Tennis fans are looking forward to the “changing of the guard” at the top of the world rankings. In fact, this is a “change of generations”, and the best proof of this is what happened in the prelude to Roland Garros. 36 year old Spaniard Rafael Nadal, currently No. 15 in the ATP rankings but the overall leader on clay, is absent from the tournament due to injury. This is a huge opportunity for his opponents, given that Nadal, known for his physicality and reflexes on clay, has won 17 Roland Garros titles since 2004.

Yes, last week The Spaniard announced that he would retire from active work in 2024. This means that two of the “big three” of world tennis, Swiss Roger Federer and Spaniard Rafael Nadal, have already retired or are about to retire. Only Serb Novak Djokovic remains, who continues to play unflinchingly at 36. So who will be Nadal’s “successor” in Paris? The German news agency highlights four names.

The (almost) unstoppable Alkarat

The favorite is probably 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcarat, who also boasts of being the youngest player to climb to number one in the world rankings. Swedish veteran Mats Wilander claims Alcarat is “the most exciting thing he’s seen in tennis.” Last year, he was defeated in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros by German Alexander Zverev, but has been in “stray form” since last fall. In September, he made history by winning the US Open when he was just 19 years old.. It was his first Grand Slam title. He recently beat Stefanos Tsitsipas almost “easily” in the final of the Barcelona Open.

It remains to be seen if the “Alcarata phenomenon” will last, as the young Spaniard was already suffering from injuries. “Without Nadal, Roland Garros is a different event,” says Alcarat. “However, as a tennis fanatic, I want to see him play again. Hopefully we will see it next year and it will be 100% complete.”

Novak Djokovic wants this title more than anything, and if he succeeds, he will go down in history: he will be the only player to win 23 Grand Slam titles. Until today, he shared this record with Nadal. “That’s why Djokovic, after all, is still playing tennis,” says his former coach, Boris Becker. “It’s a huge challenge to establish yourself as the most successful player in the history of the sport. I personally wish him success…

New generation: Medvedev, Ruud, Rune

The favorites certainly include 27-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev, who has had a lot of changes in his performance before, but this year he is stabilizing at a very high level. He doesn’t usually “make it” on clay, which is why he was knocked out of the first round of Roland Garros four times. This year in Rome he won his first clay court title. Is this his year? “I don’t know if I’ve matured more, maybe so…” he says.

Among the rising stars of tennis is the Norwegian Kasper Rudd. At the age of 24, he managed to rise to 4th place in the world ranking, overtaking Stefanos Tsitsipas by one place. He is the first Norwegian to win an ATP title. Last year, he managed to reach the final of Roland Garros, but against the experienced Nadal he was not lucky. Another youth with ambition is 20-year-old Dane Holger Rune, Rudd’s rival in last year’s Roland Garros quarter-finals, who has quietly climbed to sixth in the world rankings.

Source: german wave