#Smashtalk: Are the rising stars or veterans more exciting?

Published by Vivienne Christie, Matt Trollope and Leigh Rogers

YOUNG AND OLD: Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer during the Halle trophy presentation last week; Getty Images
As the world’s best players fine-tune their games ahead of Wimbledon next week, the #Smashtalk team have plenty to say…

It is on for young and old this grass season, literally.

More-established tour stars such as Roger Federer, Feliciano Lopez and Petra Kvitova were among the title winners last week – but there are plenty of young stars emerging as legitimate contenders.

It is a contrast that the #Smashtalk team believe is adding to the excitement of what is proving to be an interesting grass court swing…

Is it the rising stars or the veterans who have excited us most so far this grass season?

Vivienne Christie: For all the ‘feel goods’ that surround the veterans, it’s the young stars who create the excitement. And as players like Alexander Zverev and Ash Barty light up their respective tours, there’s a sense that they are bringing new life to tennis. Talented and spirited in equal measure, they represent a string of rising stars who could make a strong run at Wimbledon. That those young players are crossing paths with the veterans who inspired them – and in some cases influenced them – only adds to the game’s overall narrative.

Matt Trollope: I think for me it’s the rising stars. As wonderful as it’s been to see Roger Federer et al continue to endure and thrive, I’ve been really keen for some time now to see a couple of great young players step up and show signs of taking the baton. Alex Zverev and Ash Barty are two who come to mind – both were fabulous last week. And although they lost to grasscourt greats in Federer and Kvitova in their respective finals, it’s players like them, as well as Kyrgios, Keys, Khachanov, Bellis, Kokkinakis, Osaka and many more who will be capturing my interest at a wide-open Wimbledon.

Leigh Rogers: The rising stars are the ones bringing a surprise factor to the grass swing. Ash Barty beat two top 30 players for the first time to reach the Birmingham final, Thanasi Kokkinakis scored a career-best win to beat Milos Raonic at Queen’s, CiCi Bellis reached the Mallorca semifinals in her first professional grass event and Karen Khachanov is proving his all-surface game with a Halle semifinal appearance. These are the unpredictable results that make tennis exciting to follow and have certainly shaken things up this grass season.

What did you make of Dominic Thiem’s decision to play another event a week before a Slam – a campaign which on Tuesday ended in a shock loss to a qualifier ranked outside the top 200?

VC: Is it becoming automatic to be critical of Thiem for his packed schedule? I actually admire his commitment. While it didn’t work out on grass this time around it didn’t harm his form during the clay season, when Thiem was the only man to beat Rafael Nadal before his first-ever win over Novak Djokovic at the French Open. Granted, the shock loss to Ramanthan won’t have helped Thiem’s confidence but if that pattern continues at Wimbledon, where he has never been past the second round, you can’t blame too much tennis.

MT: Unsurprising. Perhaps he felt he lacked grasscourt matches after a second-round loss in Halle to Robin Haase, but he won’t be feeling much better about his game after falling in just 59 minutes to Ramkumar Ramanathan, who I must admit I’d never heard of until Tuesday. Perhaps the silver lining is that Thiem will be feeling slightly fresher going into Wimbledon, which is something he wouldn’t have been able to say before any other Slam in recent memory.

LR: To be honest, I’m getting sick of discussing Thiem’s scheduling decisions. Yes he does play an abnormally high number of tournaments for a top 10 player but that is his choice. His early loss in Antalya is surprising and I believe probably harms his Wimbledon chances more than benefits it. Only one win on grass in Wimbledon lead-up events this season is not ideal for a player who clearly thrives on match play.

RELATED: Thiem eliminated by world No.222 in Antalya

In a stacked Eastbourne draw featuring eight of the world’s top 10 women, who is most likely to emerge triumphant?

VC: With the world No.1 ranking at stake, Simona Halep will be hugely motivated and in my view, her grass court form is hugely underrated. I’m also keeping an eye on Jelena Ostapenko.  While she hasn’t played an event since winning the French Open – and it’s rare to replicate clay court form on grass these days – she’d have to be competing with confidence. You also can’t overlook that the Latvian is a recent Wimbledon girls’ champion – and that clay, which delivered Ostapenko’s first Grand Slam, is apparently not even her best surface.

MT: I think Karolina Pliskova is best placed to have a great run. It’s hard to gauge her grasscourt form given she’s only played one match on the lawns, but she seems rested after a few weeks off following Roland Garros and imbued with confidence following her semifinal run there. Once inclined to load up her competitive plate like Thiem, Pliskova now has a more sensible, intelligent approach to scheduling and has to be feeling good both physically and mentally at Devonshire Park this week.

LR: It is both refreshing and surprising to see so many top 10 women in action so close to a Grand Slam. The tournaments scheduled in the week preceding the Grand Slams are frequently weakened with late withdrawals – and we’ve already seen that this week with four lucky losers sneaking into the draw. Hopefully the top 10 women that remain are committed and willing to give 100 per cent. If that happens we are in for some interesting matches – and I’m predicting Karolina Pliskova to scoop the title.

Do you agree or disagree with our panel? Have your say on Facebook and Twitter using #SmashTalk.

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