There was much to remember from the performances of Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who claimed a record fifth men's title Down Under, and perennial Melbourne bridesmaid Andy Murray. But they were not the only men to distinguish themselves at the first major of 2015.

If we are going to discuss what to take away from this year's Australian Open, beyond the eventual finalists, we have to start with last year's champion, Stanislas Wawrinka. It's easy to look at last year's result and compare it with this year's semifinal showing and think that Wawrinka dropped off a bit. Then again, you can look at the fact that he lost in a fifth set to Djokovic and think that he was this close to repeating. And you might even be right.

However, the fact remains that to anyone who watched closely, Wawrinka's level was nowhere near where he was a year ago. He was playing absolute elite tennis and beat a much more impressive Djokovic in five epic sets. This year's five-setter was mostly due to Djokovic playing some timid tennis for much of the match. As the past 12 months have progressed, it's been clear that Wawrinka hadn't sustained his Grand Slam-winning level. Now, after this year's Australian Open, it's beginning to look like January 2014 was to Wawrinka what the summer of 2009 was to Juan Martin del Potro. Stan has the talent and time to change that, but he has to pick things up quickly.

There are two main standouts from the tournament, though, each in a different stage of his career. First, let's talk about Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios has everything necessary to be a tennis star in the very near future. He has a massive serve, a solid ground game, and a never-say-die attitude. He's a big guy who plays like a baseliner, a potent combination. And he is the most successful teenager at Grand Slams since Roger Federer 14 years ago. This kid will be something good.

This Australian Open also bears good tidings for Tomas Berdych. Berdych is supremely talented but has never really been able to string together top-level matches on the biggest stages in his career. In a sense, he didn't do it here either. He beat Nadal but couldn't quite back it up against Murray in the semifinals. Still, this one felt different. He played tough against Murray but just couldn't compete with the Scot strategically. He's not yet where he could have been (seriously, how has someone that talented not won a Grand Slam yet?), but it feels like he's getting closer. Let's see what he brings to the fortnight at Wimbledon this year.

Roger Federer's lack of success here this year will get much mention, as it should. Federer is still one of the most talented players in the game. He is still No. 2 in the world for a reason. But, as we began to realize a few years ago, age and the field are finally catching up to him. He will still be a threat at majors for a few years to come, assuming he plays that long, but he is no longer the second-week lock that he once was. Lower players are challenging and even beating him now, which was unheard of a decade ago.

The player who had the most obvious decline this tournament, though, was Lleyton Hewitt. He played some of the best tennis in recent years in the first two sets against Benjamin Becker. But his body just couldn't keep up anymore. He can't play even a decent level of tennis for multiple three-set matches. I once mentioned that he should concentrate on Indian Wells and Miami. He is still talented enough to go deep in or even win those, and playing best-of-three with a day's rest in between matches is what he needs now. As long as he still wants to play tennis, more power to him, but it is becoming a little depressing to watch him continue to fight his body–and more often than not fail– as matches wear on.