This week see's some fascinating title bids by the next generation of tennis players in both the Basel and Vienna ATP Indoor hard court tournaments. It's actually refreshing to see the youth of the game starting to win titles and when I say youth I actually mean a wide variety of stars other than Alexander Zverev who has been the only consistent next gen player to flex his muscles over the past few years - winning a brace of Masters and plenty of 500 tournaments.

But towards the end of this year four other young players have started to shine - Kyle Edmund, Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas and Kyle Edmund.

Kyle Edmund: The Next Generation Lion

Britain's number one won his first ATP title last week in the Belgium European Open overcoming Gael Monfils in the final in what was the highlight of last weeks tennis. Edmund produced tennis that was worthy of a 500 ATP title win never mind a 250 and the exhaustive battle of penetrating the seemingly impenetrable defense of Gael Monfils over three sets left the young Brit overwhelmed and in tears.

Edmund begins his bid to make it two titles in two tournaments today as he faces an Argentine well out of sorts - Diego Schwartzman in the Vienna Indoor 500 ATP. Schwartzman's title win back in February in Rio De Janeiro on clay is his best performance of the year. Making it to the Quarter Final of the French was also admirable but towards the back end of the year he hasn't been able to post even a Quarter Final appearance in a tournament. Schwartzman is having the complete opposite year to Edmund who has posted several Semi Final and Quarter Final appearances and for much of the year has produced consistent results.

This first round match against Schwartzman will still prove tricky for Edmund because Schwartzman is an excellent defender of the ball and covers the court easily standing at only 5ft 7 inches he doesn't tire. Edmund will need to show he has little if any post title euphoria hangover here keeping his forehand firing at the top level to hit through Schwartzman. Schwartzman can also play aggressively so a straight sets win for Edmund would be a terrific first round result.

Match Prediction: Edmund should beat Schwartzman, perhaps it will go to three sets though - 2-1 Edmund.

This tournament yet another where Edmund can go deep with the momentum from Belgium. He would face stiff opposition later on though than he did in Antwerp with players such as Kevin Anderson, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem and Borna Coric likely to be waiting. So if he can get to the Semi Finals here it would be an excellent result to consolidate his European Open victory.

Karen Khachanov: The Next Gen Bulldozer

Karen Khachanov stopped fellow Russian and next gen player Daniil Medvedev from claiming his fourth title of the year by overpowering him in the Semi Final at the Kremlin Cup before going on to destroy Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the final 6-2, 6-2.

The Semi Final between the two Russians was the real final of the tournament in Moscow. Both players at the age of 22, standing at 6ft 6inches and with heavy serves have a strikingly similar style of tennis. The only difference being Khachanov's strength and power behind the ball being superior to that of Medvedev's and with both players playing at the peak of their powers, Khachanov will always get the better of the Tokyo champion.

Khachanov faces a rather weak first round opponent in his next match - Dennis Novak in the Vienna Indoor ATP 500. The Austrian who is playing on home soil will be hoping to entertain the crowd and pull off an upset but it is highly unlikely here.

Match Prediction: Khachanov will win this one in straight sets over Dennis Novak.

I would love to see Khachanov come up against Edmund in Austria, both hit the ball big and Khachanov would prove a good early test for Edmund to build confidence. Both players are at a similar level in their careers so that match would be evenly contested.

Daniil Medvedev: The Next Gen Bear

I don't think Medvedev would have been too disappointed in losing to Khachanov in the final in Moscow, this year has been a huge break through year for him, he's gone from zero titles to three and climbed from 84th to 20th in the world. His win over Nishikori in the final of the Tokyo ATP 500 is his greatest achievement to date.

The bear came through against Germany's Maximilian Marterer in his first match in the Basel Indoor ATP 500 and now faces Italian Andrea Seppi in the next round. This is another good opportunity for him to go deep into a 500 tournament given Seppi's form this year.

Match Prediction: Medvedev to win in straight sets over Andreas Seppi.

Medvedev has a 50/50 chance of getting to the Semi's in this tournament but I cannot see him following up on his first 500 win in Tokyo. The competition is too stiff with the likes of Federer, Cilic and Zverev, all who I feel will prevail over the young Russian. Medvedev still has a lot of improving to do physically if he is to consistently challenge for the bigger titles, he's too skinny right now and lacks the endurance and strength around the baseline to trouble top 10 players regularly. He still has some developing to do.

Stefanos Tsitsipas: The Next Gen Hercules

After two finals vs Nadal on clay and hard courts this year Stefanos Tsitsipas finally got a break with a much more realistic opportunity to win his first ATP title and he didn't hesitate to take it with a straight sets victory over Ernests Gulbis in the final in Stockholm.

Gulbis may not be the most intimidating of players to face in a final like Nadal, but having come through two qualifying rounds and then claimed wins over two Americans - John Isner and Jack Sock plus Canadian Denis Shapovalov meant he had to be respected.

Tsitsipas became Greece's first ever ATP title winner making history for his country. He has climbed up to 16th in the world having started the year in 91st position. I was impressed by the calibre of players he dispatched with ease in Stockholm, he defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber and Fabio Foggini in straight sets to reach the final. The Greek Freak is another young player who has the potential to be a top 5 to 10 player, especially given his volleying and net skills.

Tsitsipas faces France's Jeremy Chardy today in Basel. This is another match with a forgone conclusion. The Frenchman won't pose much of a problem to the young Greek high flyer.

Match Prediction: Tsitsipas to win in straight sets.