Which ATP future stars should we be looking out for in 2015? Wimbledon.com makes some suggestions...
Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios burst into the public consciousness at the All England Club earlier this year when he became the first wild card in a decade to reach the Wimbledon quarter-final. The young Australian came from nine match points down to defeat Richard Gasquet in the second round before posting a stunning four-set defeat of world No.1 Rafael Nadal in the round of 16. He was the first teenager to beat the world’s top-ranked player at a Grand Slam since Nadal himself defeated Roger Federer at Roland Garros in 2005.
But it wasn’t just the result that impressed the watching masses at home, it was the way he went about the victory. With youthful adrenaline coursing through the veins, Kyrgios both pummelled and outwitted the Spaniard in equal measure. At times, he appeared to be channelling the famous Australians that came before him, with 37 aces – the most Nadal has ever faced – reminiscent of the numbers fired down by Mark Philipoussis and demonstrating a fight that the great Lleyton Hewitt would have been proud of.
Kyrgios went on to reach the third round at the US Open with top 50 wins over Mikhail Youzhny and Andreas Seppi, becoming the first teenager to beat seeds at back-to-back Grand Slams since Novak Djokovic in Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2006.
He finished the year as one of two teenagers ranked in the top 100 and when the Australian summer gets under way in January, there will be one name on the locals’ lips.
For many youngsters, consistency of performance is one of the most difficult things to master. Finding a base level from which you can build on is key to moving up the rankings when the climb begins to get steeper and that will be the biggest test for Kyrgios in 2015. We have seen the performances he is capable of, now it’s a matter of remaining injury free and producing it on a weekly basis.
Dominic Thiem
Thiem put himself in prime position for an assault on the 2015 season after a breakthrough year saw him finish as the youngest player in the top 50. The young Austrian excited in his first full season on the ATP World Tour, with his stunning one-handed backhand, exquisite touch and eagerness to learn helping him surge up the rankings to a year-end high No.39.
Five wins over top 25 opponents - including a memorable victory over world No.3 Stan Wawrinka in Madrid, a maiden final appearance on home soil in Kitzbuhel and a round of 16 showing at the US Open were the highlights, but equally impressive was the manner in which he worked his way onto the ATP World Tour. The 21-year-old came through qualifying a tour-high seven times in 2014, proving that he is equally willing to grind out results in the shadows of the main show courts than he is on them.
While his peers headed into the off-season sunset for some well-earned rest after a gruelling 12 months, Thiem swapped his tennis kit for a Khaki green military uniform after being called for National Service. He began his basic training with the Austrian Armed Forces just two days after his season finished in Paris, but it didn’t curtail his off-season with the prodigy then travelling to Tenerife for a four-week training block with another of Gunter Bresnik’s standout players, Ernests Gulbis.
Thiem said he’s afraid of waking up from the “beautiful dream” that was the 2014 season, but if his current progression is anything to go by the dream looks set to continue into 2015 and beyond.
Borna Coric
Coric pipped Kyrgios to the ATP Star of Tomorrow award, given to the youngest player ranked in the top 100, after a late-season surge up the rankings.
The Croat, who recently turned 18, capped off a remarkable season in which he climbed 276 ranking places by reaching the semi-final in Basel with wins over world No.13 Ernests Gulbis and his idol Rafael Nadal. Afterwards, he broke into the top 100 for the first time, becoming the first 17 year old to do so since Nadal and Richard Gasquet in 2004.
If Grigor Dimitrov is “Baby Fed” then Coric is a potential “Baby Djokovic”. The 2013 US Open junior champion, who has drawn comparisons with the two-time Wimbledon champion, has moulded himself into a potential star in recent years. His first tour-level win, a five-set victory over Jerzy Janowicz in Davis Cup, offers an indication of both the mental and physical talents he possesses.
Croatia has produced a steady stream of talented players and Coric is just as an exciting prospect as those who went before him. He was just five when Goran Ivanisevic clinched his first and only Wimbledon title, and the youngster grew up idolising his compatriot. Fourteen years on from Ivanisevic’s crowning glory, Coric has the attributes to follow in the footsteps of him and another Grand Slam winning Croat, Marin Cilic. In an interview with Wimbledon.com earlier this year, Coric spoke of the admiration he has for the duo, who have often been on hand to impart their wisdom.
Coric is an ambitious youngster. His goal? To be No.1. Expect him to make further strides in 2015.
Agree? Disagree? Who did we miss? Let us know in the comments below...
