As the Barclays World Tour Finals in London brought climax to the tennis season 2010, we review the best contenders from the men’s side on the ATP tour this season, starting with the world number three to world number six.
Novak Djokovic
The Serbian tennis ace, Novak Djokovic, finished the season ranked number three in the world on the fourth occasion in a row. However, in comparison to the past years, 2010 was crowned not by his personal achievements, but in fact by the mutual effort of
the Davis Cup side of his country.
The right hander served as the back bone of the Serbian team, going 7-0 in singles rubbers to lead the country past the Croatian, American, Czech Republic as well as French side. In the title battle, Djokovic did well to keep Serbia’s hopes alive after it
had fallen behind at 1-0 and 1-2, drawing Serbian tie with France on every occasion and providing his compatriot fellow Viktor Troicki the opportunity to become the hero with win in the Cup-winning fifth and final rubber.
The 2008 Australian Open winner, after the Davis Cup victory said, “This is by far, individually and for the team, the best achievement in our career by far. Definitely the best feeling that we have experienced on a tennis court, ever."
His other season highlights include snatching the number two spot from the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer for twenty six weeks and entering French Open in a three way battle for the number one spot. At the year’s final Grand Slam, the US Open in New
York, Novak took part in one of the most memorable clashes of the season when the right hander prevented a total of two match points to get past the world number two Roger Federer in a five-setter semi-final. In the finals, he lost to the world number one
Rafael Nadal who won his maiden US Open title in New York.
Djokovic won two titles in 2010 at Dubai as well as Beijing. The right hander, however, finished the season with two question marks going into 2011. Can he push higher than number three in the season end rankings next year? Only time will tell.
Andy Murray
The pressure of a country’s expectations was never more evident than at this season’s Australian Open in Melbourne. The professional tennis ace from Great Britain had fuelled his country’s hopes of its maiden Grand slam winner since 1934, getting his 2010
campaign off to a perfect start as the right hander reached the title batter without even dropping a single set.
However, in a repeat of the 2008 US Open final, the 23-year-old Murray was eventually beaten by the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer. After losing, the Scott said, “Sorry I couldn't do it for you tonight. I can cry like Roger, it is just a shame I cannot
play like him.”
However, Murray later showed that he could beat Federer as the Scot got the better of him in the finals of both Shanghai Rolex Masters as well as Toronto. He overpowered the Swiss in straight sets both times to win crowns.
Andy also recorded solid results in London, making his way into the semi-final at Wimbledon for the second time in a row, followed by another final-four appearance at the season finale Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, where he was eventually toppled
by the world number one Rafael Nadal in one of the best clashes of the year.
By virtue of his semi-final run in London, Murray also regained the number four rankings in the ATP to end the season among top five for the third time in a row.
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