Djokovic vs. Nadal in 2014 - and where's Murray and Delpo in all this?

[Chanwan]

I think Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Delpo will be the four players competing for the top titles next year. Murray, obviously depending on how he recovers, Delpo depending on finally living up to his potential and staying injuryfree - he can beat all of them, but probably not dominate. And then there's Fed as the dark horse, if he can regain some of his 2012 form.

Anyhow - who do you expect to come out on top between Djoko and Nadal?
Will 2014 be all about them or will Murray (and/or others) play a significant part?

I have a slightly larger belief in Djoko than Nadal, because I feel if both are playing fairly well, I think Djokovic will win more often than not. His ROS is the differencemaker. Needless to say though, margins are very small between them.

Murray has proved he has the game to trouble and beat Djokovic. But we are yet to see slam winning Murray against Nadal. Last time they met was in Tokyo 2011 (where Nadal got handed a bagel in the third). Do you think Murray with Lendl in his corner can beat Nadal outside clay?

 

[papertank]

Murray is the wild card for 2013 in my opinion. He could come back stronger than ever with his back problem taken care of, or he could come back unconfident and rusty. I do also see Delpo stepping up to fill Fed's absence in the top 4. although I don't think he'll be able to win any slams, he'll put enough pressure on the top 4 to remain a threat in every tournament. Ferrer has done amazing to end the year as number 3, but age is catching up with him and I think he'll relinquish his top 4 spot by the middle of the year.

The only for sure thing is that Nadal and Djokovic will battle it out for the top 2 spots.

 

[Backspin1183]

The real #1 aka Djokovic will continue to dominate the real slam (WTF).

Deal with it.

 

[Morj]

I love how last year people were all set to declare this the start of the Djoker-Murray era, and how they will be the 2 main rivals from here on, Murray will reach no. 1, etc.

Its crazy how quickly a force like Nadal was written off. And now we've quickly changed our minds to "next year will be all Djoker-Nadal, can Murray or Del Po have an impact?"

 

[LazyNinja19]

I love how last year people were all set to declare this the start of the Djoker-Murray era, and how they will be the 2 main rivals from here on, Murray will reach no. 1, etc.

Its crazy how quickly a force like Nadal was written off. And now we've quickly changed our minds to "next year will be all Djoker-Nadal, can Murray or Del Po have an impact?"

Very true. I personally, would never write off Federer. The man's a Legend. He can hit the vintage form any day!

Also tennis changes every year. Who knows, maybe we'll have a new Slam champ next year, & maybe he'll dominate! So no one can really predict!

 

[Chanwan]

Morj: And now we've quickly changed our minds to "next year will be all Djoker-Nadal, can Murray or Del Po have an impact?"

Very true. I personally, would never write off Federer. The man's a Legend. He can hit the vintage form any day!

Also tennis changes every year. Who knows, maybe we'll have a new Slam champ next year, & maybe he'll dominate! So no one can really predict!

I agree with both of you. Tennis is not set in stone and the landscape can change pretty quickly indeed. So I'm not saying - this is surely how it will pan out. This is my best guess as of now. Nevertheless, Fed, Nadal, Djoker and Murray have been the top-4 for half a decade - more or less with no one to challenge them.

Imo, Fed may get back to No. 4 or even three, but will have a hard time rising above Djoko-Nadal-Murray yet again. If Murray is fully fit (and I don't see why he can't recover, but I don't have intell on his condition), I don't see why he shouldn't be able to be a part of the Big 3, except for clay.
Delpo has given me hope this year, but again - I think he will have a hard time going past all of them.

Play this prediction game if you wanna - imo, it's more fun to have educated guesses about next season rather than: My boy beats your boy for the next zillion times, Deal with it!

p.s. FYI, I never wrote Nadal off. I was uncertain how he would do off clay, but I didn't doubt him one bit on clay.

 

[Kirijax]

If Djokovic is at full strength and mentally sharp, it seems that no one can keep up with him. If he is really focused, then it will be hard to beat him.
Nadal had a great year, but I can't help seeing him break down more and more as he gets older. He really pushed himself through the fall and he might be paying for that sometime next year.
Murray is still a big question mark. I hope and expect him to come back fully but you never know about these things. And he may have lost some motivation after his Olympic Gold Medal-US Open-Wimbledon triple. I hear he's training hard in Miami so January will definitely be interesting for him.
Delpo is like Djokovic Light. If everything, and I do mean everything, goes right, then he can go all the way thru a Slam bracket. But with two or three top players consistently waiting for him in the semis, it would be tough but not impossible.
I keep feeling that Federer has one more surprise ala Sampras left in him but that window seems to be closing very quickly.

 

[Homeboy Hotel]

Del Potro will be Del Potro, pushing the top players to make them exhausted for the lucky player in the opposite side of the draw who meets in the final.

 

[Gonzo_style]

The real #1 aka Djokovic will continue to dominate the real slam (WTF).

Deal with it.

The butthurt is strong with this one.

 

[Chico]

Slam distribution in 2014:

Djokovic 2-3 slams
Murray 0-1 slam
Nadal 0-1 slam
Delpo 0-1 slam
Rest of the field 0 slams.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Slam distribution in 2014:

Djokovic 2-3 slams
Murray 0-1 slam
Nadal 0-1 slam
Delpo 0-1 slam
Rest of the field 0 slams.

I really hope you're right Chico

 

[Chanwan]

Slam distribution in 2014:

Djokovic 2-3 slams
Murray 0-1 slam
Nadal 0-1 slam
Delpo 0-1 slam
Rest of the field 0 slams.

I almost agree, but not quite:
Djokovic 1-3 slams
Nadal 1-2 slams
Murray 0-2 slam (I think we need to see him play again, but 1 is most likely)
Delpo 0-1 slam
Fed; 0-1 slam (0 most likely)
Rest of the field 0 slams

 

[Edgecrusher]

Del Potro will be Del Potro, pushing the top players to make them exhausted for the lucky player in the opposite side of the draw who meets in the final.

This is so very true.