Which ATP player is the 2023 season most critical for?

The countdown to the 2023 season is underway. As we close in on the start of the new, dual-gender United Cup (December 29), TENNIS.com's writers will debate the 10 biggest questions heading into the new tennis year.

Which ATP player is the 2023 season most critical for?

Peter Bodo: The word “critical” is the key element here, and it eliminates everyone from the Top 10 but one man, Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 24-year-old Greek has done anything you can ask of a fella when it comes to Grand Slam performance except win one. He has plenty of time to shrug the monkey off his back, but the pressure will only increase.

Tsitsipas was runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 French Open final, and he appeared in four additional major semifinals since his first one, dating back to 2019. There’s no flaw or vulnerability in his game holding him back, just a failure to raise that game to extra notch it takes to push through. But after a semifinal loss at this year's Australian Open, Tsitsipas got no further than the fourth round at a major, he bombed out in the first round of the US Open. It’s a measure of how much he needs to stop the bleeding and get that maiden title.

Jon Levey: When Alexander Zverev played his last meaningful match, against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of Roland Garros, he left the court on crutches after rolling his ankle. The injury required surgery and forced him to miss the rest of the season. Zverev’s personal life and on-court demeanor have made him a polarizing figure, but the game is all there. His first serve is a cheat code when it’s clicking, and his two-hander is as good as anyone's this side of Djokovic. At 25, he’s no longer one of the young guns of the sport, and is already looking up in the rankings at a handful of players his junior. It could be now or never for Zverev to win his first Grand Slam title.

WATCH: Rafa rallies from two sets down to defeat Medvedev in Australian Open final

Steve Tignor: Twelve months ago, Daniil Medvedev was a newly-minted major champion, a soon to be newly-minted No. 1, and the Next Gen player most likely to succeed the Big 3. Then 2022 happened. Medvedev blew a two-set lead in the Australian Open final, had hernia surgery, was banned from Wimbledon and was drummed out of the US Open by Nick Kyrgios. Medvedev will open 2023 at No. 7, and will turn 27 in February. Is he still part of the ATP’s future ruling class? Or, with the rise of teenagers like Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, is he already part of the past? We’ll learn more this season.

Stephanie Livaudais: Medvedev impressed at the start of the season, following up his US Open triumph with a confidence-boosting return to the Australian Open final. But after letting go of a two-set lead to see Nadal come back and win, the experience seemed to have left him rattled instead.

Likely compounded by other stressors—including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and his recent new parenthood status—the former No. 1 couldn’t quite shake off that mental dip for the rest of the year. In fact, Medvedev didn’t reach another Grand Slam final or Masters 1000 final. He took a month-long break to undergo a hernia procedure, and came back to win in Vienna (ATP 500) and Los Cabos (250). But ultimately the 26-year-old finished the season on a four-match losing streak, and saw his ranking drop to world No. 7.

To reestablish top-dog status, Medvedev will have to make a statement at the Australian Open—where he has reached back-to-back finals, and where the majority of his ranking points currently lie.