Changing of the Guard: The Up-and-Coming Tennis Players in the Men's Game

Since the 2010 U.S. Open, a new batch of tennis players has emerged to prove that there will be new stars to ascend the Top-20-throne in men's tennis. These athletes have extraordinary talent to go along with unique sets of skills that they possess in their arsenals.

Many of these players have made impressive runs already in big tournaments while the others are projected to in the future. They still have many shots, strategies and components of their games that need improvement, but they should all reach the forefront of men's tennis within the next few years.

You may have never heard of some of these tennis players, but by reading this, you will have already known about them by the time they reach stardom years from now.

These are the rising talents in the men's field.

Grigor Dimitrov

The 20-year-old Bulgarian, nicknamed Baby Federer, has a phenomenal one-handed backhand to match his forehand that can be an offensive shot from any part of the court. Like Federer, he hits his forehand cross-court exceptionally well, but he also has the ability to take the ball early and strike it down the line to approach the net with more of an attacking position. He can also hit masterful drop-shots to put his opponents on defense. Even his tweener is a good shot.

As a teenager, he won the junior Wimbledon singles title as well as the junior US Open. He was the No. 1 ranked junior in the world.

He is an all-court player and first stirred up conversation in the news when he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round of Wimbledon in four tight sets with a scoreline of 7–6 (4), 4–6, 4–6, 6–7 (8).

He shows great mental composure throughout his matches, and he seems to play his best when facing highly established players. He is very quick around the court and can hit magical shots out of nowhere. This is due to the loose grip he holds on the racket for his ground strokes.

He is currently ranked a career-high No. 60, but look for him to get to the Top-20 within the next year.

Ruben Bemelmans

I first heard about the Belgian after his 6–7 (4), 5–7, 6–2, 4–6 loss to Lleyton Hewitt in Davis Cup in 2010. He had nothing to lose and played fairly well that day.

Next, I watched his match against Rafael Nadal in the PTT Thailand Open, where he lost 1-6, 4-6. Although the scoreline implies a routine win for Rafa, he was facing a man who, once again, had nothing to lose. Bemelmans, also a lefty, hit the ball much harder and cleaner than a man outside the Top-150 normally does.

Ruben was entered into the 2010 Gerry Weber Open as a lucky loser. In the Halle event, he lost to Phillipp Kohlschreiber 6–7 (2), 7–6 (10), 4–6 in a hard-fought first round match.

In the 2011 Gerry Weber Open, the Belgian made it through qualifying to face No. 1 seed Tomas Berdych. After having three match points, Ruben lost with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-7 (8), 4-6.

His grass-court resume improved when he got to play in the first round of 2011 Wimbledon. This marked the first time he participated in a Grand Slam event's main draw.

Ruben Bemelmans has a beautiful service motion and very compact ground strokes. He often takes his backhand on the rise and hits it flat to allow himself to get back in the point. He also volleys adeptly when he comes in to the net.

Although I have only pointed out the tough losses he has endured, I am sure he will start beating quality players and make it into the Top-50 with time. He is currently ranked No. 147 in the world. 

Ryan Harrison

The 19-year-old American is at a career-high ranking of No. 101, and he should be in the Top 10 in no time. The youngster has already beaten top players such as Ivan Ljubicic, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Milos Raonic (see next slide).

He has given Roger Federer, Robin Soderling and David Ferrer tough times as well.

The teenage sensation has a great forehand that he also uses when running around his backhand. He has one of the best serves in the game already, and his net play is superb, as denoted by the short video clip.

Brad Gilbert predicted Harrison to enter the Top-10 within the next year, along with Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic and Milos Raonic.

Milos Raonic

I personally think that the Canadian, Milos Raonic, possesses the best serve in the world. I understand that Ivo Karlovic, John Isner and Andy Roddick exist, but Raonic has the ability to hit aces when in deep trouble, and he is the only player out of the four that can also play baseline points well.

It is somewhat unusual to call Milos an up-and-comer, considering he has already burst onto the scene with success. But, his high ranking and his establishment as a threat to others are two completely different subjects since he hasn't quite become a giant yet.

He has beaten players such as Michael Llodra, Mikhail Youzhny, Fernando Verdasco, Radek Stepanek and Mardy Fish. He even beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in a doubles match.

He is ranked No. 26 in the world right now, and I think he is going to be the world's next No. 1 player in the future. He has every shot in the books, but his height and size cause his movement to be slightly slow. Still, the height and size allow for him to pack such a big punch on serves and ground strokes.

John McEnroe has called him "the real deal", and he is most certainly part of the new generation of tennis.

Robin Haase

The Dutchman is currently ranked No. 53 in the world. His Grand Slam results are improving as a whole since he is capable on all surfaces.

He has been impressive by beating the likes of people such as Tomas Berdych, Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando Verdasco.

The Dutchman has given the top players a great deal of trouble. Haase played tough matches against Rafael Nadal (as seen above), Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Mardy Fish.

Out of any tennis player this world has to offer, Robin Haase has my absolute favorite service motion. It is very smooth, crisp and demonstrates the perfect weight transfer from the lower and upper body.

Robin also has phenomenal ground strokes and strikes with vigorous power. This happens because he is often the underdog; nevertheless, I suspect he will become a big name quite shortly.

Bernard Tomic

I always save the best for last (not necessarily the player). This is one of my favorite highlights videos because there is no way to describe Tomic's game; you just have to see it to understand it. In this particular match, he played more aggressively throughout than he typically does.

The 18-year-old talent from Australia has endured a wonderful 2011 season. He had big wins over Jeremy Chardy, Feliciano Lopez, Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, Xavier Malisse, and Robin Soderling. After his quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, he rose 87 spots in the rankings to become No. 71.

He still has many areas of his game that need improvement, as reinforced by Patrick Rafter's words. Bernard's variety of speeds, spins, strategies, change-ups and shot selection make him a future Top-10 player. His game will give every top player a hard time; it already did for Rafael Nadal (above) and Novak Djokovic.

Some people also say his movement is a problem, although I find him to be an excellent mover simply because of his court smarts and anticipation.

Who Do You Think Will Be the Next Big Player?

I do apologize for the highlights videos being a little longer than you are probably used to watching. I also apologize for two of the videos praising players that are playing against Rafael Nadal.

What do you think of these players? Post your thoughts below.