The ATP Finals participants' review:
Although he attracted some negative attention this year,
Novak Djokovic has confirmed his status as the best player in the world. At the inaugural ATP Cup he played a vital role, beating three top 10 players and two vital doubles matches to win this international tournament for Serbia. He took that form with him in Melbourne, dropping just one set en route to the Australian Open final, He was never tested on that stage like this year, as Dominic Thiem took a two sets to one lead, but Djokovic regrouped in time to turn the match around, win his 17th Grand Slam title and return to number 1 in the world. Dubai featured dominant performances and a semifinal comeback where he saved three match points to beat Monfils. A straight sets win over Tsitsipas in the final meant the Serbian was unbeaten for the year when the coronavirus pandemic put an indefinite halt to tennis. During the break, Novak’s time at number 1 wasn’t counted. He continued where he left off at the Cincinnati Masters held in New York, once again winning narrowest of matches against Bautista Agut in the semifinal, then defeating Raonic from a set down in the final to become the first player to achieve the Double Golden Masters. Novak was a heavy favorite for the US Open crown and was playing dominant tennis there, but the most unexpected and unfortunate incident happened in the fourth round as he accidentally slammed one of the tennis balls straight into the line umpire and was defaulted. In Rome he recovered quickly, dropping one set throughout the entire tournament to set a new record for most Masters 1000 titles, with 36. At the end of that week he also overtook Pete Sampras in second place for most weeks at number 1. Given that Roland Garros was played in different conditions than normal and with Nadal showing less than great form, it was an exciting build up for the final, but in a contrast to their Australian Open final alst year, the King of Clay triumphed in straight sets to tie the Slam record. Reaching the Vienna quarterfinal confirmed a sixth YE #1 finish for Novak, tying his childhood idol Sampras’ record. In London round robin he defeated Schwartzman, lost to Medvedev in straights and then beat Zverev in a virtual quarterfinal match to advance. Semifinal with Thiem was full of drama, as Djokovic saved four match points to force a deciding set, where he himself threw away a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak to miss out on the final. A year that could have been better, as his form dipped a bit after tennis resumed, but having had a better year than everyone else, he will now have Federer’s number 1 record in his sights, and will soon have a chance to fully prioritize the Majors.
Many thought he wouldn’t even be playing now, but
Rafael Nadal has rewritten record books more than ever in 2020. After reaching the ATP Cup final with Spain, missing out against Serbia led by Djokovic, Rafa went to Australian Open. Reaching the quarterfinal, he lost to Dominic Thiem in four sets, falling short in all three tiebreaks they played, and eventually losing his number 1 ranking. He made one more tournament appearance before the pandemic started, winning Acapulco without dropping a set. Five months later tennis resumed, but the Spaniard decided not to travel to the United States, giving up a chance to defend the US Open title and focusing on the postponed clay season. Convincing start in Rome was stopped in the quarterfinal as Nadal lost to Diego Schwartzman for the first time. With Roland Garros played in cooler conditions and finally building a roof, eyebrows were raised whether the King of Clay will manage to defend his title. As always, he crushed all hope for every other contender, reaching the final without dropping a set, ending young talent Sinner’s great run and avenging the Rome loss to Schwartzman, and also saving the best performance of the year for that stage, defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets, including a first set bagel. The win extended his record once again to 13 titles at the French Open, with a win-loss record of 100-2, and most importantly, it meant Nadal has tied Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles. The Spaniard made another two tournament appearances by the end of the season, as he broke the record for most consecutive weeks spent in the top 10. In Paris Masters he repeated the same result as last year, reaching the semifinal after three tight contests, but lost in two sets to Alexander Zverev. Rafa’s performances improved in London, where he beat debutant Andrey Rublev in straight sets, then lost a very tight couple of tiebreaks to Dominic Thiem, then knocked out defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets in what was a vital round robin match for both. It was a great opportunity for Nadal to finally triumph at the year end tournament and fill his biggest resume hole, but despite serving for the match in the semifinal, he lost for the first time to Daniil Medvedev. Not as consistent as he was in the previous three seasons, but the Manacor Bull achieved his main goal for this one, and he wil now have the outright Slam record in his sight in 2021. Given how much stronger he is than everyone else on his beloved clay, while also among main contenders elsewhere, it would be bold to bet against him achieving that.
For several years we were asking ourselves which players will be the biggest threat to this long Big 3 era. Now at the end of 2020 there is no doubt that
Dominic Thiem is the first guy that comes to mind. Straight at the Australian Open, as the fifth seed he went on a draining memorable run, passing almost every round with complications, knocking out Rafael Nadal in four sets after winning all three tiebreaks, as well as Alexander Zverev in the semifinal. He even led by two sets to one in the final, but after nearly 24 hours on court over the two weeks, Dominic was denied in five sets by Novak Djokovic. During the Tour suspension the Austrian was the most active of all players, participating and winning many exhibition tournaments. Results of it weren’t noticeable in Cincinnati where he lost in the first round, but they were at the US Open. Seeded second, he reached the final dropping only one set to former champion Marin Cilic, as well as beating Medvedev in straight sets to set up a final with Alexander Zverev. Thiem was two sets and a break down, but came back to force a fifth set where both players served for the title, but ultimately he was the one who prevailed in a tiebreak to win his first Grand Slam title. This marked the first maiden Slam winner in six years, first time since 2004 French Open that the winner came back from two sets down in the final, and also finally a first Slam winner born in 1990s. It was a very draining effort that impacted Dominic for the clay season, where he skipped Rome and lost to Schwartzman in a five hour marathon at Roland Garros. A quarterfinal loss in Vienna followed, but Thiem began displaying his best tennis in London.For the second year in a row he topped the group, after avenging last year’s final loss to Tsitsipas and beating Nadal after another two tiebreaks. Dead rubber loss to Rublev didn’t impact him as he pulled off another dramatic win over Djokovic. After losing marathon second set tiebreak having wasted four match point, the Austrian came back from 0-4 down in the deciding tiebreak to beat the world number 1 in London for a second year running. Sadly for him, for a second year running he also lost the final after winning the opening set, this time to Daniil Medvedev. Still, an amazing season for Thiem, who has established himself as a world class player on hard courts as well, and is getting close to the second place in the rankings.
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