The gap between the Big Four and the rest may not be closing any time soon, Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has warned.
And who could argue with him after the world No.2 displayed vintage form to book a Brisbane International semifinal clash with fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Federer, 33, needed just 39 minutes to eliminate Australian wildcard James Duckworth 6-0 6-1 in Friday night’s quarterfinal.
He took the court after Brisbane second seed Kei Nishikori claimed the game’s rising stars were this year ready to end the reign of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
World No.5 Nishikori tipped the likes of himself, reigning US Open champ Marin Cilic, big-serving world No.8 Milos Raonic and Federer-clone Dimitrov to take the next step in 2015.
It was an argument that appeared to gain momentum after Djokovic and Nadal suffered surprise losses this week at the Qatar Open in Doha.
A test now looms for Federer after the 17-time grand slam champ booked a semifinal showdown with world No.11 Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
And if he survives that there will be either Nishikori or third seed Raonic waiting in the Brisbane final.
However, Federer said it was too early to justify Nishikori’s bold claim.
“I do believe there is a group of guys right there that can make a break again and can do special things,” Federer said.
“I just think it’s too early to say in the season just because Novak and Rafa lost in Doha that there is something on the horizon.
“I don’t read into any of those results. I think they are going to be tough to beat, and favourites for the Australian Open, to be honest.”
A changing of the guard appeared imminent after Swiss ace Stan Wawrinka claimed the Australian Open and Cilic downed Nishikori in the US Open decider last year.
Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach a grand slam singles decider by defeating Djokovic in the 2014 US Open semifinals.
Cilic won the US final – before that the Big Four had won 36 of 38 grand slam titles since Nadal took the first of his nine French Open titles in 2005.
But Federer said the jury was still out on the new breed after Murray (back) and Nadal (wrist, appendicitis) battled to return to full fitness.
“We have had some injuries. It’s not because we didn’t play well that we maybe dropped a bit,” Federer said.
“Clearly there were some big wins by Stan, Cilic, and Nishikori and some other guys making runs.
“(But) making one run is always a bit easier than having to defend it.”
Federer blew off the cobwebs in just his second match of 2015 after a difficult three-set second round win over Australian wildcard John Millman.
Meanwhile, world No.125 Duckworth wondered what hit him after his first ATP quarterfinal went pear-shaped.
“I got chopped,” Duckworth said.