The younger players’ unfamiliarity and inexperience on the surface make Wimbledon a tough prospect. (Photo credit: AP)

Wimbledon celebrated 100 years of Centre Court on the first official working Middle Sunday at the Grand Slam. The highlight of the centenary bash was the parade of champions – from Rod Laver to Novak Djokovic, from Billie Jean King to Simona Halep. Never had the heft of history and greatness been more palpable on a tennis court. Once the champions left, and the dust settled, the tennis world got a glimpse of the future of men's tennis, and a potential rivalry.

Carlos Alcaraz v Jannik Sinner. At a combined age of 39, it was the youngest Round of 16 or better clash at Wimbledon since Boris Becker, 17, defeated Henri Leconte, 21, in the 1985 quarterfinals.

It was one of the most anticipated clashes in what has been a topsy-turvy Wimbledon on the men's side.

The draw was already missing two top-10 players – World No 1 Daniil Medvedev and World No 8 Andrey Rublev—as Russians were banned from the Grand Slam due to the Ukraine war. In the first two days of the championship, Marin Cilic, a former Grand Slam champion and former Wimbledon finalist, and 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini, who came into Wimbledon 9-0 record in the grasscourt season, withdrew after testing positive for Covid-19.

The younger players' unfamiliarity and inexperience on the surface make Wimbledon a tough prospect. It was evident as sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, seventh seed Hubert Hukacz and French Open quarterfinalist Holger Rune perished in the opening round. Denis Shapovalov, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, and 2022 French Open finalist and third seed Casper Ruud lost in the second round.

Of the last eight standing, only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have featured in the semi-finals or (much) better of a Grand Slam. The first week of Wimbledon 2022 may well point to the anarchy that awaits once the Big 3 (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic) retire. But, if we look through the rubble of chaos, there are a few young players who may well take over the game in the years to come:

Coming into this year's Wimbledon, Sinner had not won a single grasscourt match. But the 20-year-old Italian has gone on to become the youngest of the men's quarterfinalists at this year's Championships.

He has taken the difficult road to the last eight. Sinner opened his campaign with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka. He followed it up with impressive wins over Mikael Ymer and 2018 semi-finalist John Isner, who had knocked out Andy Murray from his home Slam.

The Italian showed he had the nerves for the big stage when he defeated Alcaraz in the Round of 16 on Centre Court on Sunday. In a match that may well be the genesis of a future Grand Slam rivalry, a cool and clinical Sinner came up with the goods. Playing with controlled aggression, Sinner employed the flatter groundstrokes that are a lot more effective on the slick, low-bouncing grass. While the Italian saved all seven break points that he faced, he opened 12 break opportunities on the Alcaraz serve and converted four.

Even though he was denied a straight-set win when Alcaraz saved match points in the third-set tiebreaker, the Italian showcased his big-match mentality to fight through. He emerged a 6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 winner in an absorbing contest, which lasted three hours and 35 minutes. Having reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and French Open previously, he has now made the last eight on all surfaces. He is the third-youngest player to do so since 2000—after Nadal and Djokovic.

"He's maturing a lot on the big stage," Djokovic, who will take on Sinner in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, said ahead of their clash.

"I think he doesn't feel too much pressure on the big stage. He's very solid. He has every shot in his game: serve, return, forehand, backhand. He's constantly putting pressure on opponents. I kind of see a little bit of myself in his game, as well, from the back of the court, playing flat backhands, constantly staying on the back of the line, trying to put pressure on opponents."

The buzz around Alcaraz has quietened down considerably since the European clay swing. Owing to his title triumph in Madrid, where he beat Nadal and Djokovic on successive days, the Spaniard was considered as one of the favourites for the French Open. Though he didn't quite deliver on that promise, he did prove he is a special talent during an exciting and entertaining run to the quarterfinals.

The expectations were much lower as he came into only his second Wimbledon without any tune-up events on the grass. But that didn't dampen his adventurous spirit. Even though Alcaraz has the staying power in lung-busting rallies, he likes to mix it up, throwing in a drop shot or approaching the net to unsettle the opponent.

The 19-year-old brought out the whole arsenal during his 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 win against the big-serving Jan Lennard Struff in the opening round. Even his sportsmanship was on display at Wimbledon as Alcaraz awarded a point, which was asked to be replayed by the umpire, to his third-round opponent Oscar Otte. During his match against Sinner, Alcaraz went and checked on the Italian when he slipped and fell face-down in the high-intensity third set. Alcaraz and Sinner sealed the incident with a fist bump.

"For me, it was not easy to play my first match on Centre Court, especially on such an important day," Alcaraz, ranked No 7 in the world, said after his loss to Sinner. "Jannik handled the nerves and pressure better than me."

Though Alcaraz is a work in progress, especially in Grand Slams, he has the makings of a future champion.

While Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz had already established themselves as the ones to watch out for, Brandon Nakashima also made a case for himself at this year's Wimbledon.

The American, playing in only his sixth Grand Slam main draw, defeated talented southpaw Shapovalov in the second round en route to his Round of 16 clash. The biggest surprise in his high-quality fourth-round contest against Nick Kyrgios was that there were no histrionics from the Australian. And Nakashima's calm demeanour was a major part of it, even though he lost the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-7, 6-3, 2-6. He forced Kyrgios to keep the eye on the ball and raise his level while eschewing his usual temper tantrums.

A steady player with a steady head on his shoulders, the 20-year-old is just about cutting his teeth on the professional circuit.

Born in San Diego, Nakashima is the quintessential new-age American. His father, Wesley, is a Californian of Japanese ancestry and his mother Christina was born in Vietnam and migrated to California at the age of five. His parents are pharmacists and Nakashima did embark on the US collegiate route, through the University of Virginia, but decided to turn pro in 2019. In 2021, he reached back-to-back ATP finals in Los Cabos and Atlanta, and at 19, became the youngest American since Andy Roddick (2000-01) to reach multiple finals. He reached a career-high of 54 only last month.

Though Nakashima relies heavily on his ability to retrieve, he's happy to pull the trigger when the opportunity arises, especially on the backhand.

"I got to be honest—I know Jimmy Connors' backhand well," former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash told the New York Post. "And when [Nakashima] played an exhibition in Santa Barbara, I told Jimmy, 'I think it's almost as good as yours—flat and hard, two-handed, along the same lines.' Not many backhands like that on the tennis circuit. That's old school."

The fourth-round finish at Wimbledon was Nakashima's best at a major yet.

Stefanos Tsitsipas' Slam success has taken much longer than expected. The Greek had burst onto the big stage in 2019, as he beat Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open in what many thought was a change-of-guard moment.

He is possibly the most talented and versatile player of the younger generation. And though Tsitsipas has made it to a Grand Slam final (2021 French Open) and multiple semifinals, he hasn't quite been able to convert it into a title triumph. Over the last 12 months or so, Tsitsipas has been under scrutiny more for his infringements, like long bathroom breaks or coaching violations. While his game is there, the maturity isn't.

The ugly showdown against Kyrgios, in the third round of Wimbledon, was yet another example of his emotional fragility. The Australian, as is his wont, brought the circus, and Tsitsipas let it distract him. At one point, he even hit the ball into the stands out of frustration and was fortunate it didn't hit anyone directly so as to warrant a disqualification.

Despite the chaos that ensued, Tsitsipas once again made a case for himself as a future Grand Slam contender. The 23-year-old has every shot in the book, including a cracking serve and forehand, to unsettle the best of the best. His movement is exceptional for a 6'4 tall player and he is not afraid to approach the net and finish off points. Though he has a game that can transfer well onto grass, Tsitsipas hasn't been able to get past the third round at Wimbledon.

In any case, the Greek is the youngest player in the ATP top 5 and has achieved more than anyone his age or younger. An example of the dedication to his craft – while a lot of players decided to come into Wimbledon without playing any tune-up events, Tsitsipas played all three weeks on offer. When he lost early in Stuttgart and Halle, he took a wildcard to the ATP event in Mallorca to try and find his feet on grass. A bulletproof mentality is the one big missing piece in the Tsitsipas puzzle

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