Sportskeeda Tennis Awards 2014: Players of the Year - Male

2014 has been an incredible year for tennis. We saw two new Grand Slam champions crowned in the form of Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cilic, who won the Australian Open and U.S Open respectively.Rafael Nadal continued his domination at Roland Garros, while Novak Djokovic finished the year as the No. 1 player after winning his second Wimbledon title. Roger Federer made an excellent comeback after having a disappointing season in 2013.A lot of youngsters challenged the Top 5 players on a regular basis.Here is our list of the Top 5 players of 2014.

#5 Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori has had a marvellous season on court in 2014. He broke a lot of records this year. He became the first Japanese man to break into the top 10, the first Asian to ever reach a Grand Slam final and also the first Asian to participate in the ATP World Tour Finals. 

He reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, losing to Rafael Nadal in a tight three-setter. His breakthrough performance came at the Mutua Madrid Open where he reached the finals. He had to withdraw halfway through the finals due to an injury against Nadal.

He reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the U.S Open after defeating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Marin Cilic proved too tough for him as he lost in straight sets to the Croat. He also reached the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals. 

Summary

Grand Slams – Finalist at U.S Open.

ATP Masters 1000 Series – Finalist at Madrid.

ATP 500 – 2 (Barcelona and Tokyo).

Semifinalist at Barclays ATP World Tour Finals