"I was so tempted to say Carlos Alcaraz for No. 1 back then" - Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov and Brandon Nakashima revisit their 2022 predictions
Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov and Brandon Nakashima looked back at their predictions they made for 2022 at the start of the season as each of them expressed high hopes on players like Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune back then.
While Alcaraz and Rune lived up to the expectations, Zverev endured a sub-standard season owing to a horrific injury as he tore his ligament during the 2022 French Open.
After several years, the 2022 season finally witnessed the dominance of a player outside the 'Big Three'. Even though several external factors have aided in the meteoric rise of Alcaraz, there is no denying that the Spaniard has been at the top of his game this season.
The ATP Tour requested Tiafoe, Dimitrov and Nakashima to make their predictions for the 2022 season back in January and they called the players back almost 12 months later to revisit their predictions. They took to Twitter to share a video of the same.
"We asked players to look back on the predictions they made for 2022 and see how they did," they wrote in their tweet.
We asked players to look back on the predictions they made for 2022 and see how they did 👀
#SeasonWrapped https://t.co/vFu7baibTM
The three players were asked about who will end the year as No. 1 in the rankings and none of them picked Alcaraz. However, Grigor Dimitrov went on to confess that he was very much tempted to name the teenager back then but later pulled out from it. Instead, the Bulgarian named Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.
"I know it's like very easy to say this now, but I was so tempted to say Alcaraz for No. 1 back then," Dimitrov stated.
The players were asked to make predictions about their own season as well. Frances Tiafoe wanted to make it past the quarterfinals in any of the four Grand Slam of the season and he accomplished that at the 2022 US Open where he reached the semifinals.
"That was pretty cool. Yeah, that was good," he expressed.
Nakashima conveyed that he wanted to win an ATP title for the first time and break into the top 20. Even though the 21-year-old is ranked at No. 47, he clinched his first ever ATP title at the 2022 San Diego Open.
"Well, I got half of that one right," the American said.
"He could have actually beat Rafa [Nadal] that day" - Frances Tiafoe on predicting Alexander Zverev to win the first Grand Slam of his career
Frances Tiafoe expressed disappointment at Alexander Zverev's unfortunate ending to his campaign at the 2022 French Open.
When asked about which player would win the first Grand Slam title of their career, Tiafoe and Nakashima went with Zverev.
Looking back at his prediction, Frances Tiafoe reflected on the horrific injury that the German suffered and he went on to state:
"Man, he was playing great. He could have actually beat Rafa that day honestly"
Zverev faced the World No. 2 in the semifinals and he looked promising enough from the start of the game. Even though Nadal won the opening set, the German relentlessly fought his way back. However, he eventually had to withdraw from the match during the second set after he tore his ligament.