The last Grand Slam of the season is unfolding in New York and it may go down as the Starting Point of a new era in men's tennis. There have been a lot of signs throughout the summer season having Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov or even Frances Tiafoe as the most relevant youngsters of the professional tennis. Entering US Open Tennis Championships, Zverev is likely to bear all the pressure as he is widely seen a favorite to win the title. He seems to put tennis beyond any other goal, and his work ethic is on a higher level compared to his peers.
So far, he is the only one who was able to go all the way on two different occasions capturing his first two Masters 1000 titles. Kyrgios got close in Cincinnati but failed to Grigor Dimitrov.
A perfect opportunity for the younger generation
It seems like the timing couldn't be perfect having a handful of ATP well-established stars unavailable for the big tournament. But, in their cases, they're practically paying the price of some past grueling battles, long periods of success and so on. Just look at how Djokovic and Murray had to put in throughout the past two seasons or so. Playing around 80 matches per season might take something precious out of you. Others like Raonic or Nishikori are paying a different price.
They went through many health issues recently but they made the wrong decision to keep on trying to follow the weekly grind of traveling, training and playing official matches.
Kyrgios and Shapovalov yet to confirm the summer burst
After Roger Federer's surreal Wimbledon success the pack traveled to North America for the warm-up season prior to US Open.
With Zverev holding the headlines of the first two big events (Washington and Montreal) it was pretty hard for another name to make room for himself. But Denis Shapovalov, an 18-year-old Canadian, succeeded in his quest especially after his stunning performance over Rafael Nadal. Being a set down, Shapovalov made a brilliant comeback knocking out the Spaniard.
He went on reaching the semis where he lost to Alexander Zverev. Being forced to play the qualifications in New York, he made it through. The opening round saw him scoring an impressive straight set win against Daniil Medvedev (54 ATP). Thus, he will face Jo Wilfried-Tsonga next.
Another young tennis star is trying to confirm his status. Nick Kyrgios, 22, managed to reach his first Masters 1000 final. Despite losing it to Grigor Dimitrov, he deserves the credit for eliminating Nadal and David Ferrer en route to the final. Kyrgios will make his US Open debut by confronting his fellow country man John Millman. Frances Tiafoe had no luck with the draw as he will start his campaign against the five-time former champion Roger Federer in an encounter that will wrap up today's session.
