Next surprise winner of a men's tennis major?

[asbo]

After the season Djokovic has just enjoyed it seems there's no end in sight to his domination of the men's game, and there's even been speculation about his potential to challenge Federer's record haul of 17 grand slam titles.

Things rarely stay the same for long however, it was less than two years between Federer's first major, and the beginning of his period of domination, when Nadal claimed his first French Open. And at the end of 2010, for all the potential of Djokovic and Murray, it looked like Federer and Nadal were set to dominate before Djokovic cleaned up in 2011 and won four of the next five majors.

So what will be the next change in the narrative of the men's game? Assuming Federer, Murray and Wawrinka are going to be threats going into each major, I guess one of them winning a slam in isolation wouldn't be a major shock, barring perhaps a Murray or Federer win at Roland Garros. But a period of domination for either of them would certainly be an upset. Maybe Nadal winning a title anywhere but Roland Garros.

Or will we see someone winning their first major? Nishikori and Raonic in particular have been making steady improvements to their games, could 2016 be a breakout year for them, or even Dimitrov?

Maybe Berdych or Tsonga could enjoy a Wawrinka style renaissance late in their career, or Cilic could prove his US Open win was no flash in the pan, or Del Potro could come back with a bang.

Or maybe Novak will continue to dominate for a couple more years until someone like Coric or Kyrgios establish themselves at the top of the game.

So who do you think it will be and when will it be?

[overseasTOON]

Now that Grigor can finally concentrate on his tennis rather than banging Maria; he's the next best placed in my opinion to make the step up.

[Jaiston]

Really haven't a clue.

The obvious:

Federer - Will have a chance, he can still breeze through most players in the world right now.
Wawrinka - When he's on his game, he's brilliant as shown in the French.
Nadal - Has no chance, he's done.
Murray - His mental side of the game is as about as good as a wet paper bag.

I really cannot see any of the others coming close.

I don't think any of them are going to take out Djokovic from the #1 spot either for a couple of years (barring injury).

[Mifune]

I want to see what Del Potro can do in an injury free season. Sadly I don't think that is going to happen . Coric seems like he might have something but it's too soon to tell at the moment. Nishikori was unlucky with his injury at the US Open, otherwise he could of gone far. Reckon he could get his first GS next season. Would not be surprised if Nadal adds to his slam tally next season, I'm not sure if that really counts as a surprise but I guess after this season you could count it as one. Wawrinka on form is probably the best player in the world at the moment so if he can stay on form more then he could win another grand slam.

[ALF]

Federer to win the Australian Open. Nadal won't get near another slam unless he changes his game.

[Wedge Head Tiote]

Wouldn't say Nadal is done just yet. Look what Federer's done after 2013. He definitely needs to change his game and be a bit more aggressive, probably add a bit more on his serve as well.

If someone's going to win a major the chances are they'll have to go through Djokovic. That probably limits it to Wawrinka, Federer, Murray, Nadal and Nishikori with the potential for Raonic to be there if he continues to improve his groundstrokes and movement.

Unfortunately I reckon Del Potro's been out for too long to come straight back and win a major but, much like Wawrinka, on his day he's got the firepower to hit through anyone.

[asbo]

I definitely agree it's too early to rule Nadal out, particularly in light of what Federer's done, he was embarrassing himself at the end of 2013 and I was really hoping he'd retire.

To be honest I think Murray has to change his game, his best surface is grass and I think he needs to tailor his game towards that, a lot more approach play, shortening the points. He's getting to an age now where he can't keep scrambling around the baseline for five sets. He has all the tools it's just a case of changing his mindset and shot selection, and I think a more aggressive style of play would be a huge benefit to him on hard courts too. I think the same applies to Djokovic, if he wants to be the best player in the world in three years time he needs to do the same thing, but there'll be a reluctance to change things while it's still working for him.

I think Nishikori's the most likely, and I think he'll start to regularly compete for Masters next year. He'll be 26 next year though so if he's going to win a major it has to be soon. He's definitely got the game to win a major though, his run to the US Open final last year was remarkable, Raonic in five,Wawrinka in five, Djokovic in four, the final was just a step too far, but the calibre of players he beat and the manner of his victories deserved a slam; he was the best player at the tournament last year.

Yeah I think JMDP is finished. The time he's spent away from the game, not being able to train not being able to play, even if he could get fit (which is a huge if) he's going to have to rebuild his game again from scratch.

[Wedge Head Tiote]

Murray's a confusing one. It's clear on the rare occasion that he finds himself at the net that he is very good there but he's too content just to sit back and out rally the opponent. That will work against most players but it's pretty much the same gameplan as Djokovic just not as well executed. He doesn't seem to be able to change his game a huge amount when it's not working out for him. Also unlike Djokovic he hasn't been able to work out how to beat Federer recently, leaving him with 2 players he must avoid to win a major. That's very unlikely to happen. Finally I think he should do a lot of work on his serve, just look at how much Djokovic's serve has improved in the last couple of years and the increase in free points.

In regards to Djokovic changing his game I'm not sure it will work out for him. He's not very good at the net and always looks nervy on the smashes. Changing his game now would increase the likelihood of winning slams as he gets older but it's not guaranteed that he'll win slams playing more aggressively in two years time. However it's pretty much guaranteed that he will win a lot of slams over the next 2 years.

I just don't understand why Del Potro didn't learn a single-handed backhand seeing as it's his left wrist which is injured. Look at Feliciano Lopez, he rarely ever hits topspin backhands and is a steady top 20 player. Del Potro's forehand is much better than Lopez's and the serves are comparable, he could feasibly be a top 10 player without the two-hander.

[asbo]

I just don't understand why Del Potro didn't learn a single-handed backhand seeing as it's his left wrist which is injured. Look at Feliciano Lopez, he rarely ever hits topspin backhands and is a steady top 20 player. Del Potro's forehand is much better than Lopez's and the serves are comparable, he could feasibly be a top 10 player without the two-hander.

I don't think the comparison with Lopez is really valid (one's a serve-volleyer the other's a baseliner) but that's a great point about him going single handed. Even if he'd spent a couple of years languishing at no.100 it's better than playing no tennis and he still has the weapons to be a threat even if he had an obvious weakness and his backhand would've gotten better and better over time. It's not like Robson who's injured her dominant wrist, he could've changed.

[Mifune]

Murray would win much more if he had a better mentality. Changing that would bring more benefits than changing any other aspects of his game or approach.

[asbo]

Murray would win much more if he had a better mentality. Changing that would bring more benefits than changing any other aspects of his game or approach.

In the past I'd agree, going forward though he has to change his style to have any longevity. I also think the two things are interlinked, his mentality is better when he's aggressive/he's more aggressive when he's in the right frame of mind. Adopting a more attacking style of play would help him mentally I think.

[Southern fairy]

Who voted Kyrgios?

The t*** shouldn't even be in the poll.