Tennis, Internazionali di Roma: 9 players under 25 not to be missed

Three Italians, two Russians, a Greek, a German and two Canadians. This is not a joke, but the future of world tennis. The Internationals of Italy are only missing Roger Federer among the greats and favorites for the final victory they are still Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but a new generation of racquet champions is coming.

Starting from the Italians, the first name to be made is that of Matteo Berrettini. Fresh finalist in Madrid, the 25-year-old from Rome plays at home and will also be close to his girlfriend Ajla Tomljanovic who qualified for the tournament.

From Monday he is number 9 in the world: from his meter and 96 he dominates the field with the serve. Instead, the ability to read the game is the secret of Jannik Sinner, twenty years to be accomplished in August, number 18 in the world and already a Masters 1000 final. He is just 19 years old Lorenzo Musetti, number 82 of the ATP ranking, the youngest tennis player in the world in the top 100 where there are 10 Italians.

Until a few years ago it was difficult to come up with the name of a Canadian tennis player. Now there are even two of the best racquets of the new generation. Denis Shapovalov was born on April 15, 1999 in Tel Aviv to a Russian Jewish mother, a former Soviet Union tennis player, and to Viktor, an Orthodox Christian businessman. He was 9 months old when the family moved to Toronto, since he was 5 he has been playing tennis. At 22 he is number 13 in the world. He turns 21 in August Felix Auger-Aliassime, number 21 in the world. He is also Canadian with a father from Togo. Toni Nadal, the uncle who made Rafa great, trains him.

Alexander Zverev he is German, but his surname betrays his Russian origins. He is 24 years old and has just won the Masters 1000 in Madrid, already his in 2018. He is number 6 in the world, almost two meters high and has already won in Rome in 2017. Stefanos Tsitsipas, 23 years to go and the Monte Carlo title, his first 1000, won less than a month ago. He too is over six feet tall and is already number 5 in the world.

Finally Andrej Rublev, 23-year-old Muscovite, the son of a boxer and a tennis teacher who made Anna Kournikova take her first steps. It is number 7 in the world. Daniil Medvedev he is second in the world rankings, he is 25 years old and has three Masters 1000 in his career. Everyone still lacks a slam title but they are working on it starting from the red clay of Rome, which precedes that of Paris.

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