Monte Carlo Masters 2016: Three young players to watch out for

Along with the established stars, a bevy of young talent will be in action at the Monte Carlo Masters this week. These promising youngsters are not just good enough to trouble the top players, but are also well-equipped to cause a few upsets.

Here is our pick of the top three youngsters who can leave an indelible mark on the claycourts of Monaco:

1. Dominic Thiem – Rank 14th (Age: 22 years)

With the rare gift of a single-handed backhand, Dominic Thiem has been making his presence felt on the Tour for the past couple of years. But it is this year that the 22-year-old Austrian has truly made his mark in a spectacular fashion and has started proving his versatility with aplomb.

Post the Australian Open, Thiem simply sizzled and soared as he embarked on the Latin American swing, winning a whopping 13 out of 14 matches. That run saw him upsetting Rafael Nadal on clay en route to the Buenos Aires crown, besides winning his first hardcourt title at Acapulco.

Back now on his favourite surface, he should be a force to reckon with this summer. He already gave a handful evidence of his fighting skills in his first match at the Principality on Monday when he had to come back from a set down to subdue Jan-Lennard Struff. He is on a collision course with two French Open champions – Nadal and Stan Wawrinka – both of whom he has defeated on this surface in the past. It won’t be surprising if he manages to overcome these two stumbling blocks and make a deep run at Monte Carlo.

2. Alexander Zverev – Rank 54th (Age: 18 years)

Endowed with silky smooth strokes and dashing looks, 18-year-old Alexander Zverev looks certain to be the poster boy of the next generation. With a string of good results and some tenacious play against the sport’s crème this season, the 6’6’’ German has already made experts sit up and take notice.

At Indian Wells, Nadal himself anointed him as the future No. 1 right after which the gangly teenager summoned some of his best to come within one point of toppling the Spaniard in the fourth round.

Hardcourt is where he has shown his prowess so far this season but he is equally adept on the red dirt. He has already two ATP Tour semi-finals to show for on this gritty surface which further testifies his patience and resilience.

It is clear that at Monaco, he will not go down without a fight. He started with a very comfortable win over fellow 18-year-old Andrey Rublev. The in-form 11th seed David Goffin lurks in his part of the draw and if he manages to cross that hurdle, the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic looms large. It will be quite a commendable effort if he can make it till the quarters where he is supposed to face-off with the Serb.

3. Lucas Pouille – Rank 82nd (Age: 22 years)

22-year-old Frenchman Lucas Pouille’s performances this year might not be as stunning as the other two on this list but he has still been successful in drawing the attention of fans with his determined display. Especially in his very last tournament at the Miami Masters, he played some sublime tennis which makes him a player to watch out for at Monte Carlo.

En route to making it to the fourth round at Key Biscayne, he had the big upset win over World No. 8 David Ferrer in three tight sets. Even before that, he also reached the Brisbane quarter-finals this year, losing to eventual champion Milos Raonic.

It is understandable that hardcourts are his forte but there is no reason to believe that he cannot compete well on the most brutal surface. He did beat Dominic Thiem last year at this very venue and also made it to semi-finals of Hamburg on clay as a qualifier.

Pouille definitely is taking his own sweet time to bloom and if things fall into place, he can surely make quite an impressive run. He thrashed his senior compatriot Nicolas Mahut in his opener at Monte Carlo and up next for him are two more of his countrymen – Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. If anything, this would be a very good learning experience for the young Frenchman.