“Next gen flops” – Twitter tennis mock the current generation for losing to Grand Slam debutants after Daniil Medvedvev’s Australian Open exit

Daniil Medvedev was hoping to reach a fourth Australian Open final after losing a five-set epic last year to Jannik Sinner.

“Next gen flops” – Twitter tennis mock the current generation for losing to Grand Slam debutants after Daniil Medvedvev’s Australian Open exit

Daniil Medvedev (via X)

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev joined the list of seeded casualties at this year’s Australian Open with a five-set loss to Learner Tien in the second round. The Russian lost 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(10-7) in a match that ended close to 3 a.m. local time.

Tien, ranked No. 121 in the PIF ATP Rankings, let slip a match point in the third set but crucially reeled off the last four points in the deciding-set tie-break to claim the biggest win of his career. This victory is a significant moment for the left-hander, who recently reached the finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals last month.

YouTube video

However, this result has reignited the debate about the credentials of the current crop of players. The current generation of stars, including Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, was highly hyped four to five years ago as the successors to the Big 3 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic) and expected to start winning Grand Slam titles.

FS Video

The reality, however, is that all members of this generation have now been eliminated in the first week. In addition to Medvedev, Tsitsipas was knocked out by Alex Michelsen, Jakub Mensik eliminated Ruud, and Rublev lost to rising star Joao Fonseca.

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Netizens slam Daniil Medvedev and others for the Australian Open exit

Following Daniil Medvedev‘s defeat, the tennis fandom on Twitter was out in full force, mocking the credentials of the current generation of players. It remains to be seen how they respond, especially with the next generation of players ready to challenge established names like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Learner Tien
Learner Tien (via X)

Check out some reactions here:

Medvedev’s recent head-to-head record against Sinner and Alcaraz has been underwhelming. His only win against the World No. 1 came at Wimbledon, but that was when the Italian was not physically at his best due to behind-the-scenes issues. Meanwhile, Medvedev has not beaten Alcaraz since the 2023 US Open semifinals.

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Jannik Sinner

Other players of this generation, such as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, have fared well at the Masters 1000 level but have struggled to make their mark in Grand Slam tournaments. Alexander Zverev is one of the few notable names who has performed well recently. However, even he is yet to win his first Grand Slam title, despite reaching two finals, the most recent being at the 2024 Roland Garros against Alcaraz.