The New Generation

There's a lot of talk lately about the new generation of tennis stars. The big 4 have now been around a while, and even though they're not finished yet, a new line of potential stars are emerging. The likes of Dimitrov, Raonic and Dolgopolov have come onto the scene the past year or two and are giving us a LOT of entertainment.

This year's Wimbledon semi finals were Djokovic v Dimitrov and Federer v Raonic. 

The big guys came through and reached the final, but it wasn't without a struggle, especially when envolving Dimitrov. 

I have been incredibly impressed with Grigor Dimitrov. A 23 year old youngster from Bulgaria, challenging Novak Djokovic, the number 1 seed, at his first grand slam semi final. Pretty impressive. Dimitrov only got 1 set off Djokovic, but a 4th set tiebreak saw him come very close to taking another. Some impressive serves and backhand slices were whipped around the court, but Djokovic handled them well, as per usual. A shocking couple of service games told us more about Dimi's inexperience. One game featured 3 double faults IN A ROW. At the moment the difference between the top guys and the challengers is that, the likes of Nadal and Djokovic make mistakes occasionally, not all in one go. 

Dimitrov has a lot to learn, but he defiantly has incredible potential. A future number 1 for sure.

Milos Raonic has been a feature of the ATP tour for a while now, making his first grand slam semi final today against Federer. In true Roger style however, he crafted up a win in straight sets. 

Nick Kyrgios has impressed at this Wimbledon too. He beat Nadal in round 4 in 4 sets and Richard Gasquet. His HUGE serve is his biggest weapon, but perhaps his only weapon. If it was taken away I wonder how those matches would have turned out?

Alexandr Dolgopolov has had some notable matches recently too. He beat Nadal in Indian Wells 2014. With his quick and agile footwork, he can defiantly produce some pretty amazing shots. One to watch.

Ernests Gulbis, number 10 seed emerging onto the scene. He beat Roger Federer in a thrilling French Open match this year, storming up the rankings. 

On the women's side, Eugenie Bouchard has seriously impressed me this year. She's reached semi finals in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Yesterday, she set up a 2014 Wimbledon Final with Petra Kvitova. Genie is only 20 years old, and is a new, impressive, fresh faced star of the future, already at a ranking of 13. 

Another WTA that has made a big impact is Simona Halep. Only 22 years old and already number 3 in the rankings. She made it to the Roland Garros final this year, to be runner up to Sharapova. 

The new era of tennis is certainly very exciting, and I can't wait to see how the next few years turn out. However, not so fast kids. Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray are not finished yet. With a total of 39 grand slam titles between them, there's no denying the current generation of tennis is one of the best ever. 

Let's see how the next few years pan out, i'm excited.

Grace.