Nishikori says 'Big Four' dominance of grand slams going to end soon

Japan's ace tennis star Kei Nishikori said that Stanislas Wawrinka's Australian Open triumph could spell the beginning of the end of the grand slam dominance enjoyed by the 'Big Four' -- Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer.

Nishikori, who pushed eventual runner-up Rafael Nadal hard in a 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 fourth-round loss in Melbourne, said soon tennis will have a new generation of players to deal with at the four majors.

He said young players like Milos Raonic are there and Grigor Dimitrov got to the quarters at the Australian Open, added that these players have started making waves.

Nishikori, who has hired former French Open champion Michael Chang as coach, feels he too is getting closer and has targeted a first grand slam semi-final in 2014, Sport24 reports.

He said new players winning grand slams is good for tennis, and added that he would like to get up to that level soon too.