2020: The Year That Was...
2020 was a bizarre year in almost every walk of life, due to the Corona Virus. Tennis was no exception, as the sport was badly hit by the global impact of the pandemic, and a majority of the year's tournaments got cancelled. For close to half the year, there was absolutely no action in the world of tennis, and the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) took a decision to freeze the 2019 ranking points for all tournaments that were scheduled to be held from March onwards till the end of the year.
The ranking points were frozen from March 23rd till August 23rd, but even after action resumed in August, there was no compulsion for players to compete in tournaments from a rankings point of view, because their ranking points from 2019 would still hold good for the few tournaments that were held once play resumed. If the players did better in the same tournament in 2020 than they did in 2019, then the 2020 points would carry - otherwise the 2019 points would carry.
Despite the turmoil in the year's calendar, we still saw several big tournaments being held in 2020, including three of the four Grand Slams (the Australian Open, the US Open, and the French Open), three of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments (the Western and Southern Open, the Rome Masters, and the Rolex Paris Masters), and the year-end Nitto ATP Finals.
The Year's Big Tournament Winners:
The big tournaments saw the following winners:
Australian Open - Novak Djokovic (defeated Dominic Thiem)
US Open - Dominic Thiem (defeated Alexander Zverev)
French Open - Rafael Nadal (defeated Novak Djokovic)
Western and Southern Open - Novak Djokovic (defeated Milos Raonic)
Rome Masters - Novak Djokovic (defeated Diego Schwartzman)
Rolex Paris Masters - Daniil Medvedev (defeated Alexander Zverev)
Nitto ATP Finals - Daniil Medvedev (defeated Dominic Thiem)
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| Novak Djokovic Image Courtesy Google Images |
The Year-End Top 10:
At the end of the year, we saw the following players finishing in the top 10:
1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia (12,030 points) [no.2 in 2019]
2. Rafael Nadal, Spain (9,850 points) [no.1 in 2019]
3. Dominic Thiem, Austria (9,125 points) [no.4 in 2019]
4. Daniil Medvedev, Russia (8,470 points) [no.5 in 2019]
5. Roger Federer, Switzerland (6,630 points) [no.3 in 2019]
6. Stefano Tsitsipas, Greece (5,925 points) [no.6 in 2019]
7. Alexander Zverev, Germany (5,525 points) [no.7 in 2019]
8. Andrey Rublev, Russia (4,119 points) [no.23 in 2019]
9. Diego Schwartzman, Argentina (3,455 points) [no.14 in 2019]
10. Matteo Berrettini, Italy (3,075 points) [no.8 in 2019]
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| Rafael Nadal Image Courtesy Google Images |
Highlights of the Year's Top 10 Players:
Djokovic finished as the world no.1 for the 6th time, tying the record of Pete Sampras. It was Djokovic's 13th year in the Top 10. The year saw him claim his 17th Grand Slam title. Djokovic also created history by taking his Masters 1000 tally up from 34 to 36, overtaking Nadal's record of 35. Djokovic's 2,000 points from his 2019 Wimbledon victory counted towards his tally of points.
Nadal finished in the Top 10 for the 16th consecutive year. He won the French Open for a mindboggling 13th time, which also gave him his 20th Grand Slam title, equaling Roger Federer's record. His 2,000 points from his 2019 US Open victory helped him end the year at no.2. Without playing the US Open (a decision he took in order to prepare for the postponed French Open, which was just weeks later), he got to keep his points from the previous year.
Thiem emerged as a real challenger to the top of the sport, with his first Grand Slam title. He also made it to the Australian Open final, and repeated his 2019 achievement of reaching the final of the Nitto ATP Finals. This was his fifth consecutive year in the Top 10, and at no.3, it was his highest finish to date. In the Nitto ATP Finals, he upset both Djokovic and Nadal en route to the final.
Medvedev had an erratic year, but finished strongly, getting to the US Open semi final, winning his third Masters 1000 title, and remaining undefeated to win the Nitto ATP Finals (where he beat the world's top three players in the world - Djokovic, Nadal, and Thiem). He improved on his 2019 year-end ranking of no.5.
Federer participated in just one tournament in the year, at the Australian Open, where he reached the semi final. He didn't play again the whole year because of injury. His year-end ranking of no.5 was thanks to the freeze in ranking points, because 2019 had been a great year for him (it included the classic Wimbledon final, where Djokovic narrowly edged him out for the title). It was Federer's 18th year in the Top 10, which is an all-time record. The year saw him turn 39 years old, and it is incredible that he is still a major power in the sport!
Tsitsipas finished 2019 in style, winning the Nitto ATP Finals. In 2020, he added to his list of accomplishments by getting to the French Open semi final.
Zverev finished in the top 10 for the fourth straight year. He finished at no.4 in both 2017 and in 2018. This year saw him finish at no.7 like in 2019, but in terms of Grand Slams, it was a breakthrough year for him, because he got to his first Grand Slam semi final (at the Australian Open) and his first Grand Slam final (at the US Open).
Rublev won an impressive 5 tournaments in the year, and got to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. He also finished the year with 41 wins on the tour, which was the year's highest, along with Djokovic. This was his first Top 10 finish, as he climbed from no.23 to no.8.
Schwartzman had a stellar year, finishing at no.9, his highest ever ranking. He got to his first ever Masters 1000 final, in Rome, and followed it up with his first Grand Slam semi final appearance (at the French Open).
Berrettini rounded up the Top 10, slipping down two notches from his 2019 no.8 year-end ranking. He also benefitted from the ranking points freeze, as his 2019 US Open semi final showing kept his points alive.
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| Dominic Thiem Image Courtesy Google Images |
What to expect in 2021:
As 2021 draws near, there are lots of things to look forward to, and lots of mouth-watering questions to be answered!
Will Djokovic surpass Federer's record of 310 weeks as world no.1? By the end of 2020, he will have spent a cumulative of 301 weeks at no.1, so he just needs to hang on till March to create a new record.
Will Djokovic add to his haul of 17 Grand Slam titles and threaten the record of 20, which Federer and Nadal jointly hold? Will Djokovic create history with a 7th year as the year-end no.1?
Will Nadal add to his staggering 13 French Open titles? Will Nadal overtake Federer's haul of 20 Grand Slam titles? Will Nadal join Sampras and Djokovic and make it 6 years as the year-end world no.1?
Will Thiem get to world no.1? He is certainly knocking on the door.
Will Federer make a remarkable come-back from injury, the way he did in 2017? In 2017, he returned from injury and won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. That year saw him go from no.16 in the rankings (2016 had been an injury plagued year for him and saw him out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2002) to no.2 in the rankings, behind Nadal.
Will Federer add to his collection of 20 Grand Slam titles? Will Federer still have it in him to remain one of the world's top players, as he approaches the age of 40?
Will three of the most promising next gen players - Zverev, Tsitsipas, and Medvedev - win their first Grand Slam title? Thiem finally joined the elite club of Grand Slam winners in 2020, after a Runners Up finish on three previous occasions.
Will we see new talent threaten the top echelons of the game? Players like Rublev have certainly shown signs of it, and youngsters like Shapovalov, Aliassime, and Sinner have steadily climbed the rankings, and could be future champions.
Looking forward to an exciting 2021 in the world of men's tennis!
2 comments:
The sheer dominance of the trio is sure on the road to decline now, it is a natural outcome of age. It is great to see the next gen finally making a mark at the top events - Thiem and Medvedev are my picks for the next few years at the slams. Medvedev, I hope is able to maintain his consistency. Thiem is more mentally sorted and mature. He is older as well. I would be very surprised if Federer were to add to his 20. Even Nadal, I doubt would be able to better 20, if at all, his best chance would be the French, even here Thiem would be a force to reckon with. Novak should win at least 3-4 more in my view in the next couple of years and get to about 20-21. On a conservative side, the leaders in slams in my view would be Novak at 21 with Rafa and Fed tied at 20. ATP Tour Finals would remain to Rafa, like what Wimbledon is to Lendl. Perhaps a lifetime regret, this year was his best chance as he had the form, yet erred at crucial points and lost matches he should have won. Sascha is a little volatile, I just hope he doesn't turn out to be another Kyrgios - a talent mine with little to show for results! Overall, can't wait for Melbourne Park to come alive, come January!
Thanks Ipshita. I think I agree with most of your views. I'll be very surprised if Federer adds to his haul of 20 Grand Slam titles. Rafa could very well win 1 more French Open at least. Djokovic probably will go on to win a few more, depending on how quickly the newer lot start winning Grand Slams with more regularity. Thiem is most likely to be the next no.1, with Medvedev right behind him. I think Zverev and Tsitsipas have a lot of promise too. I agree Zverev has been erratic, but he has already done a lot more than Kyrgios has ever achieved. Can't wait for 2021!
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