The five weeks between London and the start of the year go by quick, don't they? They coincide with holidays and other sporting events. Most players trained about 3 weeks. The news was that Nadal, due to an injury, had to rest and didn't get a full workout. Of course, he's still very good and
It's always struck me as peculiar how that period just after the year-end championship seems to lead to quicker healing than any other time of the year. Djokovic took 5 weeks off, but still looked flat, bothered by shoulder issues and lost in the semis of Basel, retired in Paris, and didn't get past the
The tennis season is among the longest in all of sports lasting from January to late November. To be sure, unlike organized sports in the US which commits to a solid schedule, tennis players are free to schedule, within some constraints, when they want to play. No top pro, for instance, plays four weeks in
Heading into 2011, the thought was "Rafa and Roger are back". Roger had just beaten Rafa in the finals at London and "experts" were ready to pronounce Federer fit to win Slams once again. Murray and Djokovic were expected to be the bridesmaids once again, their game not ready to topple the very best. Only,
Out of the 12 matches played in the round robin matches, six were upsets, which is a fair bit considering who they were. In particular, All three matches David Ferrer played were upsets. Murray and Djokovic were favored to win over Ferrer, though in hindsight, neither Murray nor Djokovic were 100%. Ferrer was expected to
Due to the round robin format and the various wins and losses, Djokovic needed help to get into the semifinals. In particular, the straight set loss to Ferrer meant Djokovic needs help from Ferrer to get to the semifinals. Basically, if Djokovic won in straight sets, he could get in, provided Ferrer won at least
Who knew? Roger Federer was right, after all. Before the tournament, he said that any of the top eight players had a chance to win the title. No one took this seriously. After all, only the top four players had won every Masters 1000 title. Fish was perhaps injured. Ferrer had lost all 3 round
In 2007, David Ferrer burst on the scene at the year-end championship. Then, it was held in Shanghai and still called the Tennis Masters Cup. Ferrer went undefeated in round robin play as the 6th seed beating Nadal, Djokovic, and Gasquet. He crushed Roddick in the semifinals, but lost rather tamely to Federer in the
Heading into London, the big question was "How healthy is Djokovic?". Djokovic lost to Nishikori in the semis of Basel when it was clear that Djokovic was struggling with his shoulder. Djokovic then withdrew against Tsonga in the quarterfinals of Paris. It could simply have been Djokovic saving himself for London. That question was answered
The ATP World Tour Finals is a bit unusual. Almost every tournament is a single-elimination draw with possible bye for the top seeds. The WTF (World Tour Finals) is a round-robin. The event's name has changed over the years. It started as the Masters Grand Prix or the Masters. For years, it was held at
