The Dark Before the Dawn?

The Masters Cup is on, and the 2007 ATP season is nearly over... but could Roger Federer actually be "coming back to the field?"



Yeah, it's likely a pipe dream designed to give unwarrented hope to anyone not named Nadal or Djokovic (or, I suppose, Nalbandian) for the 2008 season. The season's final weeks have seen The Great One just look "pretty good." He lost to David Nalbandian twice in Masters events, and his opening Round Robin defeat at the hands of Fernando Gonzalez (previously owned by the Swiss Mister) gave him back-to-back tour losses for the first time in four and a half years. And these matches weren't on clay, either.

Of course, Federer looked human in the spring, too. That time it WAS often on clay, but then he rebounded to end Nadal's long clay court win streak, reached the Roland Garros final, and proceeded to sweep through Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to seal his fourth straight season-ending #1 ranking and climb to within two of matching Pete Sampras' all-time ATP mark of fourteen grand slam singles titles.

But could Federer's late-season "swoon" (yeah, it's not REALLY that... but as with any comment related to Federer's tennis, going to the extreme is sort of a requirement, isn't it? Even if it's on the negative side of the ledger.) signal a soon-to-come "changing of the guard," or at least a more equally-distributed series of slam titles over the next few years? Maybe. But, remember, Federer is STILL Federer until further notice and/or evidence to the contrary. He might very well end up winning another Masters Cup this weekend to quell any potential whispers. And, anyway, there's no David Nalbandian to get in the way this time, right?

With the slam record on schedule for 2008, and maybe even a run at a Grand Slam (or potentilly a Golden one in Beijing, where Federer will try to grab his first Olympic championship), the last few weeks of 2007 could end up being simply a little blip that precedes Federer's official christening as "the greatest of all time" (see, as I said earlier). With all the talk of a betting scandal (or, in Nikolay Davydenko's case, the "new McCarthyism"... considering he's being called out by umpires during matches simply because there MIGHT be a chance he's "not giving full effort"), the ATP could really use another big-time year from Federer, with the likes of Rafa and Novak nipping at his heels, next season. And if it comes, it could be fantastic.

As they say, it's often darkest before the dawn.



But what about 2007? Who have been the best players over the last ten and a half months? Well, here's enough opinion to make the world go around for a minute or two:

**PLAYERS OF THE YEAR... with just a few days to go**
1. Roger Federer, SUI
... even though he experienced more lulls than normal during the season, he still won three slams and ended Nadal's record clay court streak. Could he just be revving up for "the greatest season ever" in 2008?
=============================
2. Rafael Nadal, ESP ... dominating the clay season is great, but maybe another disappointing hard court season will compell Rafa to cut his schedule back a bit so that he might enter New York in something resembling top form, as well as being better rested for Melbourne, where the weather conditions would be his friend. He's managed to figure out how to become a good grass court player, so will contending for a hard court slam be his next mission?
=============================
3. Novak Djokovic, SRB
... Captain Federer's Number One in Waiting, and the rare foreign-born player who might be able to break through the dense American sporting landscape and become a star. He needs that first slam title, though.
=============================
4. Bob & Mike Bryan, USA
... the best doubles team in the world (again).
=============================
5. Andy Roddick, USA
... even though he was fated to be born at precisely the wrong time to win grand slam titles, he still has a shot next month to help bring home the USA's first Davis Cup title since 1995.
=============================
6. David Ferrer, ESP
... the little Spanish engine that could, and did, show up Rafa in NYC (and did it again when they faced each other this week in Shanghai). He's gone 3-0 in finals this year.
=============================
7. Juan Monaco, ARG
... the quietest three-time champion on tour this season, and a player who actually got more attention for losing a close one to Djokovic at the US Open than for all the matches he WON during the year.
=============================
8. James Blake, USA
... he could be a mega-star at the US Open if he could string together multiple big-time wins. Of course, he often comes up lacking in big-time matches, which is part of the reason why he didn't qualify for the Masters Cup.
=============================
9. Guillermo Canas, ARG
... he never quite again reached his spring heights when he stunned Federer, but it was still quite a comeback season.
=============================
10. Fernando Gonzalez, CHI
... speaking of never living up to early-season hype. After his Oz run to the final, Gonzo looked like he'd be where Djokovic now finds himself. But he turned out to be mostly an afterthought the rest of the season. A late-year title, and then that win over Federer in Shanghai this week, though, finally allowed him to climb back into the ATP "land of the living."
=============================


*MR. ANONYMOUS*
...years ago, Sports Illustrated ran an Ivan Lendl cover shot that dubbed him "The Champion Nobody Cares About." Well, Robredo is the Top 10 player nobody knows.

*MR. NOTORIOUS*
...after years of being the most invisible top-ranked player on earth, Nikolay Davydenko finally received some notoriety this season, but it was for all the wrong reasons. He's still ranked #4, but he'd gone title-less all season until finally securing a win in Moscow last month. Of course, no one will remember THAT about his '07 season, now will they?

*OH, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...*
...how could I not give an even bigger nod to David Nalbandian? I mean, talk about a great finishing kick. After posting a single QF result in his previous fifteen tournaments this season, the Argentine exploded in the season's final two Masters events. In Madrid, he became the third man ever (but the second just THIS YEAR) to defeat the top three ranked men in a single event, toppling Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to take the title. Then, next time out, he defeated Federer and Nadal again to claim the Paris Masters. After having a nonexistant presence all season, he ended up finishing at #9 and just missed qualifying for the Masters Cup.


All for now.

Read more!