General / Barry Millns / 24 September 2008 /

This year, we've seen some outstanding tennis which will live long in the memory but even more exciting is the wave of very talented young players breaking through behind those now challenging the top tier. Below are Barry Millns Top 5 'Finds' of 2008.

As the ATP Tour heads indoors for the final part of the season there is no doubt that

5. Kevin Anderson is a 22 year-old South African who started the year ranked No.208 but has reached as high as No.95. Standing 6'8" tall he developed his game for three seasons at the University of Illinois, where he earned All-American honours every year.

His big breakthrough came in March in Las Vegas where, as a qualifier, he went all the way to his first ATP final. He beat Michael Llodra, John Isner, Evgeney Korolev and Robby Ginepri, all in straight sets, before losing to Sam Querrey in three. Two matches later in Miami he knocked out defending champion Novak Djokovic and although his form dipped after that he has just helped South Africa gain promotion back into the Euro-Africa Zone Group 1 of the Davis Cup.

A big server as you would expect, Anderson also hits the ball well off both sides and moves well for such a tall guy. Come the Australian Open, for which he may have to qualify, nobody will want to face him in the first round.

4. Kei Nishikori, at 18, is the youngest of the bunch and the shortest at 5'10". He started 2008 ranked No.289 but back in February in his first ATP tournament of season in Delray Beach, the Japanese became the youngest player since Lleyton Hewitt a decade before to win an ATP title.

Coming back from a set down in three rounds he also saved four match points in the semi-finals against Sam Querrey before beating top seed James Blake for the title. Defeating world No.4 David Ferrer in five sets at the US Open to reach the fourth round was his biggest win yet and pushed him up to a career-high No.8.

For a fast player with a great forehand forged on the hard courts at the Bollettieri Academy in Florida, Melbourne Park should also suit his game.

3. Ernests Gulbis, tipped by many for the Top 10, began the year ranked No.61 and has been as high as No.38. The 20 year-old Latvian raised eyebrows last year when he beat Tim Henman in the first round of the French Open, but twelve months on it was Gulbis' run to the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, where he lost out to Novak Djokovic having beaten James Blake en route, which made headlines around the tennis world.

In Cincinnati, he was again stopped by the Serb after beating Blake and then at the US Open he barely missed a ball in the first set of an exciting night match against Andy Roddick before losing his concentration and falling in four. At the moment a lack of mental toughness, plus room for improvement on his movement is holding him back, but providing he works hard on both, with greater consistency his aggressive all court game should have even more of an impact in the future.

2. Marin Cilic, currently trading at [110.00] to win the 2009 Australian Open, is your typical Croat tennis player - very tall and a big server. Happy on all surfaces the 19-year-old has hooked up with the highly revered coach Bob Brett at his academy in San Remo and it's a relationship which is starting to pay dividends as Cilic is now on the verge of breaking into the Top 20.

Having beaten former finalist Fernando Gonzalez to reach the fourth round of this year's Australian Open, Cilic made the last 16 as well at Wimbledon and pushed hard for the same at the US Open before losing a terrific four-set battle to Novak Djokovic.

Prior to his arrival in New York, the laid-back teenager beat Tommy Robredo and Andy Roddick back-to-back in Toronto before claiming his first career title in New Haven. Solid off both wings he also volleys well and is very focused and calm under pressure - strengths which should see him make even bigger strides next year.

1. Juan Martin Del Potro, ranked No.50 at the start of 2008, the towering Argentine who has just turned 20, is now at a career-high No.13 after a staggering last two and a half months. Up to and including Wimbledon there had been little to suggest what was to come from the Tandil teenager but he then went on a title spree winning four trophies in a row prior to a stirring run at the US Open.

Having won Stuttgart (beat Richard Gasquet in the final) and Kitzbuhel on clay, he added the hard court titles in Los Angeles (beat Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick back to back) and Washington to his c.v. Victories over Guillermo Canas and Gilles Simon in New York were added in his 23-match winning streak before it came to an end with bruising four-set quarter-final battle against eventual runner-up Andy Murray.

Desolate after that, Del Potro bounced back brilliantly in the Davis Cup last weekend, not only dismissing Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets but then clinching Argentina's place in the final by doing the same to Igor Andreev. Another star has been born and if he does not get injured as he did in the second round of this year's Australian Open, he should be a major threat next January in Melbourne Park, for which he is currently trading at [36.0].

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