Tennis things to get excited about in 2014

2014 is 2 days old already and thetennisreview looks at what tennis fans have to get excited about in 2014.

1. How will the legend coaches and their charges work out?
Becker and Djokovic, Edberg and Federer, Ivanisevic and Cilic were the three coach-player combos announced pre-2014. Three very different scenarios but all intriguing.
Ivansivic and Cilic makes the most sense, both being from Croatia and both having the serve as their signature shot. Can Ivanisevic take all the potential Cilic has and produce a Major trophy?
Edberg and Federer, a legend-uber legend combo-is the next most logical one. Edberg was Federer’s childhood idol and Federer began his career with a serve and volley style. If Edberg can encourage him to go back to that style there might be a sweet twilight to Federer’s career.
Then we have Becker and Djokovic, which makes no sense at all if we think about compatibility. The only thing they have in common, and quite the thing it is, is six Majors each. Gamewise, they could not be more different. Becker was a serve and volleyer who played his best tennis on fast courts, Djokovic is an aggressive grinder who has his best results on the medium slow courts in Australia. Perhaps Becker will encourage Djokovic to play more aggressively as he did back in ’11 or he may do some much needed work on Djokovic’s mental strength which has declined since his 3 Major title winning season. Becker though was hardly a mental giant. How this duo pan out could go either way, but whichever way it goes, it is going to be very, very interesting.

2. Faster tennis courts.
Hordes of tennis fans have been lamenting the slowing down of tennis surfaces for a while now and their complaints have finally been listened to. The Australian Open courts will play faster and the tournament will use faster balls. A change met by Nadal with the comment that he thought tournament referee Craig Tiley was his friend. While this move may be too late for serve and volley to make a come back any time soon, seeing players move to the net will at least make for far more entertaining matches in the meanwhile.

3. The return of Sharapova.
Another bout of that shoulder injury has seen Sharapova off court since that defeat to Sloane Stephens in Cincinnati, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it partnership with Connors and her failed attempt to change her name to Sugarpova for the US Open. ’14 has many questions for Maria, chief among them being how she will fare against Serena. 2013 saw another slew of defeats to her nemesis and having achieved pretty much everything there is to achieve in tennis, the Serena question is the one she has not been able to answer since that Melbourne loss in ’05, and threatens, as a talking point, to take center stage over her many accomplishments. Can she get that first victory in nine years? As one of the game’s hardest workers, you can guarantee that the Russian will do everything she can do answer that question with a yes.

4. Can Serena get into the GOAT debate?
With 17 Majors on her tally at the end of ’13, one more and she has the same number as Evert and Navratilova, two women central in the GOAT debate. With Serena at number one, fit and the big threat at every Major, 2014 could be the year she gets into the thick of it, too.

5. The Nadal and Djokovic rivalry.
This one twists and turns and the Australian Open, where they had that epic ’12 final, will hopefully add another exciting chapter to what has become men’s tennis’ biggest rivalry.

6. What will Dimitrov do next?
Ending ’13 with a title in Stockholm, beating world number 3 Ferrer in the final, the next big thing seems to be getting bigger and better. Going into the season ranked 23, Dimitrov’s next breakthrough would be to get into the top 16 and make the fourth round of a Major. With high expectations and all the pressure the tennis world can heap on him, 2014 is a big burden expectation wise for the Bulgarian but one we will think he will have no problems shouldering.

7. Stanislas Wawrinka.
It is always worth getting excited about Stanislas Wawrinka. That backhand was the highlight in some of the best matches in ’13, a season which saw the Swiss move up a gear, making his first Major semi in New York. Could ’14 be the year Stan challenges for a Slam?

8. What next for Del Potro?
’13 brought him a Wimbledon semi and some big victories over Djokovic, Murray and Nadal. Since that ’09 wrist injury, Delpo has been slowly returning to the stature of the ’09 US Open winner he was. Could ’14 be the year he gets himself into the two time Major winner category?