Top 20 breakthroughs in professional tennis circuit this year: Part Five – Tennis Special
12. Martin Klizan (Slovakia)
Having started the 2012 ATP season as the 117th ranked player, Martin Klizan has shown some intensity to break into the Top-50 rankings. The 23-year-old Slovak has been in prime form this year, mainly featuring the ATP
Challenger Tour events but also having some sort of impact on the elite ATP World Tour.
The Slovakian tennis sensation had a quite season early one but it seemed to be the preparation of a decent end to the circuit. Klizan had a cracking US Open 2012 campaign and beat all the odds to reach the fourth round of the
Grand Slam event in New York. He earned the lime light after dumping the then world number six, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the second round of the mega event but had to bow out to the Croatian number one, Marin Cilic, in the pre-quarter-final round.
Klizan’s success on the hard courts has been phenomenal this season, as he won his maiden ATP championship title this year in St. Petersburg, Russia, right after his dream run at the US Open. It was the major breakthrough of the
Slovak’s career to enter the winners’ circle and have an impact on the ATP World Tour. Klizan’s rankings swelled to number 34 after his title victory but his joy turned bitter when he had to suffer an opening-round exit from Tokyo.
His crafty game play and the angled cross-court returns are his most lethal weapon, giving him a certain edge over other players of his calibre. The left-handed Slovakian has got the breakthrough he needed to gain the confidence
and it will be very interesting to see if he can capitalizes on the impetus he built up from his US Open voyage.
11. Steve Johnson (the United States of America)
Another American youngster, Steve Johnson, comes in my list of Top-20 breakthroughs of the current season for his impressive skills in the game. He took off the 2012 ATP season as the 372nd ranked player but leapt forward
almost 200 places in the men’s rankings to reach the 168th spot by the end of September.
Johnson’s commitments at his college have hampered him from playing much tennis in the professional circuit. He had a decent summer on the ATP Challenger tour, winning his maiden championship title in Aptos and his success was
rewarded with a wildcard entry to the main draw of the US Open Grand Slam championships in New York. The 22-year-old American youngster outclassed the likes of Rajeev Ram and Ernests Gulbis in his initial two encounters before falling to the might of the French
tennis ace, Richard Gasquet, in the third round.
His US Open voyage clearly marked the beginning of a sublime career. Johnson’s performances in New York were critically analyses by the tennis lovers and they believe him to become a real asset for the American tennis. He hasn’t
played a ATP World Tour event since the US Open but surely the coming season will witness some more thrilling and classy performances from the 22-year-old Johnson.
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