A new era in Australian men’s tennis is soon to be upon us–if it’s not already here. At 33 years old, Lleyton Hewitt’s career appears to be coming to a close. Meanwhile, the other end of the career spectrum is ushering in teenagers Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The start of what should be an interesting 2015 for the Australians is already underway. Before the summer Down Under progresses any further (Sydney next week and the Australian Open later this month), it’s time for some predictions.
Top 10 Australian men at the end of 2015:
1. Nick Kyrgios
2. Bernard Tomic
3. Marinko Matosevic
4. Thanasi Kokkinakis
5. John Millman
6. Sam Groth
7. James Duckworth
8. Matthew Ebden
9. Benjamin Mitchell
10. Luke Saville
The wild card in all of this, of course, is Hewitt. If the former world No. 1 stays healthy and finds the drive to play an entire season, he will undoubtedly remain in the top five among Aussies. Nothing is certain for Hewitt, however, beyond the Australian Open and the Davis Cup first round. If Australia loses right away (it is a considerable underdog on the road against the Czech Republic), Hewitt may decide to retire in the early stages of 2015.
Kyrgios, Tomic, Matosevic, and Kokkinakis should be a safe top four. Millman could be next after wrapping up last year with two straight Challenger titles. He also reached the Brisbane second round and pushed Roger Federer to three sets.
Groth, Duckworth, and Ebden have all been around for at least a few seasons and have some experience. Jason Kubler is probably a trendy pick to round out Australian’s top 10, but I’ll go with Benjamin Mitchell and Luke Saville. Saville reached the second round of Wimbledon last summer as a qualifier.
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