Since Stan Wawrinka won the French Open on Sunday, a new question has emerged. Has the Big Four become the Big Five? Currently it is too early to tell, as the Big 4 have had a hold on the top of the rankings for the last few years, with the occasional drop down the rankings usually as the result of an injury (Federer 2013, Murray 2014, Nadal 2015). However, they have still been consistent in their results, reaching tournament later rounds including finals, semifinals and quarterfinals. Even when they have been injured the Big 4 have still been referred to as that. Take, for example, last year when Andy Murray dropped down the rankings to 12th for a short period before dragging himself back to 6th as the year ended. Murray started the year with a mission and within weeks was back in the top 4, and over took Nadal to be #3. Nadal has currently dropped to number 10, but he also has had surgery (just like Murray at the end of last year) which is affecting his confidence, something that was again seen in Murray last year. Nadal will just need a few good wins to regain his confidence and his ranking will put him back amongst the top 4.
So, does Wawrinka’s win on Sunday entitle him to join the them and make it a Big Five? It is difficult to say–he has won 2 slams, 1 Masters event, and a few other titles but, to date, has not been consistent with his results. For example, after the Australian Open win in 2014 Wawrinka seemed to suffer a post first Slam win slump, and was dumped out early of the following tournaments, he did not seem to be able to put a run together. The same could be said of Marin Cilic (US Open 2014 winner), who has not really put a consistent run together since his maiden Slam. If Wawrinka can keep a consistent run of performances then he could legitimately become a contender and the question of “has the Big Four become the Big Five” could be considered. As we are approaching the grass court season, this is the time for Wawrinka to show if he can put a consistent run of results together as grass is considered to be the weakest surface of the Swiss player. We can only wait and see if the Big Four can become the Big Five or more and if that change in era means men’s tennis is changing the guard.
This discussion has also been raised on social media with the differing viewpoints putting across their arguments, although most seem to agree that it is a little early to know for certain if the Big Four has become the Big Five.
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