Australian Open 2014: Men’s Tournament Suggests Major Changes Coming for Tennis

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at Internationaled.org

Published: January 28, 2014

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One Grand Slam title does not make an elite tennis player. Just ask Juan Martin del Potro, who has never achieved the same prestige as his men's tennis contemporaries in the the Big Four: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Del Potro won the US Open in 2009 as a sprightly 20-year-old, defeating Federer in his prime. Though he's made it deep into Grand Slam finals since, del Potro still hasn't been considered among that top-notch club of players which has accounted for 34 of the past 36 major titles.

Could Stanislas Wawrinka be the man to shake up the top of tennis' hierarchy after his win in Melbourne at the 2014 Australian Open? There are several signs that point to yes.

Sure, Wawrinka's four-set victory (6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3) in the final featured a second-set back injury from No. 1 Rafael Nadal, but that shouldn't take away any weight from the Swiss' accomplishments the past two weeks.



First of all, Wawrinka downed half of the Big Four en route to winning the title, considering he beat Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

When it comes to the final, Wawrinka looked like a different player against Nadal, who had gone 12-0 in head-to-head matches entering play Sunday, taking each victory in straight sets. Even before Nadal went down with his back injury, Wawrinka looked to be in control of the first set, as noted by tennis great Pete Sampras on BBC Radio.

"He was outplaying Nadal and was up a set and a break when the back issue came up," Sampras told BBC. "This will hopefully be the beginning for Wawrinka. The win over Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals was a big moment. He got through it, he's now a Grand Slam champion and is on his way.

I'm not sure he's quite up there with Nadal or Djokovic yet as they have been winning majors for years, but now he is over the hurdle of winning a Grand Slam, if he keeps it up, he'll be up in that cate...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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