By Rory O\\\\\'Donovan
November 20th 2008 @ 2:05am
Loading ...Murray, Djokovic, and Tsonga serve notice for the Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has ended 2008 the way he began it. Last Sunday, the Serbian world number three added the prestigious season ending Masters Cup to the Australian Open trophy he collected in January with an emphatic victory over Nikolay Davydenko in the final.
The Masters Cup is arguably the next most coveted title after the four Grand Slams, pitting the top eight players in a season ending round robin play-off.
The whole top eight didn’t play this year though, with Andy Roddick and, most significantly, number one Rafael Nadal missing the tournament through injury.
Although Djokovic took the title, and in doing so crept to within shoulder distance from Roger Federer’s number two ranking, the real story of the tournament looked like being Andy Murray, until the semi finals.
Since losing to Federer in the U.S. Open final in September, the dour Scot has been ablaze, finishing the year with five titles and the number four ranking, improving from number eleven at the end of last year. He has been the form player of the last few months and will take that in to next year with him.
Murray was favourite to take the Masters going into the semis, having won all three group matches including a thriller against Federer, which he finally clinched on his eighth match point at 7/5 in the final set.
However, perennial Russian baseline grinder Davydenko, who seems to have taken out a lifetime lease on the world number five position, unexpectedly pulled out a screamer and took Murray down in straight sets.
Despite the disappointment, Murray will go into 2009 having established himself firmly in the elite. His thrilling victory over Federer, who was admittedly under an injury cloud, will have done a lot to ease the pain of the U.S. Open loss, and with wins under his belt over Nadal (U.S. open Semi) and Djokovic (last two meetings), he will clearly be a danger in next year’s Grand Slams.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic’s beaten opponent in the Australian Open final, has been another top performer over the closing stages of this year.
After a lay-off due to knee surgery mid-year, he then did enough to sneak into the top eight and earn a place in the Masters Cup. He lost in the group stage to Davydenko and fast-rising Argentinean number eight Juan Martin Del Potro, but managed to avenge his Australian Open loss with his third straight win over Djokovic since January.
Whilst it wasn’t enough to get him through to the next stage of the Masters, it helped him wind the year up with the number six ranking. This is an astounding achievement given that he was sitting at number twenty only two months ago.
Djokovic is often touted as being the player most likely to be the next number one, but at this stage I would beg to differ.
He’s getting the plaudits for the Masters win but it’s worth noting a few facts.
Nadal didn’t play for a start. Tsonga beat him again - that’s three in a row – and Murray has beaten him in their last two meetings.
Djokovic is devastating on his day, but there is still a question over his temperament.
He also needs to develop some versatility and the ability to mix up his game or I suspect that Murray will overtake him next year. Murray is a smart player with a wide repertoire of shots and the ability to change his game plan when necessary. His appearance in the U.S. Open final has blooded him on the big stage.
He fell apart that day against Federer but next time he’ll be all the better for it.
Men’s tennis in 2009 looks like it will be one of the most evenly matched years in a while, and it all begins at the Australian Open in January.
Tune in, it’ll be worth it.
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