With Juan Martin Del Potro's Win, More Players Should Step Up In Grand Slams

It is no secret that since 2004, the vast majority of Grand Slam tournaments have been won by two players: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

It is also no secret that, as the years have progressed since 2004, more and more players have stepped up to beat them both at the smaller tournaments.

But for the most part though, this has not changed the fact that Federer and Nadal have been the vastly dominant Grand Slam winners.

And, the fact also remains that Grand Slams are where tennis matters the most. Far more than the Masters Series tournaments and the Masters Cup.

People make much about Andy Murray's head-to-head winning record against Federer, but Murray lost to Federer when it mattered most—the U.S. Open final.

In addition, opponents have been able to exploit Murray's game this year in the Grand Slams. Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick, and Marin Cilic all found ways to beat Murray in the occasions that mattered most.

If Murray is to win a Grand Slam tournament, he simply cannot have the kind of off-day that he had against Cilic. And if he does, he needs to find a way to win. This is something that Federer and Nadal have done many times, and why they are the champions that they are.

This is even truer with the remaining players in the top 10. They all have the talent to beat the top players, but really need to step up to them in the Slams. To be honest, by stepping up, I don't just mean upsetting the top players in the early rounds of the Slams. I mean winning them.

I hope that Juan Martin Del Potro's U.S. Open victory can send a strong message for the other players.

They can do it!

They have the ability to knock off Federer and Nadal. Not just at the smaller tournaments. Not just at some quarterfinal or semifinal at a Masters Series. That is a very important win, in that it injects confidence. It shows that they can do it.

But, hopefully now, the Federer-Nadal duopoly has a chance of reducing so we can see a greater number of Grand Slam champions going forward.