Marin Cilic’s US Open Title Sets Blueprint to Win Grand Slams in Post-Big 4 Era

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 9, 2014

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The plethora of tennis players on the ATP World Tour who have found themselves frustrated and despondent in the era of the Big Four should hang their heads no more. 

This week at the U.S. Open, Marin Cilic proved that anything is possible. 

The tall and lanky No. 14 seed steamrolled through his final three matches at this tournament without dropping a set. In the all-underdog final, he dismantled No. 10 Kei Nishikori, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, in less than two hours to win his maiden major.

“Everything I was working for and dreaming came today,” Cilic said, according to Christopher Clarey of The New York Times. “And I feel for all those other players who are working hard, this is a big sign and big hope that if you are working hard things are going to pay off.”



For others wanting to follow in his footsteps, Cilic has created a guide to glory: Thoroughly prepare and believe that your best is good enough when the time comes. There was a time when the Big Four was so dominant that a blueprint like that wasn't enough, but that's not the case anymore.

For Cilic, it was painstakingly simple in the end. An opportunity presented itself, and he seized the moment. Just like that, there's a new Grand Slam champion in men's tennis. 

To be fair, Stan Wawrinka showed the tennis world that the Big Four are human when he won the Australian Open this year, taking out Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and an injured Rafael Nadal in the final. But while once could be a fluke, twice is a pattern.

Cilic's win differs from Wawrinka's, though, because the Swiss star had a slow crescendo in the year prior to his Slam win and was ranked No. 8 when it began. The Croat was ranked No. 14 at the start of this U.S. Open, and though he had two titles this year, they were at much smaller tournaments and his overall results had been a bit erratic.

Chris Chas...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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