RICKY DIMON MAKES HIS PICKS FOR THE 2017 WORLD TENNIS TOUR FINALS FOR 10SBALLS FOLLOWERS

Written by: Staff on 30th December 2016

RICKY DIMON MAKES HIS PICKS FOR THE 2017 WORLD TENNIS TOUR FINALS FOR 10SBALLS FOLLOWERS

epa05517775 Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Andreas Seppi of Italy on the third day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2016. The US Open runs through 11 September. EPA/JASON SZENES |

With the 2017 season soon to be underway, it’s time to make predictions for the eight World Tour Finals participants—in order. Will either Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic be able to separate himself from the field before the No. 1 ranking all comes down to London again? Will Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer turn the clock back to their glory days? Will any newcomers crash the London party?

Ricky makes his picks for the 2017 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals field.

1) Novak Djokovic – There is no question that Djokovic will be one of eight World Tour Finals participants in 2017. It really isn’t even up for debate if he will be one of the top two. Not more than six months ago, however, it looked like the Serb would dominate the tour four years to come. Instead, Djokovic collapsed–by his standards–after winning the French Open for the first time in his career and Murray eventually seized the year-end No. 1 ranking. A refocused Djokovic should be able to avoid the same fate this season.

2) Andy Murray – Due mostly to physical problems endured by Nadal, Federer, and even Juan Martin Del Potro, there is a “big two” at the top of the sport right now as opposed to something less exclusive. Getting to No. 1, which Murray did for the first time ever at the Paris Masters this fall, was difficult. Staying there may be even tougher. Just ask Murray, himself. The Scot managed to maintain the top spot at finish the year with that distinction by surviving a brutal World Tour Finals in which he won three-plus-hour thrillers over Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic. It will be interesting to see how Murray handles a full season with a bullseye on his back.

3) Milos Raonic – Injuries are really the only thing that can slow Raonic down on a consistent basis. He had his fair share of them once again in 2016 and still finished at a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world. Like it or not, the Canadian’s all-court game has improved dramatically. Label him him a “serve-bot” at your own peril; that is certainly not what was on display when he reached the World Tour Finals semis and came within one point of punching a ticket to the championship match. The 2016 Wimbledon runner-up should be a force at the top of the game from start to finish in 2017…if he stays healthy.

Milos Raonic of Canada returns to Andy Murray of Britain in the men’s singles final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 10 July 2016. EPA/ANDREW COULDRIDGE

4) Rafael Nadal – Speaking of health, or a lack thereof, Nadal has spent far too long on the sidelines throughout his career for his fans’ liking. This past year was no different, as the Spaniard was felled by a wrist injury in the middle of his favorite tournament–the French Open. That forced him out of Wimbledon, too, and prevented him from playing at any point in the fall. Nadal returned briefly to capture Olympic doubles gold with Marc Lopez, but he suffered rough final-set singles losses to Kei Nishikori in the bronze-medal match and to Lucas Pouille in the U.S. Open fourth round. Still, we saw enough in 2016 to know that a Nadal who is even close to 100 percent is one of the best players in the world.

5) Roger Federer – The “Fedal” era, of course, is over. Those two all-time greats no longer dominate the sport and they never will again. But they also aren’t about to pull the rip cord on their careers, Ana Ivanovic style. Nor should they. Now into their 30s (Federer is already into the second half of his 30s, in fact), they remain arguably two of the four best players in the world when healthy. The 17-time Grand Slam champion missed much of 2016 with knee issues, but he reached the Wimbledon semis and came within one set of making another final appearance. And having been forced to rest for so many months this past season, a rejuvenated Federer could be on display in 2017.

6) Kei Nishikori – Nishikori has become the guy who just hangs around the top 10–really the top five, even–without making much noise. In other words, he is now what Tomas Berdych was when the Czech was at the pinnacle of his career. Nishikori has not seriously contended at slams since finishing runner-up to Marin Cilic at the 2014 U.S. Open (although he did upset Murray at this past season’s U.S. Open), but he rarely gets bounced out early from the big events by lesser-ranked opponents. Nishikori should have no trouble making a return trip to the O2 Arena as long as he avoids any serious physical problems, but he will probably do so without much pomp and circumstance.

Kei Nishikori of Japan in action against Marin Cilic of Croatia during their Men’s singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 18 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

7) Stan Wawrinka – Similar to Djokovic’s plight this past season, Wawrinka fizzled in the aftermath of his greatest triumph. The Swiss won the U.S. Open for the first time and for the third major title of his career, but he slumped through the fall swing. At 31 years old (turns 32 in March), Wawrinka is the oldest man in the top 10 and even the oldest player until Federer comes in at 16th in the rankings. Although the current world No. 4 will exit his prime sooner rather than later, his slam-winning days may not be over. And his days of qualifying for the World Tour Finals should be here to stay for at least one more season.

8) Dominic Thiem – Throughout the first half of 2016, Thiem was a trendy pick to be the next player to win a Grand Slam for the first time. After all, he was winning titles left and right and also accounting himself well on the big stage (French Open semifinals). During the second half, however, Thiem was dubbed just another young gun in league well below Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, et al while being criticized–and rightly so–for too rigorous of a schedule. If the 23-year-old Austrian returns 100 percent from a much-needed offseason and makes smarter scheduling decisions, his talent is such that he should be back in London.

Alternate 1 – Marin Cilic

Alternate 2 – Grigor Dimitrov

Top challengers – Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin, Alexander Zverev

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

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News, World Tour Finals

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