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Tennis legend Jimmy Connors has declared Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as the next Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic of tennis.
The youngsters have consistently proven their mettle by achieving incredible feats, like Alcaraz winning a Grand Slam tournament at the age of 19 to also become the youngest World No.1 in ATP history. While the other three are yet to win a Major, they have made up for it by winning several other significant titles and breaking into the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
Jimmy Connors and his son Brett Connors discussed the next generation of tennis stars on a recent episode of the Advantage Connors podcast. While the eight-time Grand Slam winner said that the replacements for the Big 3 have arrived in the form of these youngsters, he also stated that performing well in ATP tournaments is not the same as performing well in the Majors.
"Now, we are seeing a replacement for the three that have dominated the last 20 years: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. These guys are stepping up. But stepping up for Paris is one thing, stepping up in Australia, Paris [French Open], Wimbledon, US Open, that's another thing," he stated.
"It's good to see these young kids and how they are starting because nobody was stepping up. We were waiting for it, now it has started to happen. You know what the fun is gonna be: Alcaraz, Sinner, Felix, Rune all playing each other. That's the next Federer, Nadal and Djokovic," he added.
Felix Auger-Aliassime scores his first career win over Rafael Nadal
In the ATP Finals in Turin, Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets (6-3, 6-4) in one hour and 56 minutes to give himself a chance of advancing to the semifinals of the competition.
Despite starting his campaign at the year-ending tournament with a defeat against Casper Ruud, Auger-Aliassime put on a flawless performance to earn his first-ever victory over the Spaniard in a match that saw him deliver 15 aces. The Canadian will next take on Taylor Fritz in his final round-robin match.
