Taking Stock in the Pros for 2015

Who’s rising and who’s falling in the pro ranks

December 5, 2014 | By Andrew Eichenholz
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Ahead of the 2015 season on the ATP World Tour, many will wonder what to expect out of the familiar faces of the sport. Inevitably, there will be some surprises, as the rankings the way they stand today will not be the same. Here are some reasons to believe that certain players will continue to shine, others will maintain their ground, while some of the best players today may not keep up their level of performance.

 

 

 

Stock up
Widely regarded as the most entertaining player in the sport, Gael Monfils brings a lot more to the table than pure amusement. The Paris-born Monfils has a huge game, that when his mindset is right, could absolutely put him smack in the middle of the top 10 in the world for the foreseeable future. Yes, he will make the split-second decision to hit shots that are in ways unprofessional and have no clear purpose to winning a point, but that does not take away from his talent. There are few who can run down as many balls as Monfils, and even fewer who can generate the same power that he can at the same time, many examples of which come on the full stretch. The Frenchman has taken sets off of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this season, showing that he has what it takes to compete against the very best.

It is hard to break onto the scene and become a top contender all in one season, but Eugenie Bouchard has done just that. After reaching the second round twice in her first year of Grand Slam action in 2013, Bouchard let the world know that she was somebody to be reckoned with on the WTA Tour. She surprised many by making the semifinals of the 2014 Australian Open, before backing it up with a run to the same stage of the French Open on the terre battue.

It seems that with his recurring wrist issues, that many have forgotten about Juan Martin del Potro. He has quietly been recovering, trying to get to 100 percent ahead of the 2015 season. Once he gets back, nobody will want a piece of his running forehand, one of the most dangerous weapons in the sport. For the first time in a while, there is not a whole lot of consistency at the top of the game, so look for del Potro to challenge the top-10 with a vengeance.

Many made a big deal over Caroline Wozniacki’s media-friendly breakup with golfer Rory McIlroy, but it seemingly changed her career around for the better. Unbelievably only 24-years old, she is still entering the prime of her career, and with the form that she displayed from the summer until now, including reaching the U.S. Open final, the lead-end of the top-10 is looking closer and closer to Wozniacki.

 

 

Hold that stock
Since 2010, Tomas Berdych has spent pretty much every week ranked somewhere between fifth and eighth in the ATP World Rankings. The master of consistency, Berdych usually only has one blip a year in the Grand Slams, otherwise taking care of business until he is “supposed” to lose. Now, the big man from the Czech Republic has the talent and overwhelming baseline game to swarm and beat anybody in the world on any given day, but he has not shown the consistency of performing that way against the top guys match in and match out to make a believer in his chances of breaking firmly into the top five.

Agnieszka Radwanska is as close to a female equivalent of Fabrice Santoro that we have in this era, using her guile and variety to earn wins over her opponent. Although 2014 has been an odd year for her, the Polish sensation rarely loses matches that she should not, and typically wins those in a commanding fashion. Radwanska does not have the firepower to disturb the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, nor does she have quite enough guile to put them off their game, but do not expect her to leave the top-10 anytime soon.

 

There is no question that there is a top-tier of servers in the men’s game, and it consists of two people: John Isner and Milos Raonic. There is nobody in the world who can serve quite as big as the Canadian point-in and point-out, but there is more to the sport than serving. In big matches against the handful of players ahead of him in the rankings, the big man’s serve has been neutralized to an extent, and Raonic has not proven that he can beat the top guys purely off of groundstroke rallies. He has plenty of time to improve and get better, but he is not quite at the top tier just yet.

 

It is rare that you will find a Grand Slam winner take a major title, yet not make it past the third round at a Grand Slam the rest of the season. That is the roller coaster ride of Petra Kvitova, and it is nothing new. When the lefty is on her game, she is one of few players who can test Serena Williams, but when she is off, she is a totally different player. There are no doubts that she will have another big splash next season, whether it comes in a major or not, but will she challenge Serena’s throne? Probably not.

 

 

Stock down
Things have happened very quickly for the Japanese phenom Kei Nishikori. In a flash, he has moved from a constant top 20 player to solidly in the top 10, especially with his big performance at the U.S. Open, where he reached the finals. Already at a career high of number six in the world, Nishikori has joined the second tier of the men’s game, but can he stay there? With injury issues in the past, it will take a lot for the youngster to not only stay healthy, but keep up his level, which in the sport of tennis, is not the easiest to do.

 

When you look up inconsistency in the dictionary, Ana Ivanovic will not be far away. She has flashed brilliance this year, playing fantastic tennis at points, even taking Serena Williams out in Australia. However, for a former number one in the world to have only reached seven Grand Slam quarterfinals in her 10-year career, there is something wrong. Ivanovic must find a way to play her best tennis, which is quite good when it comes around, in the biggest moments. Until then, it is hard to see her consistently stay in the top-10.

 

 

Few had as good of a year on the ATP World Tour as “Stan the Man.” He is not one of the biggest guys on tour, yet he packs by far one of the biggest punches, capable of hitting a winner off of any shot at any time. After a huge moment in Stanislas Wawrinka’s career, when he won this season’s Australian Open, he has not quite been the same player. He played well for the clay season until Roland Garros, and has not been the same fiery competitor winning the big matches since. Can he maintain his spot in the game next year? Absolutely, but he will have to right the ship, and quickly.

 

Few had as consistent of a year as Simona Halep on the WTA tour, but the Romanian is yet to truly breakthrough. As the likes of Kvitova and Samantha Stosur walk around with Grand Slam titles in their back pockets, Halep, arguably a better overall player than both of those still is empty handed. Any season in which a player is in the vicinity of 50 wins is going to be a tiring one, so the question remains, did Halep leave all she had out there in 2014?

 


Andrew Eichenholz
Staff Writer, The Stony Brook Statesman

Andrew Eichenholz is a journalism student at Stony Brook University, where he currently is a staff writer for The Statesman, covering tennis amongst many sports. He grew up playing tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where he learned to love the game, eventually becoming a part time tennis instructor, working for the most part with the QuickStart 10 & Under Program. Andrew has also served as a ballperson at the U.S. Open. He may be reached by e-mail at andrew.eichenholz@stonybrook.edu.

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