Wimbledon: Six players who can end the dominance of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray at SW19

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have won the last 14 Wimbledon’s between them.

The quartet are viewed as the top four favourites once more at SW19, but who on the ATP Tour can slay these giants of tennis?

We look at the cases for and against six such players…

On his day, Kyrgios is not only brilliant to watch, but devastating. The Australian has shots in the locker that no other player possesses, and one whip of the forehand can see him put a point to bed. The 22-year-old has experienced victory over the bigger names, and two victories over Djokovic this year shows he can handle what the very best have to offer.

Kyrgios’ fiery temperament on court is well documented, and questions remain whether he can hold it together for a two-week Grand Slam tournament. However, the greater issue this time would be the hip injury which has hampered him throughout 2017. A first-round withdrawal at Queen’s was not an ideal way to start the grass-court season, but a 6-4 6-4 win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber in midweek went someway to prove his fitness ahead of Wimbledon.

Last year’s losing finalist, Raonic has gone further at Wimbledon than any other Grand Slam. The 26-year-old possesses a serve capable of wrapping up games within the minute, and victory over Federer’s in the 2016 semi-final will help the Canadian realise he can be a threat once more at the All England Club.

Raonic is at a crossroads in his career it seems. The constant chopping and changing of coaches signifies a man uncertain of what (or who) is needed to take his game to the next level. That next level is the all-important one, for it brings with it Grand Slam trophies, but a straight-sets defeat to Murray in last year’s final has been followed lacklustre displays in the majors ever since.

The youngest player in the top 20 is viewed as a future No 1 by many. The German possesses a strong serve, while he can hold his own on the baseline too. Victory over Djokovic in Rome alerted those still unaware of his talents that he can be a force to be reckoned with. The Next Gen are coming, and Zverev is carrying the torch.

Zverev’s most recent loss came at the Halle final to Federer. The Swiss’ 6-1 6-3 victory showed Zverev still has some way to go if he wants to achieve No 1 status. Perhaps more alarming was the semi-final defeat to Gilles Muller in Netherlands the week previous. These are the names you have to beat, and it’s something he will have to correct quickly if he wants to stand any chance of winning at Wimbledon.

The Croatian may have lost to Queen’s final to Feliciano Lopez, but he dropped his serve once all tournament – Lopez was unable to break him in the final – and it clearly takes something special to win a set against him. Of course, there are players capable of doing so – Djokovic and Murray are among the best returners the game has ever seen – but Cilic’s 2014 US Open victory was evidence that sometimes there can be no answer to a consistent big-server.

As mentioned, there are players on the Tour who have made a habit of quelling the impact of a big serve. The question for Cilic therefore comes from shot three of the rally onwards, and also how capable he is of breaking the opponent’s serve. Three quarter-final finishes at Wimbledon in a row suggests he’s knocking on the door, but you would expect one of the ‘veterans’ to have the tactical nous to beat him on grass.

The Swiss world No 3 is a three-time Grand Slam champion, who has tasted glory in Melbourne, New York and Paris at the expense of tennis’ household names. The 32-year-old’s devastating backhand is the best in the business, and GS final victories over Djokovic (twice) and Nadal proves that Stan is no walkover.

He’s not the best on grass… His best results at Wimbledon came in 2014 and 2015, where he enjoyed a run to the quarters. Grass does not suit Stan’s game, and a first round exit to eventual champion Lopez at Queen’s proves that Wawrinka is more than an outsider for victory at SW19.

The Bulgarian is finally moving back in the right direction. Having slipped back down the rankings in the past couple of years, Dimitrov heads to Wimbledon as world No 11, and his run to the semi-final of Queen’s gave us a glimpse of why he is surely a contender at the All England Club. He last reached the semis at Wimbledon in 2014, and a sharper and focused Dimitrov now looks capable of going one step further.

Dimitrov was the pretender to the throne a few years ago, but failed to live up to the hype and expectation. His Grand Slam tournament timeline makes for frustrating reading, and the lack of final experience could cost the 26-year-old should he make it deep into the second week.