Fabresque
Legend
I decided to compile a personal list of some of the biggest letdowns for 2022 down below.
Daniil Medvedev, great 2021, 2 slam finals, won the US Open and was once again points leader in NA hardcourts. While he officially reached the summit in 2022, he dropped down to number 7 by the years end and only won 2 titles, not a single slam or 1000 event.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, I think letdown is the perfect word to describe this season. Tour leader in wins and plenty of titles, including a M1000, but the total lack of progress and stagnation in big matches and slams was the killer. Really he hasn’t made any significant progress since the ‘21 RG final, he’s continued his losing streak to Djokovic and seems more fragile than ever in big matches. His slam record was absolutely embarrassing and culminated in a first round loss at the US Open to a guy I didn’t even know existed.
Jannik Sinner, I’m a big Sinner fan but I feel he suffered the same problems as Tsitsipas. No solid progress anywhere and dipped spots in the rankings. Had a pretty awful end to the season. A few good wins over Alcaraz aside, he failed to impress me, BUT he’s still very young and time is on his side.
Denis Shapovalov, nothing short of a disastrous season from a player who’s had desperate need for a spark to jumpstart him. The fact he still can’t solidify himself as a top 10 player is really bad, he barely made top 20 this year. He ended the year relatively well and beat Nadal on clay but spent most of it losing in the first round.
Lorenzo Sonego, after a solid 2021 where he reached his pinnacle at #21, I thought he was poised to solidify himself as a top 20 player. It’s been anything but. He’s barely contained himself in the top 50 and bar one good 250 run has spent the season losing in early rounds quickly. Despite that god awful grunt I actually enjoy his game.
Aslan Karatsev, his downfall has gone unnoticed. After hitting unseen heights in 2021, he’s back down to 59 after a year of random losses, many racquet smashes and just an overall classic ATP slaughterhouse. This always seems to happen, player gets too big for their shoes, the tour figures them out, down the hole you go. A famous example being Jack Sock in 2018. Another great playstyle, let’s see how he can rebound in 2023.
Hugo Gaston, I love this little dude and his crazy fun playstyle. Makes for great viewing and makes him so unpredictable. But his 2022 was so bad, spent trudging through qualifiers and challengers, he’s currently slumped outside the top 100 after a good 2020-21.
Benoit Paire, it’s not even a disappointment more just an inevitability. But him being 180 is hilarious.
Stefan Kozlov, tale of two halves. Great beginning to 2022, horrific end. Not sure this kid ever cracks top 100 at this rate despite being so close in the summer.
Daniil Medvedev, great 2021, 2 slam finals, won the US Open and was once again points leader in NA hardcourts. While he officially reached the summit in 2022, he dropped down to number 7 by the years end and only won 2 titles, not a single slam or 1000 event.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, I think letdown is the perfect word to describe this season. Tour leader in wins and plenty of titles, including a M1000, but the total lack of progress and stagnation in big matches and slams was the killer. Really he hasn’t made any significant progress since the ‘21 RG final, he’s continued his losing streak to Djokovic and seems more fragile than ever in big matches. His slam record was absolutely embarrassing and culminated in a first round loss at the US Open to a guy I didn’t even know existed.
Jannik Sinner, I’m a big Sinner fan but I feel he suffered the same problems as Tsitsipas. No solid progress anywhere and dipped spots in the rankings. Had a pretty awful end to the season. A few good wins over Alcaraz aside, he failed to impress me, BUT he’s still very young and time is on his side.
Denis Shapovalov, nothing short of a disastrous season from a player who’s had desperate need for a spark to jumpstart him. The fact he still can’t solidify himself as a top 10 player is really bad, he barely made top 20 this year. He ended the year relatively well and beat Nadal on clay but spent most of it losing in the first round.
Lorenzo Sonego, after a solid 2021 where he reached his pinnacle at #21, I thought he was poised to solidify himself as a top 20 player. It’s been anything but. He’s barely contained himself in the top 50 and bar one good 250 run has spent the season losing in early rounds quickly. Despite that god awful grunt I actually enjoy his game.
Aslan Karatsev, his downfall has gone unnoticed. After hitting unseen heights in 2021, he’s back down to 59 after a year of random losses, many racquet smashes and just an overall classic ATP slaughterhouse. This always seems to happen, player gets too big for their shoes, the tour figures them out, down the hole you go. A famous example being Jack Sock in 2018. Another great playstyle, let’s see how he can rebound in 2023.
Hugo Gaston, I love this little dude and his crazy fun playstyle. Makes for great viewing and makes him so unpredictable. But his 2022 was so bad, spent trudging through qualifiers and challengers, he’s currently slumped outside the top 100 after a good 2020-21.
Benoit Paire, it’s not even a disappointment more just an inevitability. But him being 180 is hilarious.
Stefan Kozlov, tale of two halves. Great beginning to 2022, horrific end. Not sure this kid ever cracks top 100 at this rate despite being so close in the summer.
