While many of the world’s top 30 players were busy at the Laver Cup, Medvedev was busy playing his fifth final in a row. His last victim was Borna Coric in the St.Petersburg ATP 250 tournament. Medvedev eased through the draw while most of the top men battled it out at the Laver Cup. It’s quite a streak for Medvedev, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. There’s three big tournaments left in the calendar, with Shanghai and Paris Masters and the ATP finals. He’s currently ranked four in the world and has a very good shot at surpassing Federer in the number 3 spot. Either way, he’s placed himself solidly in the top four, and given his present form, there’s no reason why he won’t be a favorite at the Australian Open. This is a far cry from someone that was ranked #84 at the beginning of 2018.

It’s about time someone from the Next Gen stepped up. I don’t think anyone thought it would Medvedev though. A couple of years ago, people spoke of Coric, Kyrgios, and Zverev. And those three players may very well break through and go deep in slams someday. However, none of them have as of today. Medvedev has not only won a masters level event; he’s reached a Grand Slam final. And he now continues to win, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Meanwhile, players like Zverev and Kyrgios show spurts of greatness and then fizzle in between weeks. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Medvedev. He seems to have found another gear.

So, there’s three big tournaments left in the year, and Medvedev is my pick to clean up given the fact that Djokovic is not 100%. Djokovic has performed very well at Shanghai and Paris. Especially at Shanghai where he’s won it four times and was a finalist last year. Nadal and Federer have not historically performed well in these two tournaments. My money will be on Medvedev to make a good run at both tournaments, and possibly claim one. That would solidify his standing as the new member of the big 4.