What we learned
Is the era of the 'Big Four' over? How many years does Serena have left? We attempt to answer the pertinent US Open questions
Thursday 11 September 2014 19:31, UK
Has the dam finally broken? Many are predicting that in future years we will look back on Marin Cilic’s victory in the US Open as the moment that heralded a new influx of stars to the top table of men’s tennis.
Cilic beat Kei Nishikori in the first final in over nine years which did not feature a member of the ‘Big Four’, a landmark result in many ways.
The women’s game has welcomed plenty of new faces to the grand slam elite this year but at Flushing Meadows it was the the tried and tested Serena Williams who took her third straight title.
So exactly what has fortnight of twists, turns and upsets in New York taught us about the current tennis landscape? We attempt to pick the bones out of it…
‘New generation’ is finally here
‘What we learned’ argued after the Australian Open that Stanislas Wawrinka’s victory in Melbourne did not necessarily herald the end of the ‘Big Four’s’ total dominance of the men’s game. But now, alas, this column has to admit its mistake and yield to the overwhelming evidence after an extraordinary final weekend at Flushing Meadows. Novak Djokovic looked in fearsome form until being comprehensively out-hustled by Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals, while Roger Federer was played off the court by Marin Cilic at the same stage.
Although members of the ‘Big Four’ - former monopolisers of grand slam titles - have been beaten by players outside their cadre at the major tournaments before, there has not been such a significant pair of defeats since the term came into tennis parlance. This year’s US Open final was the first grand slam title match in almost 10 years not to have Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray playing in it. When one has faltered another picked up the slack. Until now.
There have been other signs too. This year also produced the first two ATP finals between players born in the 1990s, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov continue to rise in the rankings while teenaged Nick Krygios made a mockery of Nadal’s vaunted defences at Wimbledon. Djokovic and Nadal are still setting the benchmark but for the first time there is a host of players who have both the talent and mentality to challenge them consistently.
Serena still dominant when on form
A changing of the women’s guard has also been talked about this year. Serena Williams had failed to even reach a grand slam quarter-final before the US Open, Maria Sharapova had struggled with inconsistency and Victoria Azarenka saw her ranking plummet due to injury problems. If Williams faltered again at Flushing Meadows - her happiest hunting ground in recent years - serious questions would have been raised about her tenure at the summit of the game. The 32-year-old responded with one of the most dominant grand slam campaigns of all time.
Not only did Williams not drop a set throughout the tournament, none of her opponents managed to take more than six games off her in any of her seven matches, which she breezed through in a total of 7 hours 49 minutes. The American’s groundstrokes were simply unstoppable and you would need a heart of stone not to feel sorry for Caroline Wozniacki as she hopelessly chased them around Arthur Ashe Stadium in a one-sided final.
Williams now stands level with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on 18 grand slam titles and Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of
