If you believe what Marin Cilic predicted on Saturday, the domination of the big-four of tennis is going on wane.
Cilic stunned everyone by winning the 2014 US Open despite the presence of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. And more surprisingly none of the members of the big-four club were in the final where he beat Kei Nishkori, another unheralded player.
Before Cilic, Stan Wawrinka became the first-time Grand Slam winner earlier in January when he shocked Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final.
“This year Wawrinka opened the small doors for me,” world No. 9 Cilic said here.
“Then you all saw what Kei Nishikori did. likewise, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov played well this season, so we are closing the gap. Next year there will be another new Grand Slam champion for sure.
“This is going to be the new way I think. We are surely going to see more new champions next year,” he added.
Former Wimbledon champ Goran Ivanisevic, who started coaching Cilic only a year ago, is confident that it’s only a start and his ward is here for a lot more.
“He (Cilic) didn’t start the season very well but after that he played better, trying to play the game we spoke a lot about — the aggressive game. So French Open was good, Wimbledon was better and US Open I think he played something out of this world. To win like that is great,” said Ivanisevic.
“Next season Cilic can win more Grand Slams, do even better. We head to Australia next month. I think it should be interesting,” felt Ivanisevic.