Paris (AFP)

Alexander Zverev (5th) and Karen Khachanov (11th), two of the most prominent members of the Next Gen, have totally missed their start to the season, but have been on the ground for a week on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.

Thursday, against Novak Djokovic (1st) for the German, and Dominic Thiem (4th) for the Russian, they will try to climb for the first time in the semifinals of a Grand Slam, which has never yet succeeded this young generation.

. Zverev, thank you Tsitsipas

The 22-year-old German rowed this season. On the courts but also outside. A break in love and especially a trial with his former agent have made out of its path the winner of the Masters last season (beating Novak Djokovic in the final, ed), promoted to the top of the NextGen list. "I had to do a lot of things I was not used to, lawyer stuff," he said on Monday. Tricks that have disturbed him: not a top 15 beaten before Roland Garros, early eliminations shovel and a single trophy gleaned this season, in Geneva a week before Roland Garros, where he arrived at the last minute after an exit without glory in the first round in Rome.

He was not so hard on himself: "Everybody says I have a tough year, I'm still number 5 in the world, so it's not so bad, to be quite honest. he had dropped after his first round.

"Everything is going well in my life, it was on the court that it was not going well," he summed up after qualifying in the quarter-finals and winning against Fabio Fognini, his first top 15. even delivered his explanation at the beginning of the season upside down.

"The season of Tsitsipas (Stefanos, 6th in the world) is the best thing that has happened to me," he said, "I'm happy for him, he's suddenly become the new superstar. was that all this attention around NextGen was no longer focused on me. " He just needed shade.

"If he wins three games in a row and regains confidence, it will become hard to beat," predicted Tommy Haas, former star of German tennis. Here we are...

. Khachanov, Paris suits him so well

The 23-year-old Russian finished last season in a hurry, at the gates of the top 10 and a first Masters 1000 won at ... Paris in November. He had squeezed Novak Djokovic in the final (7-5, 6-4), which earned him the praise of the world No.1. Khachanov had positioned himself on the map of world tennis at once. But since then, nothing. A bit like Zverev, he has never taken off since the restart on the circuit.

A single top 10 and eight small victories before Roland Garros, including three on land. A real depression. But also a history of snowshoes according to him. "I changed my racket because I wanted to try something better", this season, he told Le Figaro. "It may not have been the best option." He suddenly returned to this bad idea in March. But the results did not really follow. The season on earth, a surface that he says he likes despite its somewhat heavy size (1.98, 90 kg) has not really been a success: elimination in the first round in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Munich, a match won in Madrid, two in Rome ...

The awakening was thus hoped Porte d'Auteuil. After two rather successful rounds, with only one set lost to Frenchman Gregory Barrere in the second round, and a solid match against Slovakia's Martin Klizan, he offered himself Juan-Martin Del Potro, ejecting him at the same time. Top 10, to make his own entrance after Roland-Garros. He had never before aligned more than three straight wins this season. But Paris seems to give him a little more. "It looks like yes," he agreed.

? 2019 AFP