"I don't really want to talk about Next Gen anymore" - Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev is one of the leaders of the young pack of players that is trying to displace the old guard from the top of men's tennis. But during the press conference after his Round of 16 win at Acapulco, the German seemed to take umbrage at still being referred to as a 'Next Gen' player.
When asked about the Next Gen rising up the ranks, Alexander Zverev replied that he was tired of being pitched questions about youngsters. The German did, however, give a nod to Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz as the players most likely to contend for big titles in a couple of years.
"I don't really want to talk about the Next Gen anymore," Alexander Zverev said. "Honestly, as I said the other day, it seems certain to me that guys like Alcaraz, Sinner or Musetti are going to be in direct competition for the big titles from 2024."
"I am young, but the Next Gen now, it's them" - Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev is one of the few young contenders to have challenged the Big 3 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but on Wednesday the German insisted he was not that young anymore.
"For my part, I am 23 years old, I am young, certainly," Zverev said. "But the Next Gen now, it's them."
Many might agree with Alexander Zverev in his assessment. The ATP first started promoting the 'Next Gen' of players in 2017, when the inaugural edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals was organized. The annual exhibition tournament is aimed at giving the best 21-and-under men's players a stage to showcase their tennis, with the winner guaranteed to take home USD 1,400,000.
Technically speaking only players aged 21 or younger should be referred to as 'Next Gen', so Alexander Zverev might be justified in his curt reaction. Having said that, the entire tennis community has become apprehensive about promoting a young player from the informal 'Next Gen' group to the more established league.
While the younger players have made several breakthroughs as far as rankings are concerned, they have continued to play second fiddle to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Slams. The Big 3, who are well into their 30s, have won a whopping 14 of the last 15 Grand Slams.
That has prompted many fans to claim that the next dominant player will only take center-stage when the Big 3 retire. In that context, any talented and relatively young player who puts together some strong results is labeled as 'Next Gen', no matter what his age may be.
Alexander Zverev was given similar treatment when he first challenged the top echelons in 2017. But the German is 23 now and has put together a good career so far, so it is understandable why he doesn't want to be called a 'Next Gen' player anymore.