RICKY DIMON’S 2015 WORLD TOUR FINALS PICKS: DJOKOVIC NO. 1, DIMITROV TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE

Written by: Staff on 29th December 2014

RICKY DIMON'S 2015 WORLD TOUR FINALS PICKS: DJOKOVIC NO. 1, DIMITROV TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE

epa04298089 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria celebrates a point during his semi-final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 04 July 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

By Ricky Dimon

In 2014, we welcomed three first-time participants to the World Tour Finals–Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, and Milos Raonic. Will we see something similar in 2015, perhaps from Grigor Dimitrov? Or will Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro manage to stay healthy and restore order to the London lineup?

One thing’s for sure: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be back.

1. Novak Djokovic – There are, of course, three realistic contenders for the year-end No. 1 ranking in 2014: Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal. Djokovic has the edge over Federer because the Serb is still in the absolute prime of his career (27 to 33), and he should get the nod over Nadal thanks to far more reliable durability. As a sometimes-dominant force on hard courts, the reigning Wimbledon champion, and the biggest threat to Nadal on clay, Djokovic can get the job done on all surfaces and will rack up points on a consistent basis throughout the season.

Novak Djokovic of Musafir.com UAE Royals in action againt Manila Mavericks player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during their match of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) at Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 11 December 2014. EPA/ALI HAIDER

2. Rafael Nadal – At this point in his career (28 going on 29 and entering his 15th year on the pro tour), it has to be accepted as a given that Nadal will miss one or two months of every season due to physical problems. But if he is not sidelined for longer than that and if he is 100 percent throughout the clay-court swing, the 14-time major champion should be able to regain the No. 2 ranking. Nadal gets an assist from the fact that there are three Masters 1000s and countless other events on clay.

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns toNovak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s final of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 08 June 2014. EPA/YOAN VALAT

3. Roger Federer – It may be true that time is not on Federer’s side, but it is similarly undeniable that time is not necessarily a detriment in his case. The father of four actually improved last season–which is not saying a lot considering how lackluster his 2013 campaign was, but it was still incredibly impressive. He reestablished himself as a Grand Slam title contender, coming within one set of triumphing at Wimbledon and arguably coming within a red-hot Marin Cilic of winning the U.S. Open.

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Marin Cilic of Croatia during their semifinals round match on the thirteenth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 06 September 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

4. Andy Murray – Murray finished 2014 at No. 6 and needed a stellar post-U.S. Open run–complete with two borderline miracle victories over Tommy Robredo–just to secure a spot in the World Tour Finals. Of course, much of his relatively disappointing year had to do with back surgery (which he underwent late in 2013) and a change in his box (Ivan Lendl out, Amelie Mauresmo in). Things should be more stable for the Scot in 2015.

Britain’s Andy Murray reacts during his round robin match with Switzerland’s Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals mens tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 13 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

5. Stan Wawrinka – Can Stan once again break up the proverbial “Big 4″? His 2014 Australian Open triumph virtually guaranteed right from the get-go that this past season’s ranking would not end up with a Djokovic-Nadal-Federer-Murray monopoly. Wawrinka, however, will not be sneaking up on anyone in 2015; he certainly didn’t the rest of the way in 2014. The Swiss also prevailed in Monte-Carlo and played a huge role in his country’s Davis Cup victory, but for the most part he fizzled amidst the weighty expectations of being a Grand Slam champion.

6. Milos Raonic – Raonic made his debut at the World Tour Finals in 2014, although he needed Nadal’s withdrawal in order to get in as an alternate. The Canadian should make the cut fair and square in 2015. He is only getting better (he’s just 24 years old) and surfaces are only getting faster. Raonic is already extremely dangerous on hard courts and grass (recent Wimbledon semifinalist) and even his clay-court exploits this past season included a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros.

7. Grigor Dimitrov – In the words of Djokovic, “He’s got a lot of talent. He’s good‑looking. He speaks good English. He has Maria Sharapova for a girlfriend. What more can you ask for?” Well, you can ask for a Grand Slam title…in fact, even a Grand Slam final would do at this point. Dimitrov’s 2014 breakthrough came in the form of a semifinal finish at Wimbledon, where he tested the eventual champion in an entertaining four-setter. The Bulgarian is not all the way there yet, but his trajectory at 23 years old is an encouraging one.

8. Tomas Berdych – Berdych has plateaued, for sure, but he is as rock-solid as they come and the same ol’ Berdych should be good enough in 2015 to once again assume his standard spot in the 5-8 range. A sixth straight London qualification may come down to the wire…unless he gets favorable draws against Kevin Anderson in the fourth round of every slam and Masters 1000 event, in which case the Czech will qualify more comfortably.

Other contenders include Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Gael Monfils, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin Del Potro, and–if you’re really going to stretch it out–Ernests Gulbis. But Cilic, Nishikori, Monfils, Tsonga, and Del Potro are way too unreliable from physical standpoint. Gulbis, of course, is way too unstable in the head (and off the forehand!). Ferrer is not going to go away without a fight, but he appears to be on the way down at 32 years old.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Andy Murray, GRIGOR DIMITROV, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis, Tomas Berdych, World Tour Finals

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10sBalls_com says:

December 29, 2014 at 11:03 am

-@Dimonator’s 2015 #WORLDTOURFINALS PICKS: @DjokerNole NO.1, @GrigorDimitrov TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE- http://t.co/FLVr8ZVXCH #WorldTour2015
AlexusJonesUSA says:

December 29, 2014 at 2:29 pm

RT @TennisNewsOne: RICKY DIMON’S 2015 WORLD TOUR FINALS PICKS: DJOKOVIC NO. 1, DIMITROV TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE http://t.co/OGSXX8MeJu #te…
Dimonator says:

December 29, 2014 at 6:09 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s 2015 #WORLDTOURFINALS PICKS: @DjokerNole NO.1, @GrigorDimitrov TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE- http://t.co/FLVr8Z…