Marin Cilic is hopeful that his fellow players who are "losing motivation" will be inspired by his US Open victory in New York.
The Croatian, who is world number 16, became the lowest-ranked major champion for 10 years after beating Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-3 to win his first Grand Slam final.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have dominated the elite level for a number of years, but Cilic is hopeful that lower-ranked players can win major titles in the future.
"I feel it's very inspirational for all the other players out there that are working hard and sometimes losing motivation," BBC Sport quotes Cilic as saying. "I would definitely feel much stronger if I would see somebody like me accomplish things like this."
The 25-year-old took out Tomas Berdych, Federer and Nishikori to win the US Open.
