Sir David Gray
05-12-2011, 02:27 PM
What a year 2011 has been in the tennis season.
The last 12 months have been dominated by one man - Novak Djokovic.
The Serb has won three of the four Grand Slam titles, including his first ever successes at Wimbledon and the US Open and became only the sixth man since the Open Era began in 1969 to win at least three Majors in a single season.
He also won five Masters titles, which is a new record, and won a record amount of prize money for a single season - £7 million.
He also had 43 straight victories from December 2010-June 2011 and didn't lose a match until the semi finals of the French Open.
Although his season did tail off a bit towards the end, only winning 6 of his last 11 matches of the year, his achievements this year have been outstanding and will be almost impossible to repeat.
Just like in previous years, the major honours were all dominated by the top four players. Only David Ferrer (twice), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish made any major finals this year.
It was a tough year for Rafael Nadal, although he won his 6th French Open title, he lost all six matches against Novak Djokovic and he looked mentally and physically exhausted when he was hammered by Roger Federer at the O2 in London.
However, clinching victory for Spain in the Davis Cup yesterday will have given him a major boost ahead of next season and he should mount a real challenge to try and take back his number one spot.
2012 may end up being a big season for Roger Federer. He turned 30 earlier this year and 2011 was the first year since 2002 that he failed to win at least one Grand Slam title.
But he finished the season strongly, he's on a current winning streak of 17 matches and last week he won a record sixth year-end title in London. He was also one point away from beating Novak Djokovic in the semi finals of the US Open.
Winning in London has also meant that he's finished the year in third place, ahead of Andy Murray.
As for Murray, it was a strong 12 months for him but another frustrating one, in that his wait for a first Grand Slam title goes on. He began the year well by reaching the Australian Open final for the second year in a row, losing in straight sets to Djokovic. Following this disappointment, he barely won another match until April, when he reached the semi finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. Another semi final appearance at the Rome Masters lead to him going the same distance at Roland Garros.
He then had another strong grass court season. He won at Queen's Club for the second time in his career and got to the semis at Wimbledon for the 3rd year in a row, where a four-set defeat to Rafael Nadal put him out, despite winning the opening set.
On the North American hard courts, he won the Cincinnati Masters and then got to the semis of the US Open, where he once again lost to Nadal in four sets.
Like Federer, Murray had a strong end to the year, winning three titles in a row, including an 8th Masters title in Shanghai, and he also helped Great Britain get promotion in the Davis Cup.
A quarter final defeat at the Paris Masters lead to a disappointing campaign at the O2, where he was forced to pull out through injury after one match. It really remains to be seen if 2012 will be his year or if he'll ever win a Grand Slam. With Nadal and Djokovic around, it's going to be tough for him but he remains one of the players to beat and will always be there or thereabouts when it comes to the major titles in the sport.
With next year being Olympic year, it should prove to be a very exciting year for tennis. It will be interesting to see if the likes of David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro can put in a challenge to the top players or if the sport will continue to be dominated by the four usual suspects.
The last 12 months have been dominated by one man - Novak Djokovic.
The Serb has won three of the four Grand Slam titles, including his first ever successes at Wimbledon and the US Open and became only the sixth man since the Open Era began in 1969 to win at least three Majors in a single season.
He also won five Masters titles, which is a new record, and won a record amount of prize money for a single season - £7 million.
He also had 43 straight victories from December 2010-June 2011 and didn't lose a match until the semi finals of the French Open.
Although his season did tail off a bit towards the end, only winning 6 of his last 11 matches of the year, his achievements this year have been outstanding and will be almost impossible to repeat.
Just like in previous years, the major honours were all dominated by the top four players. Only David Ferrer (twice), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish made any major finals this year.
It was a tough year for Rafael Nadal, although he won his 6th French Open title, he lost all six matches against Novak Djokovic and he looked mentally and physically exhausted when he was hammered by Roger Federer at the O2 in London.
However, clinching victory for Spain in the Davis Cup yesterday will have given him a major boost ahead of next season and he should mount a real challenge to try and take back his number one spot.
2012 may end up being a big season for Roger Federer. He turned 30 earlier this year and 2011 was the first year since 2002 that he failed to win at least one Grand Slam title.
But he finished the season strongly, he's on a current winning streak of 17 matches and last week he won a record sixth year-end title in London. He was also one point away from beating Novak Djokovic in the semi finals of the US Open.
Winning in London has also meant that he's finished the year in third place, ahead of Andy Murray.
As for Murray, it was a strong 12 months for him but another frustrating one, in that his wait for a first Grand Slam title goes on. He began the year well by reaching the Australian Open final for the second year in a row, losing in straight sets to Djokovic. Following this disappointment, he barely won another match until April, when he reached the semi finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. Another semi final appearance at the Rome Masters lead to him going the same distance at Roland Garros.
He then had another strong grass court season. He won at Queen's Club for the second time in his career and got to the semis at Wimbledon for the 3rd year in a row, where a four-set defeat to Rafael Nadal put him out, despite winning the opening set.
On the North American hard courts, he won the Cincinnati Masters and then got to the semis of the US Open, where he once again lost to Nadal in four sets.
Like Federer, Murray had a strong end to the year, winning three titles in a row, including an 8th Masters title in Shanghai, and he also helped Great Britain get promotion in the Davis Cup.
A quarter final defeat at the Paris Masters lead to a disappointing campaign at the O2, where he was forced to pull out through injury after one match. It really remains to be seen if 2012 will be his year or if he'll ever win a Grand Slam. With Nadal and Djokovic around, it's going to be tough for him but he remains one of the players to beat and will always be there or thereabouts when it comes to the major titles in the sport.
With next year being Olympic year, it should prove to be a very exciting year for tennis. It will be interesting to see if the likes of David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro can put in a challenge to the top players or if the sport will continue to be dominated by the four usual suspects.