Who will be the ATP’s 2020 version of the 2019 Daniil Medvedev?
Well, there’s a good chance it’s no one. Medvedev’s 2019 season was the stuff of legend, the likes of which had rarely been seen in tennis. That’s not to say he was the best player on tour or even one of the three best, but his rise to prominence was nothing short of shocking. The Russian, who turned 23 years old last February, climbed from No. 16 in the world to as high as No. 4 (finished the season No. 5) thanks mostly to his memorable streak of six consecutive final appearances. That stretch featured two Masters 1000 titles and a five-set U.S. Open final loss to Rafael Nadal.
So, yeah, what happened happened and it probably isn’t going to happen again.
But…it could. As we have seen throughout the past few seasons, the under-23 talent on tour is alive and well. Let’s take a look at some of the 2020 Daniil Medvedev 2.0 candidates.
Denis Shapovalov – Shapovalov is probably the likeliest candidate to assume that distinction, but he may not be considered “the next Medvedev” because his rise to a possible top-five spot would be less surprising. At 20 years old, the Canadian is already up to 13th in the rankings. Red hot since hiring Mikhail Youzhny as coach last summer, Shapovalov would be wise to adopt the victory salute as his new celebration and shelve his rap game.
Andrey Rublev – Rublev set himself up for huge success in 2020 with a resurgent 2019 campaign that put him in the running for Comeback Player of the Year. The 22-year-old Russian soared from as low as No. 115 in the world in late February all the way to 23rd. Now he is up to 18th following last week’s season-opening title in Doha. Don’t quit your day job, Andrey, because this tennis thing is probably going to work out!
Alex de Minaur – De Minaur may not possess the biggest weapons on tour, but neither does Medvedev. The 20-year-old is one of the fastest players around and his fighting spirit invokes memories of mentor Lleyton Hewitt. De Minaur is already up to No. 21 in the world and began this season in stellar form at the ATP Cup. The Demon could soon be dancing his way into the top 10.
Felix Auger-Aliassime – Even though Auger-Aliassime has been around for a while, he is still only 19 years old. In other words, the Canadian may be a year–or more–away from a Medvedev-like explosion into prominence. Auger-Aliassime was the toast of the tennis town during the first half of last season, but he is now mired in a massive slump. Whatever the case, the Canadians are coming sooner rather than later.
Hubert Hurkacz – Mr. Nice Guy is starting to get nasty on the court. Hurkacz broke onto the scene last season by winning 25 matches at the ATP level (had previously won eight in his career), including his first title in Winston-Salem. That propelled him to No. 37 in the world and now he is up to 34th (and seeded for the Australian Open) following a 3-0 performance at the ATP Cup. The 22-year-old Pole beat Diego Schwartzman, Borna Coric, and Dominic Thiem.
Frances Tiafoe – Medvedev put it all together at 23 years old and that may be when Tiafoe does the same. In other words: not now. The American is only 21, and his surprising run to the 2019 Australian Open quarterfinals seems to be an aberration opposed to the rule. Since then it has mostly been a massive struggle for Tiafoe, who is toiling away at 49th in the rankings after peaking as high as No. 29. Hey, speaking of Tiafoe and Medvedev….
Alexander Bublik – Like Medvedev, the 55th-ranked Bublik is liable to do something crazy whenever he takes the court. But it usually involves his actual tennis, whereas Medvedev is prone to engage in some kind of extracurricular activity that makes headlines. Both have been known to bludgeon second serves as hard as they possibly can. Bublik will likely lead the tour in underarm serves this season and will probably finish second to Benoit Paire in drop-shots. More (or maybe less?) importantly, the 22-year-old Kazakh’s talent is arguably top-10 material.
Jannik Sinner – Sinner is probably a few years away from making Medvedev-type noise. After all, he’s even younger than Felix! Then again, perhaps no more than 13 months ago people thought he was a few years away from even breaking into the top 100. The 18-year-old Italian was ranked 770th in December of 2018; now he’s 79th. Sinner’s rapid rise this past season was highlighted by a title at the NextGen ATP Finals. This guy would probably be awesome at just about any sport, but we’re lucky he chose tennis!
amy,
Yes, I try to take it one match at a time. I am extremely superstitious. Talking about Rafa’s chances in the final against whoever, makes me superstitious!
I wonder how much the air quality is going to be a factor.
Me 😂👍 hopefully 🤣😂🤗❤
Don’t be superstitious, Rafa will do well this year.
He played really well in the ATP Cup.
Watched a very good and interesting match between FAA and Rublev today (Adelaide semi). FAA lost narrowly but he looked good and seems to have fixed his df issues. I think Rublev’s going to be a bit tired going into the AO (he won Doha and is going to win Adelaide imo), but he’s definitely one of the young’uns who can do well. Tons of offense, but does he have defense? We’ll see.
Given that someone of Medvedev’s ability only comes around once a decade I’d say no one will be 2020’s version of Medvedev.
Ugo Humbert might be the biggest improver this year but there’s no way he’s going to replicate Medvedev’s breakout season.
Auger Alliasime might have some big moments this year but doubt he could maintain a streak for several masters in a row or beat the top guys.
To even suggest these other players are capable of replicating what Medvedev has done already is probably not giving Medvedev the respect he deserves.
I agree, that someone of Meddy’s caliber is hard to come by; imo he together with Tsitsipas and Shapo will be the big three of the future. Well I don’t know about Sasha, maybe he could make it a big four of the future.
Thiem is a few years older, he may win a few slams before he retires, he’s more a Stan than the big three imo, too bad he’s born a few years early and hence has the original Big Three blocking his way for most of his career.
FAA and Sasha may be a Delpo kind of player but if they’re healthy and fit, will win more slams than Delpo.
I’m kind of an FAA convert. He had some issues with his serve and maybe nerves against the big guns but he looked terrific in that semi and Rublev is not chopped liver. FAA is only 19 – I really think he just may be the best of the lot as he’s been hyped to be.
Sorry Medvedev is clearly overrated. He had a great six months and all of a sudden he’s the best thing since sliced bread. He’s a good player. Imho, Kyrgios is more talented than him. It’s just that Kyrgios is a headcase and a blubbering buffoon. He’s also very inconsistent. Thiem has produced greater results overall than Medvedev and Thiem has beaten all the top three players on some of their best surface except grass. He seems to be horrid on grass but not more horrid than Medvedev. Medvedev have produced relatively ok results on clay by beating djokovic and that’s it. He’s rubbish on grass, mediocre on clay (regardless of beating Djoko plus Djoko was rubbish in that match) and great on hardcourts.
So luckystar let’s stop with the hyperbole, he ain’t all that. Infact I have not seen any of the next gen that’s an all surface player. They seem to excell in some and are rubbish in others especially grass (eg Medvedev and Thiem).
Kyrgios is the most talented out of all of them but is inconsistent and very childish. Thiem is a better player than Medvedev and more dangerous to the big three on any surface except grass and Tsitsipas come to think of it has also beaten the big three so he’s more impressive.
Medvedev seems to be a problem for djokovic relatively and has yet to beat Rafa no matter how close he came (3-0 to Rafa). Plus Federer beats him EASILY in straight sets everytime except once where he managed to take a set off Federer. His record against fed is 3-0 just like Rafa except fed handles him better than Rafa.
In conclusion, Out of the big three he has only beaten djokovic, never beaten fed or Rafa while Thiem, Kyrgios and Tsitsipas have all beaten the big three. Let that sink in
Nah, we are not talking about talent alone but the overall package, so Kyrgios is out of the question.
I didn’t say Medvedev is the most talented, but overall he comes with the best package, like a Djoko. Medvedev can play well on any surface, he’s gaining momentum by the second half of last year after the short grass season so give him time. He said it himself, that he’s not the type who’s young and promising catching everyone’s attention, but one who has to take time to work hard on every part of his game before becoming prominent.
He models his game after Djoko, so now he has become hard to beat. Fed hasn’t met him since he shot to prominence and reaching top five, I foresee a tough one for Fed should they meet again.
Rafa didn’t have it easy against Medvedev after their first meeting, so I would expect that to continue.
Happy,
I have my reservations about Medvedev. He certainly made his presence known in the latter half of last year. No question about that. I guess his dismal performance at the WTF could be chalked up to fatigue and it all catching up to him. I tend to be initially skeptical about the so-called next big thing in tennis. Only time will tell who has the stuff to make it long term in this sport.
What I will say about a Medvedev at this time, is that he reminds me of Novak. Specifically the way he just keeps getting shots back in play. He can be tenacious from the baseline and that is so much like Novak.
Kyrgios is not in the discussion as far as I am concerned. He is such a headcase, not motivated, temperamental and unpredictable. Talent alone is never enough. There are too many examples of guys who were brilliantly talented, but never reached their potential.
I think Thiem deserves more credit than he is getting here. He has done the best at RG. He most likely would have won there if not for Rafa. Sascha is a question mark because of his inconsistency and tendency to have mental lapses. Tsitsipas seems to have the most complete game. However, I hope that his outbursts do not continue. Not a good thing.
I am looking forward to seeing how these young guns do this year.
Don’t know about FAA, but I’m not convinced so far.
I feel Shapo has more potential, he only needs to control his aggression, gets his precision right, and he’ll be hard to beat. His net approach is very good, much better than FAA’s. I also don’t see FAA (also Shapo) having good ROS.
I think Medvedev is the most scarily good one if he continues to be full of self belief and confidence. He’s crafty, having good court craft and good tennis brain, and is willing to take risk when he needs to. He’s quick and fit, and can go the distance with anyone, that’s the scary part. To me he’s the taller and younger version of Djoko, has a better serve but not as good ROS. Of course I don’t expect him to win as much as Djoko does, for at 23 now, he still has to contend with the big three plus his own peers.
I like Tsitsipas the most despite him not behaving well lately, throwing tantrums on court. He has the all round game, good from the baseline and also at the net, has the best of both Fed and Rafa, playing an aggressive but thinking game; his weakness is his ROS imo and also his inconsistency. He can play well on any surface imo.
NNY at 4.56 am, that’s fine. You’re from the same town as a certain player who was a hell of a lot worse when he got defaulted from the AO one year.Ive just been watching the video, amazing how slow tennis was in those early nineties days.
Has it been decided the roof will stay closed all throughout and this will be an indoor tournament ?
No!According to Brad G. there is no hot weather forecast for the first week and apparently the cool weather means the wind will come from a different direction meaning there should be no smoke. That is what they are hoping! Judy Murray posted a video of a severe hailstorm in Melbourne so God knows what will be next…
Yeah, amy. After reading articles about how humidity,air temp, wind and rain alter, for better or worse, air quality and trying to pick my brackets this morning, it’s really is hard to know. Fingers crossed the conditions don’t make heavy smog out of the filthy air.
I love Jannik Sinner. He woulda been my ski boyfriend for sure back in the day.
Can’t guess who would be the Meddy of 2020. Maybe Ugo Humbert?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlIilZ3Q9u4
Good to see you here rc!😀
I have been off site and back for AO so it’s good to see you here too although your wonderful frog gravatar with its grumpy expression is how I feel!
Who are your picks?
PS I don’t get the skiing reference?? Also know nothing about Sinner..
Well then, It must be strange for you to read some comments from me like that! LOL…..
I was a junior ski racer just like Jannik Sinner, once upon a time. And watching that video of him, a kid, racing reminded me of that time in my life. haha that;s all. The lucky kid grew up in the Italian Tirol region, Sinner did. I have been there as an adult. It’s impressive and so is he. I watched the Milano next gen final las fall. Sinner absolutely crushed Alex Demon — my favorite of all next gener’s. Poor Alex Demon injured himself recently and has to skip AO.
Rambling….later amy. Have a hard time even getting my body out of bed lately — So much is wrong in the world. yeah that frog represents me, absolutely.
My picks are not as creative or exciting as Ricky’s.
Basically a Rafa vs Nole final
And an Osaka vs PLiskova final
But I could change the WTA picks entirely. Idk who to pick. Should be picking Serena – best of 3. sheesh, she should be able to beat all of them by now with one arm tied behind her back.
Yeah I sympathise rc! Have been feeling grim myself recently. Hard not to be with the world as it is. I thought you might be working for Bernie’s campaign as he has been going up in the polls and that you would be happy because of that?
Dunno about picks but Pliskova seems to often disappoint in slams. Am in state of mortal terror Rafa will lose to NK! Think Nole will win the whole thing again most likely…
Big Al,
I was born and grew up in New York, but have not lived there for decades, I lived in L.A. and moved to Florida five years ago. But my heart will always be in New York. I am trying to remember who defaulted at the AO in the 90’s.
The truth is that it’s just hard to see one’s favorite player lose in a slam when you think they should have won. I gave my thoughts about the issue of the closed roof in the semifinal at Wimbledon with Rafa and Novak. I was hoping that Rafa could win one more Wimbledon. After the years of early exits and injuries, it would have been great to see him do it. I just hated to see such a close match played with the roof on the next day when it was bright and sunny.
I don’t intend to be petty in my comments. I know that it can be a challenge for fans of players not named Rafa on this site! 😀 But I do understand how tough it can be for any of us to watch our fave lose a hard fought battle. I watched an encore presentation of the Wimbledon final with Fed and Novak last year on the tennis channel. I am not even a fan of either of them, but it was still hard to see Fed have two match points and be on the verge of getting this win, only to not get it done. It was exhausting. I totally get why Fed fans were gutted. Seeing it again brought it all back.
You get to have your opinion, as you said. But I may not always agree with it. I will try to do so with consideration and respect. It really was not personal. 😉
Classy response nny!
Agree. Very nice to read those words from Nny. It’s a good sign, maybe there is hope.
Appreciate that response, NNY. Im sure you can guess who the defaulted player is, he’s the undisputed GOAT of tantrums 😉
And yes, its good to be able to have disagreements and stay respectful.
One moment that stands out is the way the Rafa fans congratulated the Fed fans on here when he beat him at Wimby last year.That took real class .
Hope yet, as RC says!
Ive just entered my brackets and am quite excited with some of the risky picks .Ive got Pliskova beating Serena in the final to win that Slam at last.
In the mens I have Djoko beating Med in the final .
Where do you guys enter your brackets? It would be cool to have a ‘bracket challenge’ of Tenngrand site people.
tennisdrawchallenge.com .We’re the Jalep_Wildguess group.
rc and amy,
Thanks! See? There is hope in the world! At least on this forum!
I am very stressed out by what is happening politically right now. The 2020 election will be the most important of our lives. I don’t like seeing my government heading towards neo-fascism. These are tough times,