What do tennis players Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Taylor Fritz have in common? Yes, they are indeed all part of Reddit’s list of Top 40 Hottest Male Tennis Players. All three of them are also within the Top 15. But there’s more. They all hail from illustrious sporting families and haven’t still managed to crack the Grand Slam code.
Zverev, though German, was born to Soviet parents, both of them tennis players for the Soviet Union. Tsitsipas is Greek and was born to a Greek father and a Russian mother. His parents too were tennis players, his mother even reaching the World No. 1 ranking at the junior level. Tsitsipas’ grandfather was a football player for the Soviet Union.
Taylor Fritz is no different. He was born to his mother Kathy May, a Top 10 tennis player in her time, and her father Guy Henry Fritz, who also played tennis.
All these young tennis stars were not only born to tennis parents on both sides, but their parents were also exceptionally good in their day. They might not have won Grand Slams, but reaching such good heights in the sport is bound to put pressure on their kids. So, while the term ‘Nepo babies’ might be stuck with them forever, it is also noteworthy the level of pressure they grew up with.
Alexander Zverev performed immense well in this Australian Open to reach the semi-final. Not many expected him to win the quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz. But he is an Olympic Gold medalist from the 2020 Tokyo edition, reached the finals of the US Open 2020, and won 21 singles titles in his life. He exhibited a lot of promise from the start of his career but Grand Slam eludes him.
Zverev reached the World No.2 ranking, while Stefanos Tsitsipas was close at No.3 in 2021. Tsitsipas is another tennis player who showed signs of greatness from a very early age. He is a two-time Grand Slam finalist (Australian Open 2023 and French Open 2021), won the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 title in 2021, and won the Mallorca Open the next year. However, he still fails to win it at clutch moments of any tournament, missing out on a Grand Slam so far.
Now, American tennis star Taylor Fritz might not have tasted the same level of success as the former two have, but he is pretty close. In fact, he is following in their path in terms of winning titles but still missing out on the Grand Slam. His major win came at the Indian Wells in 2017, beating Marin Cilic. In the Grand Slams, he reached the quarterfinals of the AO this year, his farthest so far.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev or Taylor Fritz – Who is ahead in the career curve so far?
Zverev, Fritz, and Tsitsipas have all shown tremendous potential in their careers right from the start. While Fritz might be slightly behind the remaining two in career achievements, his peak might arrive soon, unlike Zverev and Tsitsipas. In singles, Tsitsipas and Fritz both have 10 titles each while Zverev has 21 of those. With an Olympic gold to show, Zverev is ahead on that front. Whereas, Tsitsipas has two Grand Slam final appearances and Zverev has only one.
2021 was the breakthrough year for both Tsitsipas and Zverev. While the Greek player won the Masters 1000 title and reached the World No.3 ranking, Zverev won 6 ATP titles. In terms of prize money, Zverev leads the list there with $39,949,820. It is followed by Tsitsipas who has $29,096,785 in prize money and finally Fritz with $14,732,983.
Either way, each of these three players would give their best in the upcoming competitions to win their maiden Grand Slam. For Zverev, it might be difficult to do immediately due to the clash with his court dates. But for others, they will be charged to win one.
