Dimitrov and Raonic will be a big threat to the Fab Four

 

It was something peculiar, but not a big surprise, to have these two young guns in the last four of a Major mainly dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Since 2005, most Major titles were won by the big four and only three men denied them a complete whitewash – Marat Safin in the 2005 Australian Open, Juan Martin del Porto in the 2009 and Stan Wawrinka this year at the Australian Open.

With Safin already retired, del Porto battling with injuries and Wawrinka coming up with a flash in the pan performance, there were no perceived or imagined threats to the big four, leaving the question of when the next best thing would appear to stop their monopoly open.

Not until this year that Raonic and Dimitrov, both already in the top 10, have shown any signs of taking the centre stage.

Reaching the career highest rank of six earlier this month, Raonic showed significant improvement in Grand Slams, reaching the third round of the Australian Open (losing to Dimitrov due to an ankle injury), the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and semi-finals at the All England. Gurus and pundits share the same view that the Canadian, the last Thailand Open champion, is the best server in the game. He is No 1 on the ATP First Serve Points Won statistics chart, winning 2,355 out of 2,879 first serves or 82 per cent from 60 matches. He benefits the most from his 195 cm height, releasing the ball at more than 200m/h speed, even on second serves, which is a key element to his rapid rise.

However, big serves alone are not enough to defeat the more experienced marquee players. Although “Missile Milos” has been solid in his court coverage, he is weak on the backhand side. Being tall and big is good for huge serves but not movement around the court. He will always be a step or two behind top players and consequently surrenders tamely in rallies. The way he was outplayed by Djokovic in Paris and Federer at the All England was a proof of his on court lethargy.

Dimitrov, on the other hand, is one of the fastest in the game at the moment. Three titles on three different surfaces, hard court in Acapulco, clay court in Bucharest and grass at Queen’s Club explains how talented this young Bulgarian is. He showed it when he won two straight Challengers in Bangkok four years ago but it took him a while to settle down on the ATP circuit and live up to his potential in Grand Slams.

From winning just a match or two, the world No 9 had a Major breakthrough this year by reaching the quarter-final in Melbourne and though he had a humiliating first-round exit at the French, he bounced back strongly to make the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

With lightening serves, fierce forehand and impressive shot reading, Dimitrov has all the elements of a Grand Slam contender. It was just the case of a little bit of this and that (I mean some bad decision-making) which deserted him at crucial stages when he lost to Nadal and Djokovic in the two Majors this year. Soon, the two young fellows will overcome the barriers that stand their way. Experience and a little bit of time will make them stronger, particularly on the mental side. Their time may not come at the US Open, but keep your eyes peeled on these two next year.