Wimbledon: The most dangerous youngsters in the main draw

The 131st Wimbledon Championship is just around the corner, and it is the right time to make a review of young guns in the main draw, with their chances to make a name for themselves in the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.





There will be 14 U21 players in the main draw, 7 born in 1996 and with Denis Shapovalov as the youngest player in the pack. Of course, Alexander Zverev is in his own league, and he will be the 10th seed, which was almost never the case since 2008 with players who just turned 20.

Alexander will open his campaign against Evgeny Donskoy and he has a good draw until the 4th round, where he could face the 6th seed Milos Raonic. Young German hurt his knee in practice but it seems that everything is o.k and that he will be able to play at 100%.

His pre-Wimbledon events went pretty well, reaching the semis in s-Hertogenbosch and the final in Halle where he got beaten badly by Roger Federer in under an hour. The combination of big serves and powerful groundstrokes will make Zverev a tough opponent against any rival, especially if he finds the way to improve his net coverage and volleys, and it will be a huge surprise if he failed to stay the last U21 player in the draw.

Last year's junior champion Denis Shapovalov is another player to keep an eye on, despite the fact he will be the youngest competitor in the field. Two weeks ago, Denis showed us how well he can play on grass, qualifying for the main draw at Queen's and almost beating Tomas Berdych in the second round.

Denis will make his Grand Slam debut against hard-hitting serve Jerzy Janowicz, in what should be one of the best matches of the first round if they both bring their best tennis. If he passes Janowicz, there's probably Lucas Pouille waiting in the second round, which means that young Canadian will have to dig deep if he wants to make an impact, but he will certainly be a joy to watch with a nice arsenal of good serve, movement, and crafty one-handed backhand.

Russian Daniil Medvedev made a great start of the season but he faded after that, struggling to win a match until the grass season. He advanced to the quarter-final at s-Hertogenbosch and Queen's, and went one step further in Eastbourne, reaching the semis where he lost to eventual winner Novak Djokovic.

Daniil would also be one of my picks for a very good result at Wimbledon, thanks to his good overall package, but he had no luck with the draw, having to face the 5th seed Stan Wawrinka in the first round. Stan will come to Wimbledon with only one match played on grass this year, losing in the first round at Queen's to future winner Feliciano Lopez, but we all know that he turns into a completely different player in Slams, and Daniil will have to bring his A-game if he wants to oust a 3-time Grand Slam winner.

Karen Khachanov will be seeded, just as Zverev, and has a nice chance of reaching the third round, where he could face Rafael Nadal. Russian played great tennis in Halle, advancing to the semi-final where he lost to Roger Federer, and he will try to deliver the similar level of performance at the All England Club.

His first rival will be fellow Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, a former junior champion here, and that should be a very entertaining encounter. Third U21 Russian who will seek a good result is Andrey Rublev, who will play against the fellow qualifier Stefano Travaglia, and will be the favorite in that one, despite his uncertain form.

Then, Jordan Thompson or Albert Ramos-Vinolas await in the second round, and if he produces his best tennis, we could see a talented shot-maker in the third round. Christian Garin from Chile will also make a Grand Slam debut, in what will be his first main draw match on grass in professional career! Garin did a great job to pass 3 qualifying rounds but he will have to perform a miracle to beat Jack Sock in the opening round.

Frances Tiafoe starts against Robin Haase, who is a much more experienced on this surface, although Frances will have his opportunities if he stays focused. Alexander Zverev awaits in the second round, in what would be an ultimate U20 battle of two of the most talented players in the world at the moment.

Alexander Bublik failed to qualify in Stuttgart and Halle but he managed to do that at Wimbledon, and he will make a grand entrance to the big scene, playing against defending champion Andy Murray in the first match on the Centre Court! Taylor Fritz did a good job to enter the main draw at first place, losing his form completely after an amazing string of results he had in February 2016, becoming husband and a father in between.

In some different circumstances, Taylor would have been right up there with Zverev in terms of his abilities on grass, possessing great serve and forehand, but at the moment he can be happy to reach the main draw. There, he will have to face John Isner, and we should witness great serving affair and at least two tie breaks.

The second round would have been easier, but let's see if Taylor is capable of causing a big surprise in beating John first. Stefanos Tsitsipas, another player with a one-handed backhand, qualified for the main draw and he will have a great chance against Dusan Lajovic.

After that, Roger Federer could be his next rival and that should be a dream match for young Greek. Jared Donaldson will try to defeat Janko Tipsarevic and the second round is not that tough as well, but the problem is, Jared played only one match on grass this season, and he will need a good day at the office if he wants to make an impact and score at least a win.

Borna Coric drew Ryan Harrison, and both players will hope to make a winning start in what should be a very close match of good baseliners. In another mouth-watering first round clashes, Thanasi Kokkinakis will take upon Juan Martin del Potro, and that promises to be a great match and ultimate battle of forehands.

Ernesto Escobedo should be happy with the way draw lined up for him, meeting Adam Pavlasek in the first round, and he will be the favorite in that one, knowing the fact that Adam plays mostly on clay (never played on grass before).

All U21 players in the main draw:

Alexander Zverev is for sure dangerous af.
But Thanasi is the bomb i guess

Thannasi versus Del Potro.. it could be very good fight today.. waiting for it

And the Medvedev knockedout Stan Wawrinka... We have one sensation from the youngsters already

Kachanov,Thiem,Zverev,Rublev players to look up for future.. they will show this year something good too

Thannassi and Kyrgios was my favourites.. sadly they lost