For decades, Millennials and Gen Xers have been celebrating tennis legends of their generation, such as Venus and Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. But now, Gen Z is vying for its own tennis star after Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz dominated the public’s attention at this year’s U.S. Open, which ends this weekend.
Goff, 19, and Alcaraz, 20, have made global headlines for their youth and on-court prowess, just like their predecessors in their prime, such as Williams, 41, and Nadal, 37 , they drew comparisons between them. But Williams retired after last year’s U.S. Open and Nadal was preparing to retire hang up his racket Goff and Alcaraz are scheduled to return from injury next year, making Goff and Alcaraz emblematic of a generational shift in the sport.
Ivan Ljubičić, a 42-year-old former Croatian tennis player and former coach of now-retired superstar Federer and a member of Generation X, said the passing of the torch will happen soon.
“Obviously, generational change is only a step away, but in order to achieve radical change, I would wait a little longer,” Ljubicic explain earlier this year
Serena to Coco
Gauff compared her to fellow American and 23-time Grand Slam winner Williams. Both women turned pro at 14 years old.And Goff Locked in finals spot At the U.S. Open on Thursday, she became the youngest American to advance to this stage of the tournament since Williams, who was 17 when she won in 1999. Winning this year’s U.S. Open would be Gauff’s first-ever Grand Slam title.
But the comparison goes beyond their prominence as black athletes in a predominantly white sport.Who is Gauff Women’s World Ranking No. 6Last week, a referee turned a blind eye to a 35-year-old German opponent who allegedly broke the rules during a match, an incident that went viral on social media. People online and the Obama family praised Gauff for standing up for herself and showing maturity in handling the situation.
Similarly, Williams has a infamous outburst At the 2018 US Open, she accused referees of questioning her integrity and punishing her more harshly than male players.
The two have never gone head-to-head in a professional match, but Gauff has defeated Williams’ sister, seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, twice: at Wimbledon in 2019 when Gauff was 15, and The following year, she also defeated former No. 1 Naomi Osaka at the 2020 Australian Open.
Gauff rejects comparisons to Serena Williams, although she admits it’s a huge honor.
“Serena is Serena. She’s the GOAT,” Goff said ESPN interview Thursday. “I wish I could do half of what she does, but I wouldn’t compare myself to her — she’s someone I look up to.”
Goff added that she was “happy to be a product of her legacy” and said her only regret in her career would be never playing against Williams.
Raphael to Carlos
Alcaraz from Spain is Men’s world number one. He drew similar comparisons to 22-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 Nadal, from shared nationality to shared nationality. Similar gameplay. Alcaraz has played against Nadal three times on the court. win third game 2022 Madrid Open quarter-finals 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Alkaraz, who lost to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals on Friday, may not receive as much attention as Gauff among U.S. social media users, but he is a favorite among U.S. Open rivals. Many professional tennis players don’t pay close attention to matches that aren’t theirs – they’re too busy practicing, recovering, eating and talking to the media – but Alcaraz seems to be an exception.
“I don’t see much,” Iga Swiatek, Women’s World No. 1,Tell wall street journal before she was eliminated from the U.S. Open. “But I actually watched these games from start to finish.”
Goff is also keeping tabs on Alcaraz.
“If he can smile, he’s No. 1 in the world and he’s under all the pressure,” she said in a statement. press conference Wednesday. “Then… I can smile when I’m considered a loser on paper.”
She and other tennis stars listened to Alcaraz’s nearly four-hour show match At the Cincinnati Masters hard court in August, his opponent was No. 2 Djokovic, the historical men’s Grand Slam champion with 23 titles. The 36-year-old millennial dominated in Ohio, but Alcaraz only beat him at Wimbledon a month ago to claim his second Grand Slam title.
‘They are pushing the limits of tennis,’ Gauff describe it.
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