(Getty Images)Patrick Mouratoglou is a renowned tennis coach who runs the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris. He is an occasional contributor on Busted Racquet.

Without a doubt we are now living an era where the top four is the strongest of the history of the game and if my observations of Andy Murray are correct, he could see the biggest changes between now and the end of the year.

At the 2012 Australian Open, whose final was epic between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, I had the chance to commentate the semifinal between Djokovic and Murray. I found this match thrilling and instructive. It confirmed the trend I had been seeing for a few months.

The media has been talking a lot about the collaboration of Murray with Ivan Lendl, who has been through the same failing-in-Slams situation as Andy before winning eight of them. Their similarities have been reported a lot. As far as I'm concerned, as I now see them working, I'm finding this duo very interesting because it seems Lendl really has the qualities that Murray lacks. This is the next step.

Andy Murray is a prodigy. If he's not as creative as Roger Federer on court, he still has the same kind of talent regarding his ball touch, his variety of shots, the way he can speed up the game and how loose he is. He's also a remarkable counterpuncher, can cover the court well and has maybe one of the three best returns on tour. If you add all of these abilities, it's tough not to picture him at the top. Yet, he's now ranked fourth. Why?

Until this decision of hiring Lendl, the Scotsman had never really made decisions in order to reverse course. Until then, he was accepting of the situation without taking control. By hiring Lendl, he's sent a strong and clear message.

(Getty Images)Patrick Mouratoglou is a world-renowned tennis coach. He runs the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France and is a frequent contributor to Busted Racquet.

Let's look back at the winner of the Australian Open and evaluate her position in women's tennis.

A new star is born

The Australian Open witnessed the birth of a new star of the game: Victoria Azarenka. This has been in the works for a long time. She's a former junior world champion and now she's now achieving all her potential. Due to her victory, she's now the new No. 1 in the world and she did it in grand style, clinching it by winning a major. During the event, she was mentally and physically stronger than the others. In the end, only Agnieszka Radwanska pushed her to three sets. Azarenka needed time to reach the top spot but she's now well settled in it because she has an all around game, is very steady mentally and also has a perfectly-controlled fitness preparation.

The Nadal of the WTA?

She reminds me of Rafael Nadal for many reasons. Her game style is based on high tempo and she makes few mistakes because of the use of topspin. Vika is the kind of player who tires her opponents because of her intensity, heavy ball and constant pressure. Her fighting spirit, her focus on each shot and the feeling that the rival has that to earn each point aids in this. Vika's fast, intense and covers a ton of ground. What is different than Nadal is that she likes to play inside the court and takes the ball early.

(Getty)Andy Murray has already improved under the tutelage of Ivan Lendl. Mentally, he was able to better deal with his frustration during the first rounds and played with will and authority. On returns, he's more inside the court and is keen on attacking his opponent. He's remaining on the baseline more too and doesn't get pushed back, even when he's in trouble.

All this pairing needs is time. Lendl is probably more in an position of observation so far and the coaching will come later. Like Roger Federer, Andy dropped physically in his semifinal. Knowing how professional and addicted to work Lendl is, there is no doubt that he will work on this fitness matter in the coming months. After that, the sky's the limit in Grand Slams.

To end the talk about this "big four," it has to be noticed that those players are very close from each other. We're probably witnessing the most intense top four in all of tennis history. So it's tough for the other members of the top 10 to come into this close circle. It's also interesting to point that this top 3 is even more tense because of some incompatibilities of their games: Novak Djokovic dominates Rafael Nadal who dominates Federer who is an issue for Nole.

- Tomas Berdych is improving, despite that loss to Nadal in Melbourne.

- Juan Martin Del Potro, who is back into the Top 10, will go on in climbing the ranking even if, for now, he lacks footwork and confidence against the top players.

We've had a few days to reflect on the on the epic fight between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nada in the Australian Open final. Let's break it down a little further:

-- The level of play was average

If you forget the intense drama and determination, the level of tennis reached in this match was very far from the last US Open final. Nadal played very short all along the match, and Novak wasn't able to take advantage of it enough. At the end, the ratio of winners to unforced errors was 101 to 140.

-- Rafa didn't step up

If you compare his level during this final to the one he displayed against Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer earlier in the tournament, the gap is huge. Rafa was taken by the event because he certainly realized how important this match was for his season and career. He wasn't able to start this match with a good balance between aggressiveness and stress. The consequence was that he was defensive right from the start and played very far from his baseline. After three sets, he was spending four percent of his time inside the court, whereas it was 34 percent for Djokovic. He played short, a lot in the middle, and tried to protect himself more than to hurt his opponent. During the first three sets he wasn't moving well, like he was submerged by the pressure of the event. Then he was also too predictable, so it helped Djokovic be one shot ahead all the time.

(Getty)

Patrick Mouratoglou is a world-renowned tennis coach. He is an occasional contributor to Busted Racquet.

The 2012 Australian Open final features the ATP's new classic rivalry, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Last year, they played in six finals and Djokovic won all six, a surprising failure for the Spaniard, who is unused to failing.

This final is of tremendous importance for Rafa. His mind is troubled by Nole and it's frustrating him. I'm convinced that if it continues tonight, Nadal could lose the things that have made him such a great champion: belief, desire, determination and passion. For a player who has won everything and is used to overcoming obstacles, this is a new, traumatizing experience. This needs to be solved quickly, so Nadal can prove to himself that he can remain the master of the game.

Why is Rafa struggling against Nole? His serve, and especially his second serve, lack depth and power. Djokovic is the player who owns the best returning stats on second serve. When most of the players don't take advantage of Nadal shortening shots, the Serbian is outstanding in the way he steps inside the court to take the ball early. When attacked, Nadal plays even shorter.

He's hitting 70 percent of first serves since the start of the tournament, whereas he was at 57 percent last year during his matches against Novak. Caring about protecting himself from the attacks on his second serve, he picks the first-second serve option. The only issue is that his best serve, the slice used on deuce and ad, is going directly on Nole's best shot, the backhand.

Nadal deafeated Federer in four sets. (Getty Images)

How did Rafael Nadal defeat Roger Federer for the eighth time in 10 Grand Slam matches? Busted Racquet expert analyst, Patrick Mouratoglou, breaks down the semifinal.

Starting like a boxer

Roger took the first lead at 3-0, then 4-1, a tremendous start! He made me think of Mike Tyson. As soon as the fight starts, he's coming out swinging and going for the knock out. Federer takes the ball early, attacks all the time and takes his chances. Rafa is stunned and plays short because he's under huge pressure. The Swiss gets off to a firing start.

How tough it is to keep an outstanding level of play

Unfortunately for him, Rafa adapts. The intensity he's putting out there, the rhythm imposed, the length of the rallies, all these things demand perfection from Roger. And making the perfection lasts in those conditions is close to the impossible. So it's often the same scenario against the Spaniard. He's setting the bar so high that every inch of slowing intensity is punished. He wins the first-set tiebreak, but it starts affecting him immediately in the second set. As for Rafa, he's understanding pretty quickly that the Swiss can't keep it up. Being smart, he slows down the game, playing higher on the Swiss backhand and then speeding up at first opportunity.

Three keys

Mind: The Spaniard is able to be decisive on the most important points.

Fitness: The Spaniard knows he's in better shape nd enjoys getting the points longer and longer to make his opponent run.

First serve percentage: Rafa was remarkable in terms of first set percentage. He went as high as 77 percent. This prevented Roger from attacking the second serves, so points went longer more often and Rafa often started them with a lead.

nadal falls rome 11

As the 2012 season begins, renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou is previewing the upcoming year for the top five players in men's tennis. Today, he begins with Rafael Nadal and his road back to No. 1.

This will be an essential year for Rafael Nadal. He lost a lot in 2011: His No. 1 ranking, his US Open and Wimbledon titles and his domination on clay. That was painful enough. But knowing that there was a guy on the other side of the net who was better than him? That made it even harder for the sensitive Spaniard.

In order to understand better how Rafa feels, we need to look back so you realize how outstanding he was. The Spaniard won everything, of course, but even more than that, he never stopped to move forward. Not a single player was really an issue for him in the past. Each time he lost he found a solution to get his revenge in the next match.

When he started, his main goal was to win the French Open. Once achieved, he decided to focus on Wimbledon, a much different tournament. Rafa changed his technique and won in his second finals appearance there.

It was all good until this terrible losing streak against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian crushed Nadal six times in a row on finals. Nadal lost some of his length of shot since Djokovic knows how to play inside the court and how to take the ball early in order to avoid being upset by Rafa's topsin. He's struggling on his forehand in front of those accelerations with flat and long shots. On each opportunity, Nole is attacking this side, forcing Nadal to play shorter in order to then dictate the point.

The Spaniard hates being stuck on his backhand diagonal, because he prefers dictating with his forehand while turning around his backhand. But the Serbian, with his topspin forehand, can take Rafa out of the court and is able to force Rafa to remain on his backhand. And then he's searching for all the shorter balls in order to attack.

Finally, Rafa's second serve is often lacking length and weight, so Novak knows how to take advantage of it in order to take the lead of the point. As if it wasn't already enough, Djoko perfectly studied Rafa's game and knows beforehand the sequences he likes. It's how he knows each time how to counterpunch him, by anticipating some stereotyped tactical options.

But beyond those results, Rafa looked resigned. He wasn't able to find the solution, whether it was on hard courts, grass, and even on clay. Those failures attacked his mind, usually his strong suit. Even he admitted "he didn't believe enough against Djokovic." So, after winning the technical and tactical fight, the Serbian also has Rafa's mind.

djokovic uso11 trophyAs the 2012 season begins, it seems interesting to me to look at what we learned during the past year. Who owned the court? Who was rising to challenge for it? Who was declining? And after the changing of the guard, we will see a new one this year?

Over the lead-up to the Australian Open, I will be discussing the top five player's in men's tennis and looking at some of the questions that they'll have to answer in the coming year. This is a preview of those individual posts.

• Let's start at the top. The 2011 season was all about Novak Djokovic. Boosted by his Davis Cup triumph, he went from being the usual underdog to the undeniable No. 1. He crushed everything on his way. How can we explain it? Will he be able to repeat it in 2012? And, above all, what conditions need to be in place for him to remain the king of the court?

• Rafael Nadal struggled in '11 despite winning the French Open (as usual). His losses against Djokovic cost him a lot mentally and the consequences were seen all over his game. He admitted at the end of the season that he lacked passion. We all know how essential that one ingredient can be, so this is worrisome. Will he find the solution in order to solve the Djokovic issue? Will he find the technical and tactical answers in order to beat Nole?

• Roger Federer pleased us at the end of the season by finding himself back in the winner's circle. Since the US Open, the Swiss star was displaying a more attractive version of tennis after 18 months of middling results. But will it be enough for him to win a Grand Slam again in 2012? Will he find the key to win there against Nadal? What is he still lacking to find his game totally back?