The Baseline Top 5: Home breakthroughs for young ATP stars

Adjusting to life as a professional tennis player is difficult for a young person starting out: The constant travel, the struggle for money ad rankings points, and the pressure to perform at a high level every match can be quite trying.

It gets a little easier, though, when the home crowd is behind you.

Here’s a look at five of the ATP’s next wave of stars who’ve truly used the “home” court to their advantage and thrived in front of their compatriots to have breakthrough performances.

1

Ugo Humbert

Humbert entered this week’s tournament in Marseille at a career-high in the rankings after winning the Challenger event in Cherbourg, France. Much to the delight of the crowd at the Open 13 Provence, that run of good form continued as the 20-year-old advanced to his first career ATP semifinal.

2

Reilly Opelka

The 21-year-old American took a bite of the Big Apple in a major way in 2019, claiming the New York Open crown with back-to-back third-set tiebreak victories in the semis and final.

3

Denis Shapovalov

At the 2017 Rogers Cup, the Canadian teenager showed off his knack for big shots, blasting winners all over the place as he upset Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal on his way to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event.

4

Frances Tiafoe

Everything gelled for the American down in Florida in 2018 as he was the last man standing at the Delray Beach Open, beating Peter Gojowczyk in the championship match for his first title.

5

Alex de Minaur

The 2018 season got off to a flying start for young Aussie in front of his home crowd as he made it to the semifinals in Brisbane, then followed that up with his first final in Sydney. He went a step further in Sydney this year by winning the title.

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