Friday, November 21, 2014

2014 ATP Year in Review



There's no such thing as a "Mr.Backspin" award, but there are ATP lists. Lots and lots of lists.



Much like the WTA, where four woman won slam titles and eight reached major finals in 2014, the men spread around the silver hardware this past season. Four different men won slams, including two first-timers from OUTSIDE the Big 4 circle. Six men filled the eight slam final slots, including at the U.S. Open, which saw the tour's first major men's final in more than nine and a half years that didn't include a Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray. The situation even jumped disciplines to the doubles, as four teams claimed 2014's slam titles, with six different duos reaching the deciding matches.

But who had the BEST season?

==PLAYERS OF THE YEAR==
1. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, USA/USA

[photo by Jen Pottheiser/USTA]
...as the twins' remarkable doubles career most assuredly makes its way down the home stretch, the Bryans continued to carve out their own remarkable place in the ATP record book. Ten more titles were added to their haul this year, including their groundbreaking 100th singles crown. The win came at the U.S. Open, where they locked away their sixteenth slam title to fill the only unsightly gap in their '14 resume. They'd reached the Wimbledon final, but suffered early upsets in Melbourne and Paris. Along with the title in NYC, the Bryans picked up crowns six -- six! -- of the season's nine Masters Series (winning in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Cincinnati, Shanghai & Paris) and the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. In a year when no one entry from the three-headed monster of the "Fedalovic era" (thanks for that one, Galileo!) was quite the same sort of dominant force they'd been in the past, the twins were the most dependable presence in the ATP in 2014. Of course, this is nothing new -- they've now finished as the doubles co-#1's in eight of the last ten seasons.
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2. Novak Djokovic, SRB
...for the third time in four years, Djokovic finishes the season at #1, winning in Wimbledon to pick up his seventh career slam title, going 61-8 on the season and leading the tour in winning percentage. But his quest for his first Roland Garros continues, as he was bested in Paris yet again by Rafa Nadal, losing a three and a half hour final and falling to the Spaniard for the third straight years at RG, twice in finals. The Serb's Masters wins in Indian Wells, Miami, Rome and Paris, plus his third consecutive (fourth career) ATP WTF title, rounds out his list of six 2014 titles, enough to outdistance all the other individual POY contenders. Now married and a father, Djokovic seems set for the back half of his career, seemingly well-positioned between two eras as Nadal and Federer's careers draw closer to a finish as the NextGen contenders jockey for position and make serious swipes at their first slam titles. The Djoker's success already assures that his career will rank him near the top of the list of ATP greats, but he'll need to complete his Career Slam with a Roland Garros title if he's going to hold up his end of conversation when it comes to continuing to "compete" against the memories of Federer and Nadal once all three have set aside their rackets.
=============================
3. Rafael Nadal, ESP
...stop me in you've heard this before, but Rafa won yet another Roland Garros title (his ninth in ten seasons, and his fifth in a row), but saw injuries (back, wrist and then a season-ending appendectomy) limit (it may have prevented him from winning his second Australian Open final) and cut short his campaign, as he ended '14 on a 4-4 slide as he battled against better judgment before finally pulling up stakes on his season. It's because of these annual injury discussions that one could never be totally surprised in they were to one day soon awake and hear reports that Rafa's career would suddenly end, as his physical style of play has never seemed to forecast a long stay on tour. But Nadal has managed to stick around for over a decade, and rarely (if ever) has a player maintained the sort of strangle-hold on an event that way he has at Roland Garros, where's a combined 66-1. Apparently set to undergo stem cell treatment on his back, Nadal seems set to attempt to stick around for as long as possible. He may never be able to put together another full, injury-free season, but it'd be difficult to not bow down to the Spaniard's ability to persevere if he continues pull himself together for his annual run in Paris. There aren't many truly "unbreakable" records in tennis, but Rafa's career number of Coupe des Mousquetaires chomps doesn't seem to be something that anyone will ever come close to being able to equal.

=============================
4. Roger Federer, SUI
...healed up from the back injury that caused him to finally show his age in '13, Federer at times looked like his former masterful self this season, lifting his ranking back up to #2 after finishing 2013 at #6, his lowest since '02. He played and won more often (going 72-11 heading into the Davis Cup final) than anyone on tour, reaching an ATP-leading eleven finals, winning five. He played in his record twenty-fifth career slam final at Wimbledon, and claimed a pair of Masters 1000 Series titles in Cincinnati (his sixth) and Shanghai (at this point in Fed's career, a rare first-time win). He also picked up his seventh title in Halle, sixth in Dubai, sixth in Basel, and had semifinal results at both the Australian and U.S. Open. Federer was a combined 6-3 vs. Djokovic, Nadal and Murray after going 0-7 against his fellow Big 4 members in '13. Unfortunately, Federer's back flared up again in the ATP World Tour Finals, forcing him to give Djokovic a walkover in the final after having looked as brilliant as in the "old days" during the week. Federer will end his '14 campaign by leading the Swiss team into the Davis Cup final, one of the few major titles (along with an Olympic singles Gold) that Federer has never won. Winning or losing won't really impact the Swiss Mister's legacy, but it would make his long career resume just a bit more tidy.

5. Stan Wawrinka, SUI
...for a while, Wawrinka was the best Swiss tennis player in the world in 2014. Not a feat for the faint-hearted or ill-prepared. He became the first player to defeat both Djokovic and Nadal in the same grand slam as he raced to a surprise slam win at the Australian Open, becoming just the second non-Big 4 major winner over a 36-slam stretch going back to 2005. The "other Swiss Mister" was 3-0 in finals in '14, but while he only won one of those titles after winning in Melbourne in January, he took out Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters final to get that win. After a 13-0 start, Stan the Man was 25-17 in his next forty-two heading into the Davis Cup final where, depending on the condition of Federer's back, might end up having to take over a leadership role in Switzerland's attempt to win a first DC title.
=============================

*BEST OF THE REST*
6. Marin Cilic, CRO: the Croat outlasted everyone in the upset-laden field (dominating Federer in the semis, the Kei Nishikori in the final) to win the U.S. Open, taking the first non-Big 4 slam final since Marat Safin defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the 2005 Australian Open
7. Kei Nishikori, JPN: with the Asian tennis boom, well, booming, the rise of Nishikori couldn't come at a better time. The 25-year old from Japan has been dogged by injuries throughout his career (by early April, he'd already exited three '14 events early with injuries), making it easy to question his ability to ever live up to the promise of his potential. Then suddenly he DID. Nishikori became the first Japanese to reach a slam singles final at the U.S. Open (upsetting '14 slam winners Wawrinka and Djokovic en route), then followed it up by winning back-to-back titles in his next two events. In all, Nishikori won four titles in '14 and finished at #5.
8. Swiss or Czech Davis Cup Team: the two nations will face off on the final weekend of the season, with the Swiss looking for their first DC title and the French going for #10 (but their first in thirteen years).
9. Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, NED/ROU: the duo combined to win eight titles, second only to the Bryan twins
10. Grigor Dimitrov, BUL: sure, he started dating Maria Sharapova. But, more importantly, he also began to live up to his early career "baby Fed" label, winning three ATP titles and reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, finishing up just outside the Top 10 at #11.
11. Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic, CAN/SRB: the veteran pair won three titles, including Masters crowns in Madrid and Rome. Individually, Nestor won the AO Mixed with Kristina Mladenovic, while Zimonjic took the title at Wimbledon with Samantha Stosur to complete a Career Mixed Slam (and reached the RG final with Julia Goerges).
12. Milos Raonic, CAN: the big-serving Canadian was light on titles (just one), but claimed the U.S. Open Series, reached the Wimbledon semifinals and battled Genie Bouchard all season in the cross-tours race to become the highest-ranked singles player in their nation's history. Ultimately, Bouchard climbed as high as #5 in the WTA rankings, while Raonic topped out at #6.

==RISERS==
1.Marin Cilic, CRO
2.Kei Nishikori, JPN
3.Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, NED/ROU
4.Grigor Dimitrov, BUL
5.Milos Raonic, CAN
6.Tomas Berdych, CZE
7.Gael Monfils, FRA
8.Ivan Dodig/Marco Melo, CRO/BRA
9.Ernests Gulbis, LAT
10.Fabio Fognini, ITA
11.Vacek Pospisil/Jack Sock, CAN/USA
12.Alexandr Dolgopolov, UKR
13.Jerzy Janowicz, POL
14.Kevin Anderson, RSA
15.Alexander Peya/Bruno Soares, AUT/BRA
16.John Isner, USA
17.Lukasz Kubot/Robert Lindstedt, POL/SWE
18.Leonardo Mayer, ARG
19.Jeremy Chardy, FRA
20.Bernard Tomic, AUS
HM-Donald Young, USA

==NEW FACES==
1.Nick Kyrgios, AUS
2.Jack Sock, USA
3.Ricardas Berankis, LTU
4.Benoit Paire, FRA
5.Dominic Thiem, AUT
6.Denis Kudla, USA
7.Luke Saville, AUS
8.Steve Johnson, USA
9.Thanasi Kokkinakis, AUS
10.James Duckworth, AUS
HM-Andrey Kuznetsov, RUS

==PLAYERS TO WATCH==
1.Borna Coric, CRO
2.Andrey Rublev, RUS
3.Stefan Kozlov, USA
4.Alexander Zverev, GER
5.Christian Garin, CHI
6.Omar Jasika, AUS
7.Francis Tiafoe, USA
8.Rhyne Williams, USA
9.Quentin Halys, FRA
10.Orlando Luz, BRA
11.Marcos Garon, USA
12.Jiri Vesely, CZE
13.Noah Rubin, USA
14.Johan Sebastien Tatlot, FRA
15.Jaume Antoni Munar Clar, ESP
16.Kamil Majchrzak, POL
17.U.S. Junior Davis Cup Team
18.Taylor Fritz, USA
19.Bradley Mousley, AUS
20.Filippo Baldi, ITA
HM-Miloslav Mecir Jr., CZE

==SURPRISES==
1.Roberto Bautista Agut, ESP
2.Joao Sousa, POR
3.Fabio Fognini, ITA
4.Eric Butorac/Raven Klaasen, USA/RSA
5.Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, ESP
6.Alejandro Falla, COL
7.Federico Delbonis, ARG
8.Lukas Rosol, CZE
9.Daniel Evans, GBR
10.Pablo Andujar-Alba, ESP
11.Santiago Giraldo, COL
12.Jan-Lennard Struff, GER
13.Matthew Edben, AUS
14.Yen-Hsun Lu, TPE
15.James Ward, GBR
16.Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah, COL/COL
17.Peter Gojowczyk, GER
18.Dusan Lajovic, SRB
19.Lucas Pouille, FRA
20.Pablo Carreno Busta, ESP
HM-Oleksandr Nedovyesov, UKR

==VETERANS==
1.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, USA/USA
2.Novak Djokovic, SRB
3.Rafael Nadal, ESP
4.Roger Federer, SUI
5.Stan Wawrinka, SUI
6.Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic, CAN/SRB
7.Andy Murray, GBR
8.Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA
9.Fernando Verdasco, ESP
10.Julien Benneteau/Eduard Roger-Vasselin, FRA/FRA VET
11.Feliciano Lopez, ESP
12.Gilles Simon, FRA
13.David Goffin, BEL
14.David Ferrer, ESP
15.Tommy Robredo, ESP
16.Ivo Karlovic, CRO
17.Marcel Granollers/Marc Lopez, ESP/ESP
18.Philipp Kohlschreiber, GER
19.Radek Stepanek, CZE
20.Dudi Sela, ISR
HM-Marinko Matosevic, AUS

==DOWN==
1.Juan Martin del Potro, ARG
2.Nicolas Almagro, ESP
3.Tommy Haas, GER
4.U.S. Davis Cup Team
5.Spanish Davis Cup Team
6.Canadian Davis Cup Team
7.David Ferrer, ESP
8.Richard Gasquet, FRA
9.Marcos Baghdatis, CYP
10.Sam Querrey, USA
HM-Juan Monaco, ARG

==COMEBACKS==
1.David Goffin, BEL
2.Andy Murray, GBR
3.Roger Federer, SUI
4.Ivo Karlovic, CRO
5.Sam Groth, AUS
6.Lleyton Hewitt, AUS
7,Gilles Muller, LUX
8.Benjamin Becker, GER
9.Robby Ginepri, USA
10.Viktor Troicki, SRB
HM-Wayne Odesnik, USA

==MOST IMPROVED==
1.Kei Nishikori, JPN
2.Roberto Bautista Agut, ESP
3.Ernests Gulbis, LAT
4.Alexandr Dolgopolov, UKR
5.Jack Sock, USA
HM-Leonardo Mayer, ARG




**TOP PERFORMANCES OF NOTE**
1. Stan Wawrinka defeats Djokovic and Nadal at Australian Open to claim first career slam title
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2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeats Djokovic, Murray, Dimitrov and Federer in succession to win Montreal title
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3. Rafael Nadal wins his ninth Roland Garros crown, taking his fifth straight title in Paris and fourteenth career slam
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4. The Bryan brothers grab their sixteenth major as a duo at the U.S. Open, becoming the first team with 100 ATP doubles titles
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5. Novak Djokovic sweeps Indian Wells (def. Federer in final) and Miami (def. Nadal in final) spring U.S. hard court titles
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6. At the U.S. Open, Kei Nishikori becomes the first Japanese to reach a grand slam singles final
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7. Novak Djokovic defeats Roger Federer in the final to claim his second Wimbledon
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8. Marin Cilic serves his way to his first slam win at the U.S. Open
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9. Novak Djokovic dominates again in Beijing, winning title #5 and running his career record at the event to 24-0
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10. Lleyton Hewitt turns back the clock, defeating Federer in the final to take Brisbane
=============================

=CANADA TAKES AMERICA (x 2)==
Milos Raonic defeats Vacek Pospisil in an all-Canadian final in Washington, D.C.

=A LONG TIME COMING==
Andy Murray wins in Shenzhen. It's his first title in fifteen months, his first since back surgery and his first with coach Amelie Mauresmo. The Scot would go on to win two more late-season events and qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.

=THE LONG WAY AROUND==
The U.S.'s Noah Rubin wins the Wimbledon boys singles title as a qualifier

=...and THE WRONG WAY AROUND==
In Miami, for the first time since 1969 on the ATP tour, both men's singles semifinals in an event were decided via walkovers. Then, in an anticlimactic ATP season finale, Novak Djokovic claims the ATP WTF crown when Roger Federer's back injury causes him to withdraw from the final. Coincidentally, it was also Djokovic who benefited from the earlier situation, ultimately winning the Miami title, after having also gotten a walkover pass through the 3rd Round of that tournament.

==MATCHES OF NOTE==
Australian Open QF - Wawrinka d. Djokovic
...2-6/6-4/6-2/3-6/9-7.
In 4:02, Wawrinka outlasts the three-time defending AO champ, ending his 25-match streak in Melbourne (and 28-match overall run dating back to '13).
=============================
Barcelona QF - Almagro d. Nadal
...2-6/7-6(5)/6-4.
Almagro dumps countryman Rafa, handing him his first loss in Barcelona in eleven years (he'd won 41 straight there) and his first since 2006 after having won the 1st set on clay.
=============================
Wimbledon 3rd Rd. - Kyrgios d. Gasquet
...3-6/6-7(4)/6-4/7-5/10-8.
The 19-year old Aussie, ranked #144, comes back from 0-2 sets down, saving nine MP en route to taking out the 13th-seeded Frenchman.
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ATP WTF SF - Federer d. Wawrinka
...4-6/7-5/7-6(6).
Federer saves four MP, but injures his back and has to withdraw from the following day's final.
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Australian Open 1st Rd. - Seppi d. Hewitt
...7-6(4)/6-3/5-7/5-7/7-5.
Veteran Hewitt battles back from 0-2 sets down and holds match point, but ultimately falls to Seppi in buzz-kill fashion in over five hours.
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Wimbledon Final - Djokovic d. Federer
...6-7(7)/6-4/7-6(4)/5-7/6-4.
Federer's last chance for another slam title? Of course, we've wondered that before, haven't we?
=============================
Roland Garros Final - Nadal d. Djokovic
...3-6/7-5/6-2/6-4.
Djokovic's Parisian quest is extended yet another year. At least. This time, it took Rafa 3:30 to send the Serb off to the U.K. with lingering disappointment.

and, of course...


Basel QF - Coric d. Nadal
...6-2/7-6(4).
The match that finally ended Nadal's season, and sent him off to get that appendix removed. Then-17 year old Croat Coric (he turned 18 last week), ranked #124 at the time of his first huge victory, received the ATP's "Star of Tomorrow" award a few weeks later.




A rundown of the past Backspin ATP award (as well as a few pre-"Backspin") winners:

*ATP PLAYER OF THE YEAR*
1997 Pete Sampras
1998 Pete Sampras
1999 Andre Agassi
2000 Marat Safin
2001 Lleyton Hewitt
2002 Lleyton Hewitt
2003 Andy Roddick
2004 Roger Federer
2005 Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer
2008 Rafael Nadal
2009 Roger Federer
2010 Rafael Nadal
2011 Novak Djokovic
2012 Andy Murray
2013 Rafael Nadal
2014 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan

*"RISING PLAYER" WINNERS*
1999 Gustavo Kuerten
2000 Marat Safin
2001 Lleyton Hewitt
2002 Paradorn Srichaphan
2003 Guillermo Coria
2004 Nicolas Massu
2005 Rafael Nadal
2006 James Blake
2007 Novak Djokovic
2008 Andy Murray
2009 Juan Martin del Potro
2010 Tomas Berdych
2011 Andy Murray
2012 John Isner
2013 Alexander Peya/Bruno Soares
2014 Marin Cilic

*"NEW FACE" WINNERS*
2001 Andy Roddick
2002 Fernando Gonzalez
2003 Rafael Nadal
2004 Joachim Johansson
2005 Gael Monfils
2006 Novak Djokovic
2007 John Isner
2008 Gilles Simon
2009 Robin Soderling
2010 Thiemo de Bakker
2011 Aleksandr Dolgopolov
2012 Milos Raonic
2013 Grigor Dimitrov
2014 Nick Kyrgios

*"PLAYER TO WATCH" WINNERS*
1999 Lleyton Hewitt
2000 Lleyton Hewitt
2001 Andy Roddick
2002 Fernando Gonzalez
2003 Taylor Dent
2004 Gael Monfils
2005 Richard Gasquet & Tomas Berdych
2006 Novak Djokovic & Marcos Baghdatis
2007 Juan Monaco
2008 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2009 Marin Cilic
2010 John Isner & Sam Querrey
2011 Milos Raonic
2012 Filip Peliwo & Luke Saville
2013 Christian Garin
2014 Borna Coric

*"SURPRISE" WINNERS*
2002 Jiri Novak
2003 Martin Verkerk
2004 Gaston Gaudio
2005 Mariano Puerta
2006 Benjamin Becker
2007 Frank Dancevic
2008 Philip Petzschner
2009 Nikolay Davydenko
2010 Jurgen Melzer
2011 Pablo Andujar
2012 Nicolas Almagro
2013 Vacek Pospisil
2014 Roberto Bautista Agut

*"VETERAN" WINNERS*
2002 Andre Agassi
2003 Andre Agassi
2004 Tim Henman
2005 Andre Agassi
2006 Jonas Bjorkman
2007 Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2008 Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic
2009 Daniel Nestor/Nened Zimonjic
2010 Roger Federer
2011 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2012 Roger Federer
2013 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
2014 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan

*"COMEBACK" WINNERS*
2001 Goran Ivanisevic
2002 Carlos Moya
2003 Mark Philippoussis
2004 Lleyton Hewitt
2005 James Blake
2006 Andy Roddick
2007 Guillermo Canas
2008 Gilles Muller
2009 Tommy Haas
2010 Mardy Fish
2011 Juan Martin del Potro
2012 Tommy Haas
2013 Lleyton Hewitt
2014 David Goffin

*"DOWN" WINNERS*
2002 Gustavo Kuerten
2003 Lleyton Hewitt
2004 Juan Carlos Ferrero
2005 Tim Henman
2006 Guillermo Coria
2007 James Blake
2008 Ivan Ljubicic
2009 James Blake
2010 Juan Martin del Potro
2011 Andy Roddick
2012 Mardy Fish
2013 Roger Federer
2014 Juan Martin del Potro

*"MOST IMPROVED" WINNERS*
2003 Mardy Fish
2004 Guillermo Canas
2005 Robby Ginepri
2006 Dmitry Tursunov
2007 Ivo Karlovic
2008 Ernests Gulbis
2009 Fernando Verdasco
2010 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
2011 Janko Tipsarevic
2012 Juan Monaco
2013 Jerzy Janowicz
2014 Kei Nishikori

=YEARLY ATP POY LISTS=
[1998]
1.Pete Sampras
2.Patrick Rafter
3.Carlos Moya
[1999]
1.Andre Agassi
2.Pete Sampras
3.Yevgeny Kafelnikov
[2000]
1.Marat Safin
2.Pete Sampras
3.Gustavo Kuerten
4.Magnus Norman
5.Lleyton Hewitt
[2001]
1.Lleyton Hewitt
2.Gustavo Kuerten
3.Andre Agassi
4.Goran Ivanisevic
5.Patrick Rafter
6.Sebastien Grosjean
7.Juan Carlos Ferrero
8.Yevgeny Kafelnikov
9.Andy Roddick
10.Tommy Haas
[2002]
1.Lleyton Hewitt
2.Andre Agassi
3.Carlos Moya
4.Marat Safin
5.Juan Carlos Ferrero
6.Andy Roddick
7.Roger Federer
8t.Pete Sampras
8t.Albert Costa
8t.Thomas Johansson
9.Younes El Aynaoui
10.Guillermo Canas
[2003]
1.Andy Roddick
2.Juan Carlos Ferrero
3.Andre Agassi
4.Roger Federer
5.Guillermo Coria
6.Rainer Schuettler
7.Mark Philippoussis
8.Carlos Moya
9.Nicolas Massu
10.David Nalbandian
[2004]
1.Roger Federer
2.Lleyton Hewitt
3.Marat Safin
4.Andy Roddick
5.Gaston Gaudio
6.Guillermo Coria
7.Tim Henman
8.Nicolas Massu
9.Carlos Moya
10.Andre Agassi
[2005]
1.Roger Federer
2.Rafael Nadal
3.Andy Roddick
4.Ivan Ljubicic
5.Andre Agassi
6.Lleyton Hewitt
7.Marat Safin
8.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
9.David Nalbandian
10.Nikolay Davydenko
[2006]
1.Roger Federer
2.Rafael Nadal
3.Nikolay Davydenko
4.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
5.Ivan Ljubicic
6.James Blake
7.Marcos Baghdatis
8.Russian Davis Cup Team
9.Tommy Robredo
10.Novak Djokovic
[2007]
1.Roger Federer
2.Rafael Nadal
3.Novak Djokovic
4.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
5.Andy Roddick
6.David Ferrer
7.Juan Monaco
8.James Blake
9.Guillermo Canas
10.Fernando Gonzalez
[2008]
1.Rafael Nadal
2.Roger Federer
3.Novak Djokovic
4.Andy Murray
5.Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic
6.Spanish Davis Cup Team
7.Gilles Simon
8.Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
9.Juan Martin del Potro
10.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
[2009]
1.Roger Federer
2.Juan Martin del Potro
3.Rafael Nadal
4.Andy Murray
5.Novak Djokovic
[2010]
1.Rafael Nadal
2.Roger Federer
3.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
4.Andy Murray
5.Nestor/Zimonjic
[2011]
1.Novak Djokovic
2.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
3.Rafael Nadal
4.Andy Murray
5.Roger Federer
[2012]
1.Andy Murray
2.Roger Federer
3.Novak Djokovic
4.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
5.Rafael Nadal
6.David Ferrer
7.Juan Martin del Potro
8.Czech Davis Cup Team
9.Max Mirnyi/Daniel Nestor
10.Leander Paes/Radek Stepanek
[2013]
1.Rafael Nadal
2.Novak Djokovic
3.Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
4.Andy Murray
5.David Ferrer
6.Juan Martin del Potro
7.Alexander Peya/Bruno Soares
8.Stan Wawrinka
9.Tommy Haas
10.Roger Federer


All for now.

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Surprises - You list "James Ward" as USA - did you mean the James Ward that is from GBR and beat Sam Querry in the Davis Cup match GBR v USA back in February?

Fri Nov 21, 02:40:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Yep, I did. Edit! I'll fix that now. Thanks!

Fri Nov 21, 10:25:00 AM EST  
Blogger Eric said...

Before Fed Cup, I would have put Mike and Bob Bryan as #1 for the year, too. For some reason, Wawrinka moved up my list a lot during the ATP Finals and Fed Cup.

I feel like Djokovic/Fed/Nadal are kind of like Serena. When they have an ok year, it feels awful. This is a double standard...but because of that feeling, I think I would have put Stan ahead of them. If the rankings had been singles only, Wawrinka would have won for me.

Luckily, you count all disciplines...and I agree that the Bryan Bros had a tremendous year...and knocked out so many records.

Tue Nov 25, 02:36:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Hmmm, looking back over it for this list, the only singles player I really considered was Djokovic. His numbers were actually WAY better than they FELT during the season, but I think him winning
"only" one slam makes it seem like a disappointing year. If he'd have won RG, it'd been an easy choice, I think.

That said, if the Bryans hadn't won the U.S. Open, even with their great success in non-slam events in' 14, it'd been hard to pick them.

Tue Nov 25, 06:24:00 PM EST  

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