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It is with a sense of sadness, that I use the line by the recently deceased Robin Williams as the title of this article, but it seemed perfect to use considering the state of men’s tennis at the moment. Stanislas Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic, have this year, managed to not only knock on the door, but break it down, with Wawrinka and Cilic winning 2 of the 4 Grand Slams this year and giving hope and belief to ‘the others’ that someone not named Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray can also win slams.While skeptics may argue that these 2 find themselves on the wrong side of 25, and are unlikely to go ahead and dominate the tennis world, there are a number of upcoming stars who may well have that on their agenda. Let’s take a look at the Top 5 young players who could take the step up in 2015.
#5 Nick Kyrgios
Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios have one thing in common; they’ve inflicted shock defeats on Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. However, while Rosol and Darcis are journeymen who just happened to play the match of their lives on that day, Kyrgios made the world stand up and take notice as he blasted tournament favourite Rafael Nadal off court in the fourth round at Wimbledon this year.
With a hint of cockiness about him, Kyrgios reminds me of a young Safin, full of exuberance and fearlessness. Like Thiem, Kyrgios started the year ranked No.182 in the world and now finds himself on the verge of breaking into the Top 50. Just 19, the Aussie won the respect of his home crowd when he lost an epic five-setter in the Australian Open to start the year, before capturing a host of Challenger titles in Sarasota, Savannah and Nottingham.
And then there was THAT performance against Nadal at Wimbledon which had been preceded two rounds earlier by a classic five-set win over Richard Gasquet. An impressive performance followed at the US Open, where he reached the third round, beating Youzhny and Seppi along the way, certainly not two pushovers.
Kyrgios is exciting for men’s tennis, and has age on his side. He has burst on to the scene in his first full year on tour, and can only go upwards from here on.
#4 Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem is another name to watch out for in the next few years. The Austrian is steadily moving up the rankings, and finds himself at No.36 in the world, having started the year at No.139. Thiem came into the limelight with a stunning, come from behind win over Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, in the second round at Madrid, and reached the finals of his home event in Austria, beating the likes of Juan Monaco and Marcel Granollers along the way.
Most recently, he reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time, losing in the fourth round of the US Open to Tomas Berdych. It has truly been a meteoric rise for the young Austrian this year, and one hopes he can carry that forward and build on it for next year.
#3 Milos Raonic
Criticised for his one-dimensional game and frequent fourth-round losses, Milos Raonic has also improved by leaps and bounds in 2014, like Dimitrov, reaching the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the first time, at this year’s Wimbledon.
The Canadian has won a title in Washington DC so far this year, but had an impressive clay court season, reaching the semifinals in Rome and making his maiden quarterfinal appearance in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. Raonic also seems to be building up a healthy rivalry with US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, with the two having played some memorable matches this year, most recently their epic fourth-round encounter at the US Open.
With a game that no longer relies solely on serve, look for Raonic to make a step up next year, especially on hard courts.
#2 Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov is like a default option in these lists, having been touted for great things ever since the start of this decade, famously earning the name ‘Baby Fed’, with tennis analysts and writers finding striking similarities between his game and Federer’s. However, while he showed a small spark in the 2013 season, 2014 was when he truly made his mark and left fans salivating for more.
The Bulgarian started off the year running Rafael Nadal extremely close in the Australian Open quarterfinals, and has already won 3 titles this year- in Acapulco, Bucharest and the presitigious Queen’s Club title. The highlight of his year though, would have to be his stupendous performance at Wimbledon, where he dismantled defending champion Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, before running Djokovic close in a tough four-set semifinal.
Dimitrov seems to have found his groove under Roger Rasheed, and a slam in 2015 is not a very far-fetched possibility
#1 Kei Nishikori
The man of the moment, tops this list as he looks to have finally come of age under the tutelage of Michael Chang. Nishikori had struggled with injury and fitness issues in the past, but has become fitter and stronger this year, with Novak Djokovic commending his increased power in his forehand after their semifinal encounter at the US Open.
Nishikori broke into the top 10 earlier this year, and now after becoming the first Asian man to compete in a Grand Slam final, finds himself in the top 8 and in line for a berth at the World Tour championships later this year. Nishikori has just had an all-round impressive year, beating Roger Federer en route to reaching the semifinals at Miami,before winning in Barcelona and losing to Nadal in the final at Madrid.
The icing on the cake though was the recently concluded US Open, where he played three epic matches in a row, beating Raonic, Wawrinka and Djokovic and entering his maiden Grand Slam final. While the final might not have been his best day on court, Nishikori now looks fit and hungry, and would definitely be one to look out for in 2015
