"Reminds me of the period between Sampras/Agassi and Federer/Nadal" - Tennis fans joyous over 'young' Paris Masters quarterfinal line-up

The upcoming generation of male tennis stars, led by World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, have collectively announced themselves at the 2022 Paris Masters, leading to excitement among fans of the sport. The 2022 Paris Masters quarterfinal line-up mainly comprises players expected to be the leading superstars in tennis for many years to come.

Alcaraz will face fellow 19-year-old Holger Rune, who is gradually hitting peak form, in the quarterfinals in Paris on Friday. Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is on a 15-match winning run and has also booked his place in his maiden ATP Finals, is another young star in the last eight. Frances Tiafoe and 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti have all made the last-eight stage in Paris-Bercy as well.

Barring six-time champion Novak Djokovic, the other seven players in the quarterfinals are aged 25 or below, with American Tommy Paul the oldest of the lot at 25. The rise of the Next Gen has left tennis fans on social media excited for the future of the sport.

"Young generation is taking over. Reminds me of the period between Sampras/Agassi and Federer/Nadal," a Reddit user expressed.

Another fan opined that some of these young players are currently among the best players in the world.

"Tbh they are probably 8 of the best 12 players in the world right now," read another post on Reddit.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to the Paris Masters line-up featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Lorenzo Musetti, among others:

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to meeting childhood friend Holger Rune in Paris Masters quarterfinals

Holger Rune (L) & Carlos Alcaraz at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune go back a long way, having faced each other on the junior circuit and also at the Next Gen ATP Finals just last season. The duo also played together in a doubles event many years ago.

In light of their upcoming quarterfinal clash at a Masters 1000 event, Alcaraz took to Twitter to react to the prospect of facing his friend in a big match with an emoji. The Spaniard booked his place in the last eight with a win against Grigor Dimitrov, while the Danish star Rune beat seventh seed Andrey Rublev.

Alcaraz and Rune have faced each other in just one ATP match so far, with the former winning their round-robin clash at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals in straight sets.

Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Frances Tiafoe will face each other in the first of four quarterfinals at the 2022 Paris Masters on Friday. World No. 23 Musetti will face Novak Djokovic, while Tommy Paul will go up against World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas.