It’s been a long time since Australia last had a male grand slam champion. It has been 13 years in fact since Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002.
Since then, there have been three male Australian grand slam finalists, three more semi finalists and nine more quarter finalists.
Hardly figures to be proud of for Australia, a country that prides itself on its sporting achievements and dedication.
Australia has over the past century excelled at many international sports. Tennis is no exception. Since the turn of the 20th century, Australia has produced 73 male grand slam wins from 16 different athletes.
The golden period of this was the 26 years between 1950 and 1976. Male Australian athletes won 62 out of the possible 104 grand slams held in that period. That accounts to 60 per cent of all slams in that time being conquered by an Aussie.
Since 1981 though there has only been five male winners out of 153 grand slams. That accounts to a meagre 3 per cent of all slams.
Most of those five trophies came in the most recent period of Australian tennis success in the late 1990s to early 2000s, when the likes of Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis were in their prime.
These dismal figures although will not last much longer if the current group of talented individuals from our shores lives up to the high expectations set for them.
The average age of Australia’s current top ten male tennis players is a little under 24, with some of the most promising talent still in their late teens or early twenties.
The central figures who I am talking about are of course the ever more popular Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis as well as Bernard Tomic.
Nick Kyrgios has seemed to bring new life to the game of tennis in Australia after his recent quarter-final appearances in the Australian open and most Wimbledon.
His abrasive and exuberant appearance – his earring, slimline Mohawk, eyebrow slits, gold chain – combined with his youthful attitude have led many people to point fingers and moan about the young star, calling him as a “show pony”.
He is considered to be the cream of the crop of Australia’s next generation.
Becoming the first player since Roger Federer, arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, to reach two quarter-final appearances by the age of nineteen is no small feat.
Thanasi Kokkinakis is the other bright youngster who has recently entered the realm of professional tennis.
After achieving runner-up in two junior grand slam titles and conjuring up strong showings in successive Australian Opens, there is plenty of expectation surrounding Kokkinakis.
Is Australian male tennis entering a new golden era? With the amount of talent at hand, it is only a matter of time before our next grand slam champion appears.
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Liam Rickard
Roar Rookie
Yes, I agree exactly.
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Roar Guru
I hold high hopes for the two Special K's (Kyrgios and Kokkinakis) in the years to come. Nick has taken the tennis world by storm ever since upending Rafa at Wimbledon and reaching the quarter-finals there last year and he proved at this year's Australian Open that it was no fluke, also reaching the quarters here. He will be 20 in April and should be keep up his good results, there's every chance he'll be seeded for Roland Garros and Wimbledon in May/June and June/July respectively. As for Thanasi - I was impressed by the maturity he showed in defeating 11th seed Ernests Gulbis in round one - disappointing though that he couldn't go on further though it was a case of friendly fire when he lost to Sam Groth in round two. He'll eventually have his time in the sun and will rise up the rankings, thus gaining direct entry into the major tournaments. Other than those two, I also think that Bernard Tomic is starting to realise his potential, and is now back in the top 50. If he continues to work hard and produce good results then he'll continue to win back Australia's respect (not forgetting how they reacted to his first-round retirement against Rafa at the Australian Open last year). Winning in Bogota last year must have boosted his confidence by a long way.
Liam Rickard
Roar Rookie
Yes, I agree with the point you made at the end, They are still not fully proven yet,I was just conveying that this current group has looked the most promising in a fair while. Although that period of domination during the 60's, 70's did not consist of one person but many; Ken Rosewell, Frank Sedgam, Lew Hoad, Ashley Cooper, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Neale Fraser and John Newcombe to name a few. The current Australian generation is looking similar and has got more than one standout individual as well. Also since 2003, Kyrgios has made two quarterfinals as well as tomics one to go with hewitt and Phillippoussis.
Winston
Guest
Sorry I don't like this. The stat about how many wins before and how many wins after is skewed. All you need is 1 Federer and Switzerland can say they've won 98% of grandslams during a 5 year period. That doesn't necessarily mean Switzerland is a great "tennis nation", it just means they had a single genius of a player. Then to say since 2002 we've had 3 finalists, 3 semi-finalists and 9 quarters is also skewed - it's all just Hewitt (plus Phillippoussis in 2003)! Comparing generations is also hard. I don't think there were as many countries spending money on grassroots tennis in yesteryear. Right now we've got a few youngsters who look like they've got potential, no runs on the board yet, I think it would be hard to form any generational opinion yet.
Liam Rickard
Roar Rookie
Thanks Lano, glad you liked it.
Lano
Roar Guru
Nice read Liam, well done. I think the Editor should've put a question mark in the title of your article. As you suggest, whether this is the dawn of a golden age is yet to be seen. We have been disappointed before when we held a lot of hope for Tomic, for example. But Kyrgios was uber-impressive - let's hope he has the right mentoring and matures as a player and a person.