Stanislas Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic are setting the mark for new talent in the men’s game; will the rest follow suit or will the top players come back even stronger next year?
January 2014 saw the biggest shock in men’s tennis since the 2009 US Open final when Juan Martin Del-Potro beat Roger Federer for the title; being the first player outside of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray to win a slam title. Wawrinka started the year with an almighty boom, shocking Djokovic and Nadal to take the 2014 Australian Open singles title, 63 62 36 63 in impressive fashion. Stan didn’t stop there, Wawrinka followed up his Aussie victory with a win in Monte Carlo, coming from a set down to beat countryman Roger Federer. Little did The Swiss know his dramatic win would have a ripple effect for the rest of the year, giving belief to those ranked outside the top 5 that they could do the same.
There have been countless shocking upsets this year, the second coming in the French Open, with Erenests Gulbis scoring impressive wins over two top 10 players, Tomas Berdych and former champion Roger Federer. These back to back wins saw Gulbis reach the semi-finals, losing to Novak Djokovic in 4 sets, however his unexpected winning streak in Paris saw him break into the top 10 for the first time.
The next shock of the year came at Wimbledon when young guns Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov took some big scalps, we were also introduced to another rising star, Aussie, Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios caused the first major upset in London by upsetting the in-form French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the 4th round on his Wimbledon debut, and has since gone on to prove he is no one hit wonder, with good wins over the US Hard-court season.
The talented Bulgarian, Girgor Dimitrov was next to strike, taking out the reigning champion Andy Murray in straight sets. This year has seen Dimitrov gain some pretty impressive scalps, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and Feliciano Lopez, whom he beat in the final of Queens. The other young gun causing waves this year is Milos Raonic whom reached the Semi-Final of Wimbledon, losing to Roger Federer. Raonic has been incredibly consistent this year and many believing both Raonic and Dimitrov are destined for great things, with most people suggesting they are both grand-slam winners in waiting.
One man who has been waiting for a break is Croatian Marin Cilic, whom was at the heart of controversy last year when he tested positive for doping, causing the talented youngster to receive a ban from the game September of 2013. 1 year on Cilic; with new coach Goran Ivanisevic by his side, is having the tournament of his life after beating Roger Federer in the Semi-finals, to reach his first ever grand-slam final. Cilic’s previous best result was an Australian Open Semi-final place back in 2010, where he lost to Andy Murray. Cilic has always been one willing to take on anyone of the top 10, and now with Goran by his side, a winning mentality is something the Croatian is looking to maintain throughout the rest of 2014.
Cilic will face dangerman Kei Nishikori who can’t stop setting records in Japanese Tennis; being the first male Japanese player to win a title, and has now made another bit of history by becoming the first male Japanese player to reach a grand slam singles final, with a great chance of becoming the first Japanese grand-slam winner. Kei caused the first upset of semi-finals day when he recorded his second win over world number 1 Novak Djokovic, the first time back in Basel 2011. Nishikori has gone from strength to strength, beating 2 grand-slam champions back to back, beating Wawrinka in the QF’s and Djokovic in the SF’s.
Both Nishikori and Cilic will find themselves in new territory when they take to Arthur Ashe Stadium Monday night for a chance to claim their first grand-slam singes title. It’ll be the first time since the 2008 Australian Open when Novak Djokovic took on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga that 2 players never to have won a grand-slam will contest the men’s singles final. Nishikori will take a big advantage into Monday night’s final with a 5-2 head to head lead in his favour, with his last win over Cilic coming in the QF’s of Barcelona earlier this year. Nishikori has also won their last two hard-court meetings, earlier in the year in Brisbane and in Memphis 2013, however both players are looking in immense form, and will both be fighting for an amazing chance at a grand-slam final worth $3 Million.
With Wawrinka taking the first grand-slam of the year, Rafael Nadal the second and Novak Djokovic the third, it would have been a slim percentage of people who thought either Kei Nishikori or Marin Cilic, respectively, would be contesting the final slam of the year, and with the likes of Raonic, Dimitrov, Gulbis and Kyrgios showing good form, could this be a turning point in men’s tennis? Could the brick wall of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray finally be breaking down, are they finally getting figured out or is the level outside the top 5 just becoming that much higher, one this is known, come Monday night, whoever lifts the US Open trophy will give an even greater belief to the rest of the ATP players out there, and leaves the rest of the year wide open.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at sports injury alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo by Bilgin Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
