Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have dominated men's tennis over the last 15 years, in particular in the four Grand Slam tournaments where since 2006 only five of the tournaments have been won by a player other than the 'big four'.
With a rush of youth breaking into the ATP top 100, the future does now look bright. Here are three players who look to have the best chance of going to the next level and may not be too long away from their maiden Grand Slam success.
Alexander Zverev
German Alexander Zverev is already an 11-time winner on the ATP Tour and his multiple success in 2018 helped him to rise into the top four in the world rankings. His big breakthrough came at the end of last year when he was victorious in the ATP Finals in London as he beat Federer in the semi-final and then Djokovic in the final to lift the trophy.
Off to a start Alexander Zverev leads Jiri Vesely 6-4. | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/nlVxaeFpB0 - ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) July 1, 2019
Zverev is arguably the most likely of any of the young players in the sport right now to win a Grand Slam first, however, he must improve his record in those tournaments. The furthest he has been so far is the quarter-final of the French Open. He was beaten at Wimbledon in the first round this year by qualifier Jiri Vesely so he does have to prove he can produce his best game in the big four events but there is no doubt he has the game to do so.
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime is the youngest player currently inside the top 50 of the ATP rankings where he reached as high as 21 earlier this month. The youngster has been to three finals this year, unfortunately for him he has been unable to win one, his most recently final coming at the Stuggart Open on grass in Germany where he lost to Matteo Berrettini. Auger-Aliassime made his debut at Wimbledon this year, beating his Canadian compatriot Vasek Pospisil in the first round of the tournament. It is Novak Djokovic at evens in the outright market this year for those looking to bet on Wimbledon with Paddy Power but Auger-Aliassime could well be a future favourite to lift the trophy in London.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Three-time ATP winner Stefanos Tsitsipas is already inside the world's top 10 ranking where he is the youngest player at 20. The Greek player has been to two ATP 1000 Masters finals in the last 12 months, losing to Nadal in the Canadian Open and Djokovic in the Madrid Open on Clay earlier this season.
More #Wimbledon seeds tumble out: now Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have gone in the first round https://t.co/abJS5tzB30 pic.twitter.com/GUvBR5kWut - Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) July 1, 2019
Tsitsipas produced his best run at a Grand Slam back in January at the Australian Open where he made it through to the last four after taking the scalp of Federer in the fourth round. He was though beaten in the first round of Wimbledon which was a big disappointment. With more experience over the next couple of years, he should be able to land one of tennis's big tournaments and he may be on course for becoming the number one player in the world.
The US Open is the last chance for the world's best players to win a Grand Slam in 2019 and that tournament from Flushing Meadows begins on August 26.
