Djokovic admits to takeover by younger ATP stars - "It's inevitable that it's going to happen"

With Alexander Zverev winning the Madrid Open on Sunday and his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title overall, World No.1 Novak Djokovic addressed the recent surge in his younger counterparts as they fight to improve their ATP Ranking.

The Serbian will be competing at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome this week, and he will be looking to claim his sixth title at the event. During his pre-tournament press conference, he was asked about the recent success of the younger ATP stars on Tour.

“The results are showing that there is a shift in generations,” Djokovic said. “These guys are playing every week more or less. There are guys like Tsitsipas, Zverev, Matteo Berrettini and Andrey Rublev that are winning against all of us and playing a lot and building their ranking points."

This has been even more evident at the ATP Masters 1000 level, as the past four champions (Daniil Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev) are all former #NextGenATP stars.

“Medvedev as well, of course, is challenging for the top spots. Dominic Thiem, of course, has been there for many years. It's inevitable that it's going to happen. The change in the FedEx ATP Rankings is coming. Whether it's going to happen in a month or a year or whatever, I don't know.”  

The top seed will kick off his Rome campaign against American Taylor Fritz, who defeated Dan Evans in his first round match.