Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in the final at Roland Garros in 2016, becoming the first person since Jim Courier, in 1992, to win the Australian and French Opens in the same year.
The Serb also completed a career Grand Slam and a non-calendar Grand Slam, emulating the great Aussie Rod Laver’s 1969 efforts.
It seemed Novak could no wrong. He was playing at superman level.
Then things suddenly went downhill and he is, at best, an outsider in 2017.
Here are my top five to cliam the title.
Rafael Nadal
The Spaniard has 72 ATP Titles, including 52 on clay, surpassing Guillermo Vilas’ record of 49.
Rafa began 2017 with two finals in a row, losing the Australian Open to Roger Federer and the Mexican Open to Sam Querrey. Thereafter, he lost again to Federer at both Indian Wells and Miami. When the clay-court season started, there was hope for further clashes, however Federer has opted out of the entire clay season.
Thus, Rafa has gone from strength to strength, winning three titles in a row, winning his his tenth Monte Carlo Masters, tenth Barcelona Open, and his fifth Madrid Open.
A shock defeat to an inspired Dominic Thiem does not take away from the fact that, with a 17-1 clay court record this year, Rafa is an overwhelming favourite to claim his tenth French Open title.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic had an awful start to 2017, with a second round loss to 117 ranked Dennis Istomin at the Australian Open. Then Nick Kyrgios defeated him at both the Mexican Open and Indian Wells, while David Goffin beat him at the Monte Carlo Masters.
At Madrid, Novak lost to Rafa in straight sets. This is significant, as this win ended Rafa’s run of seven straight losses to Novak.
Yet Novak was showing signs of regaining form. At the Italian Open he had consecutive wins over difficult opponents, before probably playing his best match in a year by brushing aside Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
His loss to Alexander Zverev does not diminish his chances of successfully defending his French Open Title in 2017. Maybe his new tie-up with Andre Agassi will help him. Time will tell.
Alexander Zverev
‘Sascha’ showed glimpses of his potential in a tough, five-set match against Nadal at the 2017 Australian Open, when the 20-year-old youngster suffered cramps in the final set, and Rafa dubbed the youngster the future world No.1.
By winning the 2017 Italian Open, Sascha became the youngest winner of any Masters 1000 tournament since 2007. With his all-court game, Zverev is a definite contender.
Dominic Thiem
Reached the semi-finals of the 2016 edition, before losing to Novak in straight sets.
His win over Nadal in the 2017 Italian Open, and his fighting performance in a losing cause to Nadal in the Madrid final, makes him a contender for his first Grand Slam title.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Stan Wawrinka
Won the 2015 French Open and was a semi-finalist in 2016. On his day he is unstoppable, as his three Grand Slam titles attest.
No discusson is complete without discussing dangerous and unpredictable floaters who make a tournament most interesting.
Heading my list will be Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who reached the 2017 Monte Carlo Masters, losing to the great Nadal. He has an immaculate defence and a cool, unflappable temperament.
Next is Kyrgios and Allessandro Del Potro, who are dangerous opponents capable of causing any upset.
My final floater is last year’s finalist Andy Murray. It may be strange to keep the World Number 1 in the floater category, but after a terrific second half of 2016, this year he has inexplicably gone downhill, necessitating an SOS call to Ivan Lendl.
Still, he has won clay court tournaments defeating both Novak and Rafa, hence it would not be prudent to rule him out.
Though not a contender, he is my most dangerous floater of the year.
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