Germany's Alexander Zverev believes he will form the new big three alongside Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev; "I think next year could be very similar to the last six months from this year"
Thursday 23 December 2021 17:04, UK
Alexander Zverev is confident next year's big silverware is likely to be shared between Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and himself.
With Roger Federer, 40, still recovering from knee surgery and Rafael Nadal in the early stages of his comeback from a foot injury, Zverev believes a new era of tennis is taking shape.
Djokovic won three of the year's Grand Slam titles but his old rivals Federer and Nadal failed to add to their collections with the trio tied on 20 majors each.
Medvedev ended Djokovic's dreams of a calendar Grand Slam to win the US Open final, while Zverev also reached two major semi-finals this year.
Germany's Zverev also won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and then ended the year by winning the ATP Finals title for the second time.
"I think next year could be very similar to the last six months from this year," Zverev, told Eurosport Germany's Das Gelbe vom Ball podcast.
"Before, there used to be always talk about Nadal, Federer and Djokovic - now the big titles were the Olympics, US Open, Turin (ATP Finals) and Wimbledon, and they were all won by Medvedev, Djokovic and me. I don't expect it to be any different next year."
He continued: "I've become much calmer. I'm also getting older. I'm not 18 or 19 anymore. I understand maybe a bit more things about life and understand that you just have to keep calm in important situations. That has had its effect on me this year."
Theoretically, Zverev could become world No 1 if he wins the Australian Open and Djokovic misses the tournament because of its COVID-19 vaccine stance.
"The situation with Novak and Australia is still a big question mark," he said. "Of course, I hope that he will be allowed to play, that's very clear.
"There are thousands of mathematical calculations, if he doesn't play Australia and I win the Australian Open, then I'm number one in the world and so on and so forth.
"At the end of the day, now is not the time to think about (being No 1), now is the time to prepare as best as you can so you're physically able to play for it."
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