Grigor Dimitrov: the reawakening of Lost Gen?

The surprise is not so much that Grigor Dimitrov won his first ATP Masters 1000 title this week as the fact that, for a player so exquisitely talented, it took him so long. At 26, Dimitrov is emblematic of a generation that promised plenty but is yet to overthrow the 30-somethings who continue to rule the game.

An interesting sideline to the Bulgarian’s breakthrough win over Nick Kyrgios in Cincinnati was the stat – courtesy of American tennis writer Ben Rothenberg – that it was the first Masters crown won by a player born between 1989 and 1996. A more junior 90s child, the No.6-with-a-bullet Alexander Zverev, already owns two Masters titles at the age of just 20, and has leapfrogged those who have been trying, and failing, to dislodge the so-called Big Five.

Winner of #CincyTennis final between Dimitrov (1991) and Kyrgios (1995) will be the first Masters champ born from 1989 to 1996. #lostboys

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 20, 2017

So what of the rest?

The most senior, numerically at least, among this week’s top 10, is Croatia’s world No.7 Marin Cilic, born in 1988. He owns one Masters title, from Cincinnati last year, as well as a major championship, the 2014 US Open, that it was thought might herald a changing of the guard. The closest Cilic has come to an encore, though, was this year’s Wimbledon final, when blisters left the 28-year-old in tears and his title ambitions in tatters.

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Kei Nishikori, whom Cilic beat in that unexpected Flushing Meadows battle of the first-timers three years ago, has logged only one grand slam semifinal appearance in the 11 he has contested since. And an uninterrupted three-year stint in the top 10 will soon be over, with the Japanese superstar’s latest injury – to his wrist – forcing a premature end to his season.

Milos Raonic has been closer to grand slam success, courtesy of that 2016 runners-up plate from the All England Club, and – like Nishikori – has also reached three Masters finals without success. Having started the year at No.3, the 26-year-old has now dipped to 11th while battling multiple health issues. An unstinting devotion to the pursuit of excellence for the man who sleeps with the temperature at 19.4444 degrees to aid recovery has nevertheless left him a degree or two short.

Juan Martin del Potro belongs in a slightly different category, for rarely since that momentous 2009 US Open finals defeat of the great Federer have a cruel succession of wrist injuries allowed the popular Argentine a clear run. He is 28 now, in years as well as ranking, but not the player he was. Or might have been.

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At 23, and newer to single figure rankings, Dominic Thiem is in the next age bracket down, along with France’s world No.20 Lucas Pouille and the 22-year-old Kyrgios, who many believe is more likely to win a major or two than head the rankings with his explosive yet still-inconsistent game.

The Spanish veteran David Ferrer believes he is capable of both achievements, while cautioning at the weekend that it “depends of his mentality”.