BGod
G.O.A.T.
The top players end of season tournament was always split into two until the 00s. In the 80s you had WCT and Grand Prix, in the 90s you had WTF and Grand Slam Cup.
So we begin with 2000 onwards and until 2007 it was a Bo5 final. And we are discussing just the what if final title match scenarios.
Some considerations to start:
2004 Final flips between Fed/Safin SF match. I think given the quality of their SF match to begin with, it being the Final would have probably been better. Safin ended playing Fed in the semi because he lost 6-7, 6-7 to Roddick in RR play. Otherwise the SFs would have been Fed vs. Roddick and Hewitt vs. Safin.
2006 Fed vs. Nalbandian rematch. At that time their matches were often legendary affairs, and Nalbandian lost a very tight match with Ljubicic in RR and 3 set loss to Fed. He ended up losing to Blake and I think in no small part that he had a 1-2 record in RR despite being one of the better performers. He was grinded, but making the final I think would have been better than Blake getting 0-3-4 straight set.
2008 Murray vs. Fed. Their RR match was of high quality and if Fed wins it then that sets up a probable finals clash given Murray's form at the time.
2009 Fed vs. Delpo. So del Potro did get by Soderling but Fed fell to Davydenko in 3 sets. After that USO I'm sure even a thrashing by Fed would have seen more highlights than Davydenko's percentage baseline victory.
2011 Fed vs. Novak. I know the Fed scenarios are getting tired but this is the last one. Novak of course surprisingly loss to Tipsarevic in RR and that's what kept him out and while the final between Tsonga was entertaining, the storylines of a Novak rematch after USO much like in 09 would have been juicy, plus Fed's last peak level form at the WTF.
2013 Stan vs. Djoker Final instead of SF. So Wawrinka had amazing RR matches and his double tiebreak loss to Nadal came at 5-7 & 6-8. If he goes 3-0 instead he faces Djokovic in the final and I think it makes for a better match than their SF.
2014 Stanimal vs. Novak. One of those Fed matches he had no business winning and of course the only walkover Finals in the tournament's history. Obviously a Stan match up instead can only be far better.
2017 Dimitrov vs. Zverev. Just didn't want to put another Fed scenario and the Zverev match was very close. Goffin just made for a forgettable final.
2020 Thiem vs. Nadal. A Final off clay and Nadal's last legitimate chance at the WTF.
So we begin with 2000 onwards and until 2007 it was a Bo5 final. And we are discussing just the what if final title match scenarios.
Some considerations to start:
2004 Final flips between Fed/Safin SF match. I think given the quality of their SF match to begin with, it being the Final would have probably been better. Safin ended playing Fed in the semi because he lost 6-7, 6-7 to Roddick in RR play. Otherwise the SFs would have been Fed vs. Roddick and Hewitt vs. Safin.
2006 Fed vs. Nalbandian rematch. At that time their matches were often legendary affairs, and Nalbandian lost a very tight match with Ljubicic in RR and 3 set loss to Fed. He ended up losing to Blake and I think in no small part that he had a 1-2 record in RR despite being one of the better performers. He was grinded, but making the final I think would have been better than Blake getting 0-3-4 straight set.
2008 Murray vs. Fed. Their RR match was of high quality and if Fed wins it then that sets up a probable finals clash given Murray's form at the time.
2009 Fed vs. Delpo. So del Potro did get by Soderling but Fed fell to Davydenko in 3 sets. After that USO I'm sure even a thrashing by Fed would have seen more highlights than Davydenko's percentage baseline victory.
2011 Fed vs. Novak. I know the Fed scenarios are getting tired but this is the last one. Novak of course surprisingly loss to Tipsarevic in RR and that's what kept him out and while the final between Tsonga was entertaining, the storylines of a Novak rematch after USO much like in 09 would have been juicy, plus Fed's last peak level form at the WTF.
2013 Stan vs. Djoker Final instead of SF. So Wawrinka had amazing RR matches and his double tiebreak loss to Nadal came at 5-7 & 6-8. If he goes 3-0 instead he faces Djokovic in the final and I think it makes for a better match than their SF.
2014 Stanimal vs. Novak. One of those Fed matches he had no business winning and of course the only walkover Finals in the tournament's history. Obviously a Stan match up instead can only be far better.
2017 Dimitrov vs. Zverev. Just didn't want to put another Fed scenario and the Zverev match was very close. Goffin just made for a forgettable final.
2020 Thiem vs. Nadal. A Final off clay and Nadal's last legitimate chance at the WTF.
