‘Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fans will fall in love with us’ – Alexander Zverev backs NextGen stars
Alexander Zverev says the new generation of tennis stars have finally arrived – and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fans will ‘fall in love with them’ when their current heroes retire.
The German has rediscovered some form in recent weeks, culminating in him losing in the final of the Shanghai Masters to fellow top young-gun Daniil Medvedev.
And, after years of seeing young players criticised for failing to break the hold that Nadal, Federer, and Novak Djokovic have enjoyed on the ATP for over a decade, Zverev insists the future is finally here.
“The difference now this year than the last few years was I was the only young guy kind of up there,” Zverev told the press after his loss in Shanghai.
“Now I see the other young guys. I see maybe still difference in, you know, how we act on court, how we behave on court, compared to the older guys.
“So before I didn’t pay attention to it because I was kind of the only one and the rest of it was fine.
“So I hope we, as young guys, we kind of understand that, we learn that, and, you know, then I think tennis will be just as interesting as it is now.
“And, you know, the Roger Federer fans or Rafa Nadal fans will fall in love with new players.
“I’m not saying it has to be me. I’m not saying it has to be anyone in particular.
“It may be a new superstar that we don’t even know about.
“But if we kind of learn the good things about those guys, I think this sport of tennis will be in very good hands.”
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