The inaugural Next Gen ATP finals will showcase the talents of Andrey Rublev and his like but will not paint a definitive picture of the future of men’s tennis
When Andy Murray threw the US Open into mild disarray by pulling out injured two days before the start of the tournament, the hype surrounding Alex Zverez inevitably went up a notch. Much as the resurgence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had captured the imagination, challengers to their retro dominance looked alarmingly thin on the ground after Murray joined Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka on the list of absentees. Men’s tennis needed a jolt from a tyro like Zverev.
It felt as if the exciting young German’s time was coming but a fortnight after announcing himself as one of the favourites with a straight-sets dismissal of Federer in the Rogers Cup final, the buzz surrounding the fourth seed disappeared when he exited Flushing Meadows after a second-round defeat to Borna Coric. In the end a mundane tournament culminated with the familiarity of Nadal breezing to his 16th grand slam title.
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