Young guns are watching close ely for their chance to stake claim to the throne
Who are the next generation of stars to replace the four titans of the court: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic?
There is a handful of players who seem ready to take the next step.
There are cracks showing among those top four and the youngsters are breathing down their necks, ready to take over their roost.
When Swiss star Stan Wawrinka, 29, won the Australian Open in January, the new breed started to take notice that long shots could come through at any moment.
Wawrinka, who has begun his ninth season on the ATP World Tour, is no freshfaced player, but his victory fed into the imaginations of the young heirs apparent.
The lower-ranked players, those in the top 10 and even top 20, sense the Big Four are getting older and there is a small window of opportunity to stake their claims.
There is already a handful of names kicking around as their successors and one of them, of course, is Canada’s Milos Raonic.
Outside of John Isner, who is the only American ranked in the top 50 in the world, most of the new hopefuls come from outside North America, but this is just part of the global nature of the sport.
Raonic is the highest-ranked player in North America, which is still awaiting an American hopeful who can follow in the footsteps of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
Ranked No. 7 in the worldm Raonic is riding his booming serve and improving all round game to success on the ATP World Tour.
Another name that is pushing for includ-
sion in the elite group is Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria. The 23-year-old, who turned pro in 2008, says his ambition is to be No. 1 in the world.
Growing up, he admired the play of Sampras. Dimitrov announced his status to the world at Wimbledon this summer when he thrashed Andy Murray, the defending champion, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2, in the quarterfinals.
The Wimbledon success did not come unannounced, however.
He had reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.
At 6-foot-3, Dimitrov is an all-court player who can hug the baseline and trade groundstrokes, or come to the net and volley. His best shot may be his one-handed backhand down the line.
Another rising star who has served notice he could challenge for the No. 1 position someday is 19-year-old Australian Nick Kyrgios. His four-set defeat of two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at Wimbledon announced to the world that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
In beating Nadal, the Aussie became the first teenager to defeat a No. 1 player at a Grand Slam since 2005.
A Polish sensation, 6-foot-8 Jerzy Janowicz is an up-and-coming star who had a marvellous run to the 2012 Paris Masters final, during which he defeated five top-20 players, including Murray.
However, his performance has been rather erratic since then.
Aplayer who uses speed rather than power to get around the court is Kei Nishikori, who comes into the Rogers Cupwith much promise. Raonic knocked Nishikori out of Wimbledon this summer in the fourth round.
Nishikori, born in Japan in 1989, is the biggest Asian hope since Michael Chang. Nishikori was sent to Florida at age 14 to train full time.
Nishikori made a huge impact on the circuit at the 2008 U.S. Open in New York when, at only 18, he made the round of 16, which included a win over No. 4 seed David Ferrer.
All these players have shown flashes of brilliance, but to get to the next level they have to prove they can produce great tennis on a consistent basis. And that’s easier said than done.