2) Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios first announced himself on the big stage when he beat Rafael Nadal in the 4th round of Wimbledon in 2014, thus becoming the first male debutant to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon since Florian Mayer in 2004.
Kyrgios, born to a Greek father and a Malaysian mother, is known for flamboyant nature, both on and off court. Armed with a thunderous serve and monstrous forehand, he uses his relatively weaker backhand very effectively to keep himself in contention during points.
The 21-year old, who was born and raised in Australia, has made steady progress in the Emirates ATP rankings every passing year. Known to produce outrageous shots at the most unexpected times, Kyrgios has made himself a force to be reckoned with on the ATP tour.
Specially this year, Kyrgios has propelled himself to a career high ranking of 13, after having started the year ranked 30.
The jump from 30 to 13 might not look too steep, but is an extremely tough one to make. It was only made possible by the 3 ATP titles he won, which included his first career title at the ATP Marseille 250, another 250 title in Atlanta, and a 500 one in Tokyo recently.
"For anyone in only their second full year on tour to win three titles is pretty big. It was definitely a successful year for me," said the Australian No. 1, to Australian reporters. Kyrgios also made his first semi-final at the Masters 1000 level at the Miami Open, making the semis without dropping a set, before eventually falling to Kei Nishikori. Kyrgios also made the quarters at the Mutua Madrid Open, a clay court Masters event, even with clay being his least preferred surface. But all this success didn't come without controversies. Kyrgios was suspended by the ATP for eight weeks in October for having "tanked" his 2nd round match at the Shanghai Masters.
The ban was later reduced to three weeks, after Kyrgios agreed to see a sports psychologist.
But Kyrgios, who starts his 2017 season at the Hopman Cup partnering Daria Gavrilova, feels that his forced break from tennis was a blessing in disguise after a long & tiring year on tour. He now feels refreshed and believes that he can win the Australian Open, starting next month.
"Will I? I don't know. But will I slog my guts out trying to? Without a doubt," said Kyrgios, when asked if he thought he could win the Australian Open. Not only the Australian Open, with increased focus, he has the ability to win many more coveted trophies, given the enormous talent he possesses.
