Diego Schwartzman, Alex De Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, Nick Kyrgios, Roberto Bautista Agut
No. 25: Diego Schwartzman
The veteran had a decent year at the beginning, beating some fine players, After April, he started to slump. From May through November, he did not win many matches, losing to the very good players and some medicare players. Yes he is fast and he could be steady, but when he is out of synch, his strokes aren’t deep enough. Perhaps he was injured, but in the fall, he fell down fast. Hopefully next year he can reset his game and make a few more critical changes.
No. 24: Alex De Minaur
The 23-year-old Aussie had some terrific wins. He works hard in his practices, but he can be erratic at times. Of course, he can really hustle, and cover the court with his long arm. In 2022, he only beat one player inside the top 20 this year. While he is pretty good, but in order to put down the super consistent players, who hit the ball really hard, he has to rush the net when he wants to. To reach the top 10, he has to improve his thinking tat in order to play much better, which is critical. He knows in Australia, the fans want to see him excell, just like Pat Rafter did, who won two Grand Slams. He needs to have a gut check.
No. 23: Lorenzo Musetti
The Italian is only 20 year old. In October, he won Naples, beating Matteo Berrettini in the final. Even in Hamburg, he out-lasted the now No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. When he was on, and very confident, he can punch the lines on clay. Outside of that, though, on the hardcourts and the grass, he lost early a lot. Yes, he is very young, so in order to improve, he has to practice a tremendous amount to add more solid strokes. As many young people know that if they want to improve as much as they can, they eventually need to be more solid. Plus, he needs think about exactly where he needs to do. Think, and take a chance.
No. 22: Nick Kyrgios
This has been a bizarre year, as the controversial Aussie finally played a lot, in the singles and the doubles, and he beat a number of excellent players. On court, he will scream a lot, and yell, but in certain tournaments, he can absolutely crush the ball with his phenomenal forehand. Plus, his first serve is gigantic, and he really does mix it up with some wild, great crazy shots. Over the past 10 years, he can play excellently, and then, he would play almost lousy. He did reach at the Wimbledon final, his best Grand Slam, ever, but unfortunately, he self-destructed and then Novak Djokovic out-thought him in the fourth set. Really though, in 2023, will he continue to play great all year, or will he become pissed off on court, and off court, too. Few people really know what’s his erratic head.
No. 21: Roberto Bautista Agut
In his first event in January, he made it into the final at the ATP Cup in Sydney. In Mallorca, he reached the final, upsetting Daniil Medvedev. When he is pounding the ball, up and down, side to side, he can be so harmonious. However, the Spaniard is 34-years-old. While he absolutely love to play, but he is aging. Is he just as fast than he was 15 years ago? He might say, “Yes, I can still sprint” he is slightly slower. The good thing is that he won Doha and Kitzbuhel. But to win a Grand Slam, sure, he can upset a couple pf top 10 players. However, the reason why he has yet to reached the final because he cannot hit it hard into the corners all the time. He is a very good player, but to win a Slam, that would be a shocker.