Au Revoir 2014, G'Day 2015

Hey Y'all...Happy New Year!

Twenty years ago, Arantxa Sanches Vicario went 3-3 against Steffi, winning a slam in the process. From 1988-‘94, she had gone 5-21. So it looked like she may well have reached a turning point in her career against the mighty Steffi Graf. This, in case you had forgotten or were getting her confused with that other Steffi, you know, is Steffi Graf:

#HappyHolidays everyone! The Santa hat finally made it to the top...lol

A photo posted by Andre Agassi (@agassi) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:39pm PST

The bald guy next to her is Andre Agassi, and he was also not a bad tennis player. They have kids and everything now. Anyway Vicario looked like she had Graf figured out. She never beat Graf again. Not once. That was in 1994. Yep, after that Graf never again lost to the Spaniard again.

Ten years ago Maria Sharapova went 2-1 against Serena Williams. I hear you, saying Serena was injured in one of those, but it's still Serena. Everyone thought Sharapova had Williams all figured out, and perhaps if she had beaten her in that AO match that might be true. Since then Sharapova has lost again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Yes she is now 2-16. She has won three sets since 2004 and been held to a game or less 10 times. So, predictions can go wrong. Never forget this.

If those two predictions from 1994 and 2004 aren't warning enough, ask Todd about the “Kuznetsova Curse,” another 2004 occurrence.

I had not yet ths year honored Sharapova's ten-year anniversary of winning her first slam. Now I have and with time to spare. I am also honoring the twenty-year anniversary of Sanchez's rise to number one. It happened, of course, in February of 1995. If I don't do it early, I will forget. Anyway, let’s have a final look back at the ATP in 2014 before the clock strikes midnight.

**2014 PLAYERS-OF-THE-YEAR**
1. Djokovic
...These rankings are not just about who won what, who imploded when and which players won the most matches. That certainly comes into it, but I'm also going on how I felt a player did. So one could say if you take out the injuries Gasquet had an okay year. I am huge Gasquet fan, and I’m pouring water all over that. I am using my feelings a lot here. I don't often get permission to be opinionated [I do it anyway] but here I have some free reign.

So, Djokovic. First the majors: a quarterfinal he lost in five epic sets, two finals, one slam and a semi. That for me is a B+ year at the slams. He went 61-8 and won 88% of his matches, but Federer proved to be his foil, handing him several of those losses. For me it felt like a down year but that isn't backed up by the statistics. He finished as number one and was there or thereabouts all season. He came back magnificently from a shaky early start and defeated Federer in another epic Wimbledon final. He looked very good for a lot of the U.S. Open and also in closing out the year.

There were some inexplicable losses along the way, too, however. He lost in four sets to Nishikori and was poor from the end of Wimbledon until the Asian swing. I think that if there was a serious contender to the number one spot or if Fedex was a little younger he would struggle to cling onto the number one. I do not think, however, he will win the French or win another slam after the conclusion of the 2016 season.

A great season by most people’s standards but a poor season by the Serb's. If Federer had won that Wimbledon match, we would be talking about a different number one.
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2. Federer

...That man there is to be feared above all else. He alone conquered Michael Jordan. He removed Laver from the scene, not Rosewall. He is slowly seeing off the Mannings. He is forcing Hillary's hand. He takes from us those we would not be parted with: relatives, friends, compatriots, heroes, villains and rock 'n roll stars.

He is Old Father Time.

Run. Hide. Lock up your loved ones , your elderly ones in particular. He is the only one The Radwanska fears. Nobody can beat Father Time except for some notable exceptions -- John McCain, Mick Jagger and Tina Turner, for example. There are those who can hold off Father Time. Springsteen managed it for a while, while Brady is managing it now.

And Roger Federer, of whom I could write ten thousand words and not even get started on his career achievements, is doing something not even The Radwanska can do. He is easily winning against Old Father Time.


They stand there laughing, Roger and Serena, the greatest of a generation [Kuznetsova aside, of course] whilst others are claimed by Old Father Time. They watch as others wither and they stand strong. They wave off Davydenko and Dementieva. They say farewell to Henin and Henman. They outlast Clijsters and Coria. They remember fondly Moya and Mauresmo, those former world number ones.

Last year Federer went 73-12 and won 86% of his matches. He made a slam final and won five titles. Somehow he also managed to find time to catch up with Serena and laugh at Old Father Time. Reminiscing about Li and Ljubicic whilst Old Father Time tries and tries and tries to break them down.
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3. Wawrinka
Nobody saw this coming. Several titles, a grand slam and winning the Davis Cup. If I achieved that during my career I would be proud. I would shout it from the rooftops. Wawrinka achieved it in a year. There were times when he literally blew the tour away. I watched his match with Djokovic last January and it was incredible. It was one of the best matches I'd seen in a while.

Watch this informative video:


Stan won 70% of his matches and followed up the breakthrough slam with a fantastic second one, although exiting in the 1st round of the French was very disapointing. It wasn't just the fact it was the 1st round, it was the way it happened. There was no fight. After the U.S. Open he was poor. The form and the desire had vanished. There were also several very unexplainable losses along the way.

This year’s world number four has earned that title. He has been a fresh breath of air on the tour and has been consistently strong throughout most of the year. I expect at least one slam semi-final next season.
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4. Bryans
...They're slacking. They only won a slam. They did, however, win six of nine Masters titles and made a final in another. They also went 10-2 in singles finals throughout the year. It should be hard these days, you would imagine, to dominate in doubles but the Bryans manage it with consummate ease. They lost only twelve matches all season.

They have double the rankings points of the world’s number team #2 team of Nestor and Zimonjic. The ATP doubles tour is playing “Mandolin Rain” and we all know who the Bryans are. This little section here is just to remind everyone how ridiculously dominant they are. I don't think they always get enough appreciation for just how hard they work and how dominant they are.
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5. Nishikori
...I had concerns about the young guns coming into 2014. Dimitrov needed to answer questions about his performances in slams and he did so. Nishikori had to answer questions about his fitness and he has done so. Raonic has had to answer questions about his game and he has done so.

Nishikori has improved dramatically through the year, and he started ’14 with this highlight reel:


It's incredible he managed to improve on that. He has become like Chang with firepower and options. That is a frightening combination. He does not have a Karlovic serve, Gonzalez forehand or Gasquet backhand caliber weapon but he makes the court smaller. He forces you to hit harder shots and even the serve isn't weak anymore. Where does one hit the ball when playing the Japanese man? That's a question even the best have struggled to answer.
This year’s awakening was highlighted by a run to the U.S. Open final where he showed his physicality at last by ousting Wawrinka in five epic sets and then Djokovic in a lengthy four setter. Sure, Cilic had too much, but that is forgivable. He had eleven wins against the top ten this year, and became the first Asian man [I see you there, Kimiko] to make the top five. Three Masters semi-finals [he won one] and a 4-2 mark in finals this year further illustrate how good he has been.

The only shaky thing has been his performance in the slams. He made the 4th round twice and lost in the 1st round of the French. Had he made a quarterfinal it would have been a great year at the slams.

I have to stop talking about him now but I'll leave you with this factoid: he has never beaten a world number three.
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6. Berdych
...Ah, Berdych. Perennially in the top ten. Last year was three finals, two slam quarterfinals, a Davis Cup win and four Masters semi-finals. This was it was in two Masters semi-finals, five finals [two titles] and a slam semi with two slam quarterfinals, as well. For sheer consistency of achievement look no further than the Czech number one. He has carried his country to four semi-finals in the Davis Cup since 2010 and won it twice during that period. Since 2010 he has finished sixth in the world, seventh, sixth, seventh and seventh.

Since 2010, these are his year long win-loss stats. Heck the guy is more consistent than Murray. I mean next year it's going to read the same.



Last year he won no titles so I didn't put him on. In hindsight, I may have been a bit harsh, but them’s the rules.

He has the same consistency Dementieva always seemed to have. Next year will be a very similar year to this one and that's just fine. So long as he replicates this and takes a title somewhere he can be on my list.
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7. Raonic
...Check out this table I stole from the ATP. Ain't it great? I bet you can guess what it is -- yep, aces. I'd estimate there are over 7000 aces in that top ten. Raonic has developed his game beyond the serve which is what was expected of him. He is a slightly more one-dimensional, slightly calmer Roddick. Perhaps it's the Canadian in him.



He went 21-9 at Masters level and 14-4 at slam level. That is impressive. Three finals [he won one, too] including one at Masters level, further add to his case to be at number seven. He lost for the third consecutive time in the Japan Open final. When will he win that title?

The big server became the highest ever ranked Canadian man at six in the world [he now sits in eighth] and no, Greg Rusedski does not count.
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8. Dimitrov
...I struggled to place the youngsters. The heir apparent to the throne the Maleeva sisters owned has finally risen to take the title of Bulgarian tennis King.

Let’s start with four finals on three different surfaces, and he won three. How many people do you know who have won three titles on three different surfaces? A couple maybe. Now how about people that have done that in a year. I'm also impressed with back-to-back Masters semis in Rome and Canada. His biggest improvement for me, though, is outlined wonderfully with some more fancy stats.



Now, there were some surprise losses [Ivo Karlovic in the 1st round of the French Open] and he did seem to run out of steam by the end of the year. But look at my fancy chart -- he wins 13 more matches each year. Next year he should win about 65. He is improving rapidly.

Oh also, a slam semi-final where he had Djokovic before choking and a slam quarterfinal where he had Nadal before choking were both very impressive slam performances. Once the choking or the “Doing a Hingis” goes he will be fine.
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9. Cilic
...I was forced to include Marion Bartoli on last years WTA list because she won Wimbledon despite facing no top twenty seeds during her run and making no other finals that year. Cilic had a great comeback and won his maiden slam.

He has made four finals this year and won three, the U.S. Open aside.

He did, however, have a miserable year at the Masters and never made it past the 3rd round at any of them. He benefited from a light draw at the U.S. Open, which included a retirement and several low seeds late on in the tournament. Wawrinka beat Nadal and Djokovic. Cilic beat a very poor Federer. That for me is the difference.

Cilic had an excellent comeback year but, much like Thomas Johansson, he is forever doomed to be an obscure tennis trivia question; a lucky anomaly, a one time slam winner. Still winning a slam is a big achievement and he has also won several titles to compliment that slam this year. He has also been as high as number eight this year.
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10. Murray
...No Nadal here. Please sue me if you want. I have had enough of this debate. If Alex Ovechkin misses twenty hockey games he is not the MVP. Nadal was injured. He missed a huge chunk. I cannot include him on this list. I have no problem with the big guns on the ATP and WTA skipping certain tournaments. They sell our sport and they have to keep healthy. Nadal missed a bunch of Masters and a slam.

Murray had a rubbish year highlighted by a late surge to make the WTF where he was abysmal and a fluky French Open semi-final where Nadal tore him to pieces. Winning a few titles late on because Robredo kept choking is not convincing anyone except the British media.

Still he retained his spot in the top ten and so I left him in here. It felt like he was having a bad year and there were even more inexplicable losses than usual. I think he is on the downward trajectory now but I cannot move him out of these rankings for a while yet. Losses to the likes of Mayer, Fognini and Giraldo are all too common and they have increased over the course of his career.
Still Murray made the quarters at all the slams and won several titles. This entitles him to a spot on my ATP Backspin top ten.

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RISER: Gulbis
FRESH FACE: Kokkinakis
JUNIOR: Kozlov
SURPRISE: Hewitt
VETERAN: Murray
COMEBACK: Haas
DOWN: Berdych
TEAM/DUO: Sock/Pospisil
MOST IMPROVED: Monfils
UNDERRATED: F. Lopez
OVERRATED: Tsonga
PLAYER TO WATCH in '15: Federer
NATION TO WATCH in '15: Australia

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Well, I am out. It's worth a look back and a look forward at this point. Now I am going to pick some things for the first week of competitions.

I like Williams and Isner to win for obvious reasons. I think Dellacqua and Kyrgios could also do well Down Under. Sharapova should win through as top seed in Brisbane, but Jankovic and Ivanovic should also get off to a solid start. Shenzhen is very uneven. Kvitova and Halep should obliterate the field and set up an epic clash in the final. I'm not confident of Kvitova, however, as I have been burned before by her. I like the look of top seed Wozniacki in Auckland [ASB Classic], but also here lurking are third seed Venus Williams and fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, a Backspin favorite Todd's pick to win the U.S. Open this past season. I only picked her to make the semi-finals. And yes ,if you were wondering, I shall be bringing that up until she retires and beyond. I am building on her legendary status here in Backspin Blogtown. If When she wins a title during the year I will dedicate space to her.

I like Wawrinka to take Chennai again [finalist in '10 and winner '11 and '14], but fourth seeded Goffin is hotter than Christmas pudding right now. Still, the gap in class is alarming if Warinka hits his top form. Here are the seeds for the Qatar Open.

1.Novak Djokovic
2.Rafael Nadal
3.Tomas Berdych
4.David Ferrer
5.Ernests Gulbis
6.Philipp Kohlschreiber
7.Richard Gasquet
8.Ivo Karlovic

I think Djokovic should win but, really, this has bloodbath written all over it. Federer has Nishikori, Raonic and Dimitrov to keep him company in Brisbane. Other talented seeds are here, too, but to be honest I don't think Federer will lose here. Nishikori may give him some trouble, but when fully fit none of the young guns really trouble him.

Righteo. See you all soon and then, er, repeatedly after that. The next time I'll be on WTA Backspin is for the Australian Open in, wow, three weeks or so. So happy holidays for the final time to you and yours.

Galileo.

P.S- Go next door to WTA BACKSPIN. They have cookies. ;)

[Editor’s note: chocolate chip or peanut butter... your choice!]

Whew.

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