In the last decade Russia has not been able to produce a single male Grand Slam winner. The last Russian male player to lift the major trophy was Marat Safin way back in the 2005 Australian Open. In the female section Maria Sharapova has been the flag bearer for Russian tennis.
In recent years many Russians have been making their presence felt in the game of tennis. In the current ATP rankings 3 Russians are in the top 25 and are emerging as potential Grand Slam Champions. Let’s look at these 3 future greats of Men’s tennis.
3. Andrey Rublev
The 6 feet 2 inch tall Russian had just turned 22 and is exploding fast on the tennis circuit. Rublev won the Kremlin cup in 2019 and also finished the year with a ranking of World Number 23.
Rublev stunned the world of tennis when he took out the 7 time Champion Roger Federer at Cincinnati. The youngster is showing a lot of promise after a couple of injury prone seasons and could finish 2020 well inside the World’s Top 20.
2. Karen Khachanov
This 23 year old has had a relatively quiet 2019 after his career resurgence in 2018. He however has got both the game and the grit to challenge top players in current Men’s tennis arena.
Khachanov last year raised a few eyebrows when he defeated the then Number 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic in the finals of Paris Masters.
In India: Politics & Entertainment
Khachanov rose to a career high of World Number 8 in July 2019 but due to some inconsistencies finished the year at Number 17 in the ATP rankings. He would now be looking to boom back in the 2020 season.
1. Daniil Medvedev
The talented Russian has been the biggest find of 2019. Medvedev rose to the career high ranking of World Number 4 in 2019 and finished the year with the ranking of Number 5 in the world.
Medvedev lifted 4 trophies in 2019 which included the Sofia Open, Cincinnati Masters, Shanghai Open and St Petersburg Open. Medvedev also managed to reach his maiden Grand Slam final at 2019 US Open, where he nearly overcame Rafa Nadal.
The talented Russian is expected to continue his form and fitness in 2020 and could well lift his 1st Major trophy in the next season.