"It would be nice to see the youngsters come through like we have at the World Cup with the brilliant Mbappe"
Monday 2 July 2018 18:28, UK
Henri Leconte says he is hoping to see the young guns shine at Wimbledon this year and shock the established stars - like Kylian Mbappe has done at the World Cup.
Mbappe outshined Lionel Messi as the 19-year-old inspired France to a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina in the World Cup on Saturday.
Alexander Zverev is the undoubtedly the leader of the next generation of tennis stars. The world No 3 answered a few doubters by finally reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the French Open but translating his best-of-three-set success to best of five is still a work in progress.
The same can be said of Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapovalov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alex de Minaur, who is the third teenage member of the top 100.
They have all showed potential on grass, but Roger Federer, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, and world No 1 Rafael Nadal remain among the favourites once again, and French legend Leconte feels it is about time for the new kids on the block to shine.
"We're all happy to see Roger, Rafa, and all the old guys come through at Wimbledon, but I would be very happy to see the new kids on the block," the former Wimbledon semi-finalist told Sky Sports.
It's good to have some sole and strength and also be confident enough to beat the top guns. I always loved to play the top guns and beat them.
"It would be nice to see the youngsters come through like we have at the World Cup with the brilliant Mbappe.
"He is playing so well for the French national team and he's only 19. He's saying to all the older guys in the team 'hey, shut up, I'm the main man now'.
"It's good to have some sole and strength and also be confident enough to beat the top guns. I always loved to play the top guns and beat them."
Leconte also believes Andy Murray should have made the decision to withdraw from Wimbledon earlier, but says the Scot made the right decision.
"You want to be 100 per cent when you play at Wimbledon so he must have realised it's too painful and complicated so I think it's just a matter of doing the right thing," he said. "Andy knows he has to come back and produce his best tennis or a different kind of tennis."
Henri Leconte was speaking to Sky Sports' Raz Mirza at Wimbledon. We have all angles covered from the All England Club via our website skysports.com/tennis then click through to our dedicated section skysports.com/tennis/wimbledon. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
Our next tennis action comes from the German Open in Hamburg. Watch the action live on Sky Sports Arena from Monday, July 23 from 10am.
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