Today’s Men’s News (11/12) – London

Written by: Staff on 12th November 2012

Today's Men's News (11/12) - London

epa03468785 Novak Djokovic of Serbia falls during his match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Britain, 12 November 2012. EPA/AYBIGE MERT |

London

Singles – Final: (1) N Djokovic def. (2) R Federer 7-6(8-6) 7-5

Roger Federer played a brilliant match — except, somehow, at the really vital points. Federer won the first nine points of the match. In the first set tiebreak, he saved a set point with an impossible shot facing away from the ball — and still lost the set. In the second, he had a chance to win the set, but failed and faded away. Novak Djokovic won only one more point in the match — but he also won the trophy.

That give him six this year — a far cry from the eleven he won in 2011, but we’d guess it will make him Player of the Year. It certainly makes him #1 — indeed, with a margin over Federer of almost 3000 points, it is likely to keep him #1 well past the Australian Open.

Despite the disappointment, it was a fine year for Roger Federer also. He will be the only player in history to win a blue clay title. He took home another Wimbledon. He regained the #1 ranking. He continues to be a fan favorite. If, as some contend, 2012 was his last hurrah, it was quite a hurrah.

Doubles – Final: (6) Granollers/M Lopez def. (5) Bhupathi/Bopanna 7-5 3-6 10-5 (Match TB)

Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez didn’t win a lot of titles this year, but they certainly showed the ability to pick the titles they did win. The three titles they had were Rome, Gstaad, and now the year-end Championships. Pretty impressive, really. And they could still help Spain win the Davis Cup, too. Certainly they’re making a strong case for taking putting them on the team, even though Lopez isn’t a candidate to play singles and Granollers isn’t the obvious #3 singles player for Spain.

They also clinch their year-end Top Ten places; they would have fallen behind Bhupathi/Bopanna (who came in at #11 and #12 to Lopez’s #9 and Granollers’s #10) had the Indians won.