At the ATP Masters 1000 Tournament in Indian Wells, the youngsters of the Tour continue to dominate the action alongside old master Roger Federer.
Hyeon Chung is a great example of the new departure of NextGen in California. The 21-year-old Korean played against the experienced Tomas Berdych with a great sense of self-conception and once again impressed with a great physical and mental performance.
Back-hand winners along the line and crashing forehands at the return made the nine years older Czechs on the opposite side look partly as though they were.
A clear 6:4 and 6:4 were on the scoreboard at the end and Chung secured his ticket to the last 16 against Pablo Cuevas, who benefited from an injury-related relinquishment by Dominic Thiem.
One year younger than Chung is the American Taylor Fritz. In the round of the last 32, the youngster had to deal with experienced Fernando Verdasco and fought a great battle – with success. With a score of 4:6,6:2 and 7:6 (1), Fritz won the race and thus celebrates one of his greatest career successes. The 20-year-old had fought his way through the tournament in the previous rounds and took out the Russian “Young Gun” Andrey Rublev, among others. In the round of sixteen, Fritz is confronted with Borna Coric.
The Croatian, also one of the younger players in Indian Wells at the age of 21, plays big. In three matches at Sunshine State, Coric only lost nine games and played the best tennis of his career.
In the second round, the 21-year-old defeated the Spaniard Albert Ramos-Viñolas 6-0 and 6-3. Viñolas’ compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut now had a similar fate against Coric. With 6:1 and 6:3, the Croatian dominated his opponent at will, but Coric did not have a reason to fly high, as he explained after the match:”We don’t need to talk about the top 10 at all. My team and I are still working for four to five years, and then we’ll see if it’s enough for such a ranking.”
Despite all modesty, the competition in Indian Wells should be warned. Coric seems to be physically very strong and also mentally mature. The fierce nature has given way to concentration and focusing on the essentials.
The Youngster Festival under the Californian sun continues!
The men’s single panel in Indian Wells