It was an action packed week of tennis on the ATP Tour, with
Martin Klizan, Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem all winning titles. Here are some thoughts following the week
that was.
Fritz is progressing
faster than expected: 18 year old American Taylor Fritz has been
a highly regarded prospect for some time now, but few expected him to adjust to
life on the ATP Tour so quickly. Fritz
had already won a Challenger title (to go with his two from the end of last
year) and qualified for the Australian Open in 2016, but this week's run
to the finals in Memphis lifted Fritz to a whole new level. He became the youngest American ATP finalist
in decades, and is nearing a spot in the top 100. Like Zverev, Kokkinakis and Coric, Fritz
simply isn't wasting any time in his climb up the rankings. At this rate, Fritz could be headed toward a
spot in the top 50 by the end of 2016. He's
still got some things in his game to improve, notably movement and fitness, but
Fritz is already the best prospect American men's tennis has had in over a
decade.
Thiem looks ready to
make a run toward the top 10: Thiem
won multiple 250 level tournaments on clay last year, so it shouldn't be
surprising that he captured another one early on in 2016. But given that he had to beat Nadal to win
his title in Buenos Aires ,
this one feels a little more meaningful.
Everyone understands Nadal isn't what he used to be, but beating him on
clay still counts for something. Getting
that win over Nadal should do wonders for Thiem's confidence, and he may
finally believe he can beat guys in the top ten at bigger tournaments. The key for Thiem heading into 2016 was whether he could translate his success at 250s to 500s, Masters and Grand Slams. Even though this was just a 250 and doesn't technically answer that question, it's another positive sign in Thiem's development. At 22 years old Thiem is clearly one of the
ATP Tour's brightest young stars, and a spot in the top ten doesn't seem very
far away.
Fortunes can change
quickly on the ATP Tour: From the end of
2015 to the beginning of 2016 Martin
Klizan lost 6 straight matches. He began
to turn things around at the beginning of February by making the semifinals of
a 250 in Bulgaria , and then
captured the biggest title of his career this week by winning the 500 level
event in Rotterdam . On his way to the title he fought off 5 match
points against Roberto Bautista-Agut in the quarters, and then three against
Nicolas Mahut in the semis. The win
should send Klizan from outside the top 40 to around 25 in the world. Klizan is a talented lefty with a big
forehand, and seems to have the ability to rise higher. He hasn't fully put it all together at this point in his
career, but at 26 still has plenty of time.
It will be interesting to see whether Klizan can build on his Rotterdam title, or if
this was simply one of those weeks where everything happened to fall his
way.
Zverev looks like a
future top 10 player- at worst: 18
year old Alexander Zverev got knocked out of Rotterdam by Gael Monfils in the quarters,
but not before he took out third seeded Gilles Simon 7-6 in the third the round
before that. The week before he made the
semis of a 250 level event, and the young German seems ready to rocket up the rankings in
2016. He has a booming serve at
6'6'', and simply crushes the ball off both wings. While some guys his height see their movement
suffer, Zverev flies around the court and plays extremely effective defense as
well. He does need to get in better
shape and improve his consistency, but Zverev seems well on his way to becoming
a great player on the ATP Tour. Whether
that means winning grand slams or "merely" settling into a spot in
the top 10 remains to be seen, but Zverev is looking more and more like a can't
miss future star.
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