Cilic sees positives in rise of Auger-Aliassime, Alcaraz and Next Gen: "This year is going to be a battle for each spot in Top-20"

Marin Cilic thinks every spot in the top 20 will be hard-fought for this year as he sees the positives in the rise of the next-gen spearheaded by Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime.

Some might think that the rise of the next-gen is not beneficial to tennis but Marin Cilic loves the added competition. He thinks the season will be one to remember because there are so many great players right now and every one of them is worthy of a spot in the top 10. According to him, it's going to be a battle for every sport.

Ahead of his Pune Open start, Cilic reflected on the past year and looked forward to next year:

“This last season was interesting, I think you would agree, very, very interesting in that sense. Quite a few guys opened quite a few doors for them. I think now the competition is quite strong and I would say that this year is going to be a battle for each spot in Top-20. I would say it's going to be a really competitive year in that sense."

He singled out a few players while talking about the next-gen:

"Felix at the end of the season, incredible. Like comparing it almost with Daniil’s 2019 season with such a great streak winning 2,3 in a row and then also playing fantastic at end of the season, winning the Davis Cup. He opened so many things for him. Also beating Novak in Laver Cup, which was even though an ‘exhibition’ but it was a serious thing. Then Holger winning Paris Bercy."