Andy Murray rises to Number 4, Big Four restored

In the latest rankings to be published after the conclusion of the Australian Open, the Big Four have returned to the top four spots for the first time in a over a year. At one point there were serious questions emerging as to whether the dominance of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray had been broken, but it seems we may we waiting a while longer for their resistance to break permanently.

Raonic seems to be a player whose game and style will enable him to consistently pick up rankings points

Murray rose two places up to fourth in the rankings after an impressive run to the final in Melbourne where he ultimately came unstuck against perennial Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. It brings to an end a difficult period for Murray, where much of 2014 was seen as a transitional year on his return from back surgery.

Rank	Name	Points
1	Djokovic, Novak (SRB)	13,045
2	Federer, Roger (SUI)	9,205
3	Nadal, Rafael (ESP)	5,745
4	Murray, Andy (GBR)	5,460

There were certainly glimpses of form from the Brit that helped him to win two majors along with an Olympic gold medal. He seems to have rediscovered his fighting qualities, although admittedly his mental fortitude did desert him in the latter stages of the final in Melbourne, where he has since admitted to being “distracted” by Djokovic’s ailments at the other end of the court.

2015 looks set to be another year on tour where the chasing pack continue to find ways to bridge the gap between themselves and the big four. Looking at the rankings would suggest that both Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori are the two men closest to breaking through into the upper echelons of the game, but the trials and tribulations of Stan Wawrinka have shown how difficult it is to remain inside the top four.

Rank	Name	Points
5	Nishikori, Kei (JPN)	5205
6	Raonic, Milos (CAN)	4845
7	Berdych, Tomas (CZE)	4660
8	Cilic, Marin (CRO)	4105
9	Wawrinka, Stan (SUI)	4050
10	Ferrer, David (ESP)	3965

With the 2000 points from his 2014 Australian Open triumph aiding his ranking throughout the entirety of last year, he sat comfortably within the top four, despite not going deep in many more tournaments.

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Now that those points have dropped of his total his ranking has suffered drastically, falling down to 9th in the world and highlighting the need for consistency to stay at the top of the rankings.

Raonic seems to be a player whose game and style will enable him to consistently pick up rankings points throughout the year, as his big serve will help him avoid early round losses.

He is also becoming a regular fixture in the latter stages of Grand Slams where there are the most points available and my money would be on the Canadian threatening to break into the top four before long.

Next: Lob and Smash 2015 Grand Slam Predictions

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