Can't look beyond the big three

As long as Novak Djokovic is at his best, Roger Federer still around and Andy Murray hungry for success, it's impossible to see a new Grand Slam champion or young guns making a breakthrough in major events.

With the Australian Open kicking off tomorrow, it won't be hard to say that the above three will last the fortnight as heavy favourites to face off each other in the men's singles final. Last year's finalist Rafael Nadal should have made it four but the Spaniard is still recovering from a knee injury that has kept him on the sideline for several months.

Who, out of all the youngstars, has the best chance of becoming the next best thing on the ATP Tour? Actually, three young stars have been considered, for quite sometime, as the future of the men's tennis. They are Bulgaria's most successful player ever, Grigor Dimitrov, Australia's Bernard Tomic and Canadian big-server Milos Raonic.

Of the three, Dimitrov had captured the attention first when he won the 2008 junior Wimbledon and US Open championships. He resembled more like Federer when he served and hits single-handed backhand shots.

Dimitrov, who won back-to-back Challenger trophies in Bangkok in 2012, however, did not quite live up to the expectations when it came to the bigger stage. He never moved beyond the second round of a Grand Slam event, and until last week in Brisbane, had not reached an ATP final, something he should have achieved a bit earlier.

For the past few years, Dimitrov has worked with different coaches Peter Ludgren, Peter McNamara and Patrick Mouratoglou. Recently he left the Mouratoglou Academy and got under the supervision of a new coaching team that has Magnus Norman in it. Things appeared to click between the Bulgarian and his new camp when he made it to his first ATP final in Brisbane. But I really doubt whether the coaching change has helped the youngstar, technically speaking.

Dimtrov still has not fixed his backhand, approach to the ball, fitness and most important of all his mental toughness. The past fiascos continue unabated. He squandered several chances in the final against Andy Murray and even worse lost miserably in the first round the following week in Sydney to Fabio Fognini without even trying. Instead of looking for new coaches to help, he has to get over his psychological problems and put his focus on the game. The towering Raonic was the most successful among the three youngsters last year, winning three ATP titles and finishing at No 13. Meanwhile, Dimitrov and Tomic have yet to capture a title. The Yugoslav-born Raonic has this huge weapon, rocket serves, and takes full advantage of his height at 1.96 metres.

However, his movements on court and loose baseline game are his weak points and disappointingly his team didn't seem to work on that during the off season. Raonic has been playing below par since the end of last year and lost all four matches this year, the second round in Brisbane to Dimitrov and three others in the Kooyong Classic.

What's wrong with this talented kid?

However, there is still some hope for Tomic. After quickly breaking into the top 30 in June last year, the 20-year-old slumped to 64 due to poor results late last year. His off-court behaviour, not cooperating with traffic police and a brawl in a club, led Aussie officials to ban him from Davis Cup. Despite his "bad boy" image, anyone one who has seen the young Aussie play recently would agree that he is the real hope of men's tennis. He has yet to lose a match since the start of 2013, winning all three Hopman Cup singles matches including the biggest upset win of his career over Novak Djokovic. His winning streak surged to 8-0 after claiming his first title in Sydney yesterday.

Of the three young guns, I put my money on Tomic. I have the feeling that he will reach the pinnacle of glory due to his all round game and the ability to hit difficult shots at crucial stage. Tomic is well-built, quick on court and is mentally tough. Should he take control of his off-tennis life, this young man would make his country proud sooner than later.

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