding sets but he should try to win some matches in straights. :twisted:
 
O

Oz_Rocket

Professional
stringertom said:
A question mark for me is Jasika's path. He played a couple of Challengers at home in Oz after Melbourne with 1R losses, then went to France for an indoor HC Challenger (lost 3R to ERV, won 1R vs Chung) but no activity since then. Is he injured?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. Saw him a few weeks ago at a junior tournament in Melbourne. He was supporting his younger brother Amor who was playing in my son's age group.

I'll add former Australian now Japanese player Akira Santillan. 17yo and won a futures title in Japan recently.
 
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Sysyphus

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
Nostradamus said:
Tiafoe seem to have no weapons. he wont' break top 50. poor man's yannick noah
Click to expand...

He moves tremendously compared to his peers, has a good athletic base, good anticipation/feel for the game, and can unleash the forehand. The weapons will develop as he matures, surely. Only thing I'm worried about is that his technique is still a bit gawky. That may work now, but could cause him to hit a plateau on a higher level.
 
T

tennisbae

New User
Rublev is playing the Rome challenger next week (received a WC), and Ymer is playing there too. Zverev plays Aix en Provence.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Sysyphus said:
He moves tremendously compared to his peers, has a good athletic base, good anticipation/feel for the game, and can unleash the forehand. The weapons will develop as he matures, surely. Only thing I'm worried about is that his technique is still a bit gawky. That may work now, but could cause him to hit a plateau on a higher level.
Click to expand...

Looking at Tiafoe, I often forget he's only 17. He looks a physical specimen.
 
U

ultradr

Legend
stringertom said:
Hyeon Chung won the Savannah Challenger last week but apparently is headed back to Asia for some more Challenger tourneys rather than going to Europe.
Click to expand...

I guess he wants to up the ranking a bit more so that he could be seeded at the qualifying rounds of various ATP tournaments like Master....
 
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R

Rina

Hall of Fame
Tiafoe has something others might not have, reason to win. According to some articles written about him, he is from a poor family and his future and his family's future rest on his shoulders. He has been very lucky to have wealthy sponsors, but he is probably aware that this support won't last if he doesn't show results.
 
pame

pame

Hall of Fame
Nostradamus said:
Tiafoe seem to have no weapons. he wont' break top 50. poor man's yannick noah
Click to expand...

Not so sure about that. He must have something going for him to rise from 1,134 or thereabouts in January to #381 and higher by the end of the this tournament in just 4 months
 
L

Locotus

Hall of Fame
Another prospect:
Norwegian Viktor Durasovic. Just turned 18 (b.97) and won his second future title of the year last week in Italy on clay. First one was on hard btw. When the points from last week are awarded he may break top 500, making him next to no.5 ranked player born in 97 (behind Zverev, Rublev, Safiullin & Jasika). Maybe not that impressive ranking but still ahead of where Ymer and Donaldson were a year ago and likewise not that far behind Chung and Kokkinakis. All of whom were born the previous year.

Still in Italy, Durasovic delivered his first MD double bagle yesterday and is set to play QF later today. Based in Spain, he's grinding the mediterranian future tour this year, throwing in appearances in Junior Grand Slams on the way. He has previously played Jaume Munar close in the juniors but seems to have overtaken him ranking- and success-wise in the seniors.

Btw: here's a site that offers an overview into the youngsters (and oldsters) ranking: http://tennisabstract.com/reports/rankingsByAge.html
 
J

JanowiczJ

Professional
I was going to open a thread for the junior class of 1996, 1997 and 1998. I've said here last year that we'll see at least 3 slam winners emerging from that junior class.

I guess this thread fits my criteria.
 
Algo

Algo

Hall of Fame
Coric 6-4 over Machado in Estoril R2
Donaldson up a break on Millot in Tallahassee R2
 
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T

tennisbae

New User
Duckhee Lee is into the An-ning challenger quarterfinals. 16 years old, turns 17 in May. Weak draw, but he's still doing well so far.

Donaldson is into the Tallahassee semis. The race for the French Open WC is pretty much between him and Tiafoe, though Tennys Sandgren still has a shot.
 
Algo

Algo

Hall of Fame
Luz d Musialek 67 76 76
I really like this guy. Lots of power and he holds his own e.g had several chances to win "in regulation" at the third, kept blowing them away but was able to finish it off.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Algo said:
Luz d Musialek 67 76 76
I really like this guy. Lots of power and he holds his own e.g had several chances to win "in regulation" at the third, kept blowing them away but was able to finish it off.
Click to expand...


Yes, I have my eye on him.

I have a romantic dream for the next era of tennis... the true globalisation of the sport. Truly world class contingent of Aussies, the rise of Asia (Korea in particular), Slam winners from South America once more, talented North Americans, and the ever present Europeans. :D

I guess that leaves out Africa, but in a sense, they do have Frances Tiafoe, who may become a great player.

Anyway I'm just thinking out aloud. Got my eyes on Luz.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
BTW, I haven't checked out Coric this week, but from memory he uses an incredible amount of core rotation on his backhand side.

OK, here are highlights from a recent match at Estoril...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqI2Bsmw0i0

His rotation on the backhand is impressive... his boxing sparring has really helped him out.
 
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