Marin Cilic’s US Open Win: Does It Herald the End of Tennis’ Big Four?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 9, 2014

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On Monday, Croatia’s Marin Cilic won his maiden Grand Slam title when he earned a comprehensive, straight-sets victory (6-3, 6-3, 6-3) over Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open final.

Monday’s triumph has yielded the 25-year-old 2,000 ATP Tour ranking points and a $3 million prize pot, bringing him up to ninth in the world.

It is the first time that Cilic has ranked inside the Top 10 since April 2010, and it is not a spot that the Croat has any intention of vacating quickly.

Indeed, Cilic is keen to herald in a new era at the elite level of Grand Slam tennis. He aims to unseat the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that has reigned at the top of tennis for much of the last decade.

Since Marat Safin won the 2005 Australian Open, those four players have won 36 of the subsequent 38 Grand Slams.

Cilic told the ATP Tour website:

A lot of guys are saying that people would like to watch the top four guys extend their streak at the top and extend their run at the Grand Slams, because they attract the most fans and TV viewership… [But] one day they are going to go out and there's going to be a need for [another player]. There’s going to be much bigger competition... The game is definitely going to evolve much more.

There is certainly a feeling of a “wind of change” at the top of the ATP Tour.

After all, Cilic became the second debut Slam champion of the season after Stan Wawrinka beat Nadal in the Australian Open final. And the fact that Cilic’s jump into the world’s Top 10 came at the expense of Murray dropping out of it seemed loaded with symbolism.

Furthermore, as The Guardian’s Kevin Mitchell noted, the Cilic vs. Nishikori match “was the first Slam final in almost 10 years not to feature Federer, Djokovic, Nadal or Murray and the first between two f...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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