This might be the age of the 30-something in men's tennis, but there's been a distinctly youthful feel to this summer's North American hard-court swing.
For the crowds in Montreal, as well as for the global tennis-watching public, there was a lot to process last week. Just days after Denis Shapovalov, an 18-year-old Canadian, defeated Rafael Nadal in the third round of the Rogers Cup, Alexander Zverev, a 20-year-old German, got the better of Roger Federer in the final.
It was by beating Shapovalov in the semifinals that Zverev became the first to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals, a new tournament for the best 21-and-under players to be staged in Milan in November. With growing attention on the tennis youth, here's a look at the players leading the Race to Milan (the top seven will qualify, and the eighth spot will be filled with a wild card).
Alexander Zverev
Age: 20
Nationality: German
ATP ranking: 7
Race to Milan points: 4,165
This might seem absurd, but one of the leading contenders for this summer's US Open is a 20-year-old who has never played in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Certainly, no young player is on a better trajectory than Zverev, who with his win over Federer in the Montreal final now has two Masters-level titles this season, having overcome Novak Djokovic in the Rome final in May. There is no chance of Zverev, who stands 6 feet 6, going incognito in New York, not when he already has five ATP titles this season, a number that only Federer can match. Zverev is also third, behind only Nadal and Federer, in the Race to London for the ATP Finals, open to all ages.
Karen Khachanov
Age: 21
Nationality: Russian
ATP ranking: 32
Race to Milan points: 890
Playing chess can only have improved the Muscovite's strategy on the tennis court, but his tennis is primarily about power, as you might expect from someone who is 6 feet 6. He impressed at the past two Grand Slams, reaching the fourth round of the French Open, where he lost to Andy Murray, and advancing to a third-round match with Nadal at Wimbledon.
Borna Coric
Age: 20
Nationality: Croatian
ATP ranking: 50
Race to Milan points: 731
"There's nothing worse in life than being ordinary," reads the tattoo on Coric's right biceps, and he has been living up to those words. Already during his short tennis life, he has beaten Nadal and Murray, and this season he scored his first ATP title on the clay of Marrakech, Morocco.
Denis Shapovalov
Age: 18
Nationality: Canadian
ATP ranking: 67
Race to Milan points: 721
For all the international travel that is required of a professional tennis player, Shapovalov's most significant moments to date have both come in Canada. The first was the ugly incident at the Davis Cup tie between Canada and Great Britain in Ottawa in February when he angrily whacked a ball away and struck the umpire in the eye, resulting in his default from the decisive fifth rubber and giving Britain the victory. But Shapovalov is doing his best to make people forget about that controversy, and in Montreal last week he defeated Juan Martin del Potro and Nadal on the way to becoming the youngest man in history to reach a semifinal of a Masters-level tournament.
Andrey Rublev
Age: 19
Nationality: Russian
ATP ranking: 55
Race to Milan points: 714
This generation of tennis players would appear to be just as superstitious as their elders. The week that Rublev won his first ATP title, on the clay of Umag in Croatia last month, the Moscow native made sure he always sat in the front passenger seat of the car taking him from his hotel to the tournament site. He also insisted that his coach wore the same T-shirt for the last three days.
Daniil Medvedev
Age: 21
Nationality: Russian
ATP ranking: 51
Race to Milan points: 697
Seldom has a second-round loser had such impact at a Grand Slam as Medvedev did at Wimbledon this summer. Making his first appearance on Centre Court, Medvedev defeated Stan Wawrinka, who had traveled to London with ambitions of completing his career Grand Slam. But just a round after registering his first victory at a major, Medvedev brought attention on himself for all the wrong reasons. After losing to Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans on an outside court, he took his wallet out and threw coins at the umpire. Though he later apologized, he was fined $14,500 for his unsporting behavior.
Hyeon Chung
Age: 21
Nationality: South Korean
ATP ranking: 49
Race to Milan points: 595
Chung's introduction to tennis must be one of the most unusual back stories in the sport. He started playing only because, when he was 6 years old, a doctor suggested that looking at the color green would improve his eyesight. Chung, who still plays in glasses, had his best result at a Grand Slam when he made the third round of this year's French Open.
The chasing pack
Also look out for Americans Jared Donaldson, Frances Tiafoe, Ernesto Escobedo and Taylor Fritz, as well as Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.