A young Bjorn Borg, at the All England Club. (Getty Images)
Despite his cocksure attitude and fearsome two-hander, Connors had lost in the first round at the last two Slams he had played. As the fifth seed at Wimbledon in ’73, he pummeled his way to the quarters, where he exited to eventual finalist Alex Metreveli. A year later he won Wimbledon, along with the Australian Open and the US Open, went 99-4, and rose to No. 1.
Four years younger, Borg had made the round of 16 at Roland Garros in ’73, but it was at Wimbledon where the “Teen Angel” was born. Borg became the Open era’s first heartthrob during that fortnight. He was chased across the grounds, and onto the court, by half of the teenage-girl population of London, it seemed. Long hair flying, he also reached the quarters, where he lost to Roger Taylor in five sets.
Borg and Connors were the first pure products of tennis’ professional era. Unlike most of the boycotters, neither knew what it was like to scrounge out a living on the amateur circuit. They were the beneficiaries of the boycotters’ efforts, and they spent the rest of the decade making them pay for it. Borg and Connors won 19 majors from 1974 to 1983. The last hurrah for the boycott generation came with Ashe’s win over Connors at Wimbledon in 1975.
The dynamic at the US Open in 2020 is obviously quite a bit different, and in some ways it’s reversed. Today there’s a small elite fending off a horde of hopefuls. There are just four key absentees this year: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and, now, Novak Djokovic. But those four players account for virtually major title—59, to be exact—since 2004.
Laboring in their shadows is the Next Gen, a large and ever-growing group of potential heirs to the Big 3 throne. Having failed to overthrow the kings, they’ll now have a chance to wear one of their crowns while they’re away. This doesn’t mean we’re about the witness the elusive changing of the guard, or the rise of the next Borg and Connors. At Roland Garros later this month, Nadal will still be the favorite, and Djokovic the second favorite. But it does mean we’ll almost surely get to see a Next Genner in a Grand Slam winner’s circle for the first time.
Who’s going to take that first, long-awaited step? Of the eight quarterfinalists, seven could qualify as “next generation.” At 29, Pablo Carreño Busta is a little old, and at 27, Dominic Thiem is on the border. But Denis Shapovalov, Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Alex De Minaur are all 24 or younger. Here are three questions worth considering as their vie for the trophy over the next week.