BY HALEY WESTON
Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Williams are all names we associate with the world of professional tennis, but it appears names like Keys, Kyrgios, and Bouchard will replace them in the near future.
For years now, the world of professional tennis has been dominated by a select few players, players polished by experience, mental toughness, and near–perfect fitness levels. On the men’s side, there’s are the “Big Four” — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. Collectively, the big four has accounted for 89% (39 out of 44) of grand slam titles since 2004. (The four biggest, most prestigious annual tournaments in professional tennis are referred to as the “grand slams” — the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.)
Although there is more variety on the women’s side, dominance by a few veterans by the surname Williams is clear. The Williams sisters have accounted for nearly half (42%) of grand slam titles since 1999.
During the last weekend of January, the Australian Open results attested to the dominance of the veteran generation of professional tennis, with Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams winning the Men’s and Women’s 2015 Australian Open Titles, respectively.
However, this year’s Australian Open foreshadowed positive results for the up and coming “young guns” of the tennis world. I think it will only be a matter of time before a new generation takes over.
Perhaps the most talked about young player of the two-week tournament was the 19-year old American, Madison Keys. Like many other young phenoms, Keys decided to forgo college tennis and start the pro circuit at a young age.
Keys had a nervous start to the tournament, but proved her potential in round three when she defeated the fourth seed and former Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova, in straight sets.
The American attributed her win to her coach, a familiar character in the tennis world and former world number one, Lindsay Davenport. Davenport has worked with Keys on making her power shots more consistent and improving her level of fitness.
Keys made it all the way to her first grand slam semifinal at this year’s Australian Open after beating Venus Williams, a former world number one, in the quarterfinals.
In the semis, Keys played a competitive match against the eventual champion, Serena Williams. Keys had moments of absolute brilliance, eventually losing the first set in a tiebreaker. Serena went on to win the next set 6-2 and move onto the final, where she defeated Maria Sharapova, who only managed to win one more game than Keys did.
Keys, at times, looked like a combination of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova — the two most well-known female tennis players. Keys possesses the power and finesse of Williams in addition to the fight and mental capacity of Sharapova. She will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.
On the men’s side of the tournament, another 19 year old made just as much noise as Keys. Nick Kyrgios already had a name for himself coming into the tournament after beating Rafael Nadal in four sets last year at Wimbledon. Additionally, Kyrgios, born and raised in the capital city of Australia, had the entire country behind him.
Kyrgios made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament before falling to Milos Raonic 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Prior to the quarterfinals, Kyrgios stunned Andreas Seppi in a tough, five-set win.
Kyrgios is an entertaining player who feeds off the energy of the crowd. However, the one thing holding Kyrgios back is his mind. The 19 year old struggled to stay positive at times, allowing himself to become erratic and often lose several points in a row.
I believe Kyrgios needs a new coach to help him with the mental side of tennis. He has great athleticism and shot-making ability, but it is necessary to have the whole package to ascend the rankings and compete with the “Big Four” on the ATP tour. Todd Larkham, Kyrgios’ coach, coached him for seven years in the juniors before rejoining the young player last year after his Wimbledon run. Kyrgios needs a new coach to continue pushing forward.
Another youngster, 20-year old Eugenie “Genie” Bouchard, who is now ranked seventh in the world, looks poised to win a grand slam within the next two years. Although this year’s Australian Open wasn’t Bouchard’s best result, she jumped 112 spots in the rankings last year and will be looking to have success of similar gravity this year.
Last year, Bouchard was the most consistent player on the women’s tour, making it to the semifinals of the first two grand slams of the year, the finals of Wimbledon, and the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Bouchard also won her first WTA title last year at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup.
After this year’s Australian Open, it seems like our favorite underdogs are soon to be our favorite champions. It’s only a matter of time. And practice. Lots of practice. Other notable players to keep an eye out for on the pro circuit include Taylor Townsend, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Belinda Bencic, and even Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic, despite having been on tour for a while.