Rafael Nadal names TWO Next Gen players who will take over from him at French Open
RAFAEL NADAL believes Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev have the potential to win the French Open in the foreseeable future.
Nadal beat Thiem in straight sets on Sunday to win his 11th Roland Garros trophy - the most titles at a single Grand Slam won by any player in ATP history.
The Spaniard has been practically unstoppable in Paris since making his debut at the tournament back in 2005.
He has lost there just twice in 13 years, but at 32 years old several people are wondering who will be the next man to win the French Open.
Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka are the only two players other than Nadal to have won the tournament since 2010.
But the focus is now on the Next Gen players to step up and challenge in the Grand Slams.
Both Thiem and Zverev have moved into the world top 10 this year while Hyeon Chung, Kyle Edmund and Denis Shapovalov have also enjoyed impressive performances in 2018.
Nadal’s dominance on clay makes it difficult to see whether the young players can break the mould.
However, the 17-time Grand Slam champion has seen enough from Thiem and Zverev to suggest they will certainly be future champions at Roland Garros.
“Of course Dominic [Thiem] has the potential to win here,” Nadal told L’Equipe.
“Zverev too. We'll see how Shapovalov evolves on this surface too.
“We have to wait a bit, but we see that Zverev and Thiem are doing well.
“They have been competing for 3 years to win the tournament.
“They are candidates for the final victory, clearly.”