British Tennis - Lawn Tennis Association

ATP Review of the year

As the world’s finest male tennis players rest and prepare for the 2012 season we look back at an intense 10 months of competition on the ATP World Tour this year taking in the the four major championships and winners of the ATP player awards.

Australian Open Championships (17th – 29th January)

Final: Novak Djokovic (3) d. Andy Murray (5) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3

Novak Djokovic lifted his second Australian Open title with a three set win over British No.1 Andy Murray. After claiming a tight first set the Serb pulled away to win two hours and 39 minutes. The 23 year-old only lost one set en route to his second Grand Slam crown, the triumph was to be just the beginning of a magnificent season for Djokovic.

Murray was appearing in his second consecutive final in Melbourne and his third major singles final. The fifth seed came through four set battles against Alexandr Dolgopolov and David Ferrer to reach the showpiece.

French Open Championships (22nd May – 4th June)

Final: Rafael Nadal (1) d. Roger Federer (3) 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1

Rafael Nadal equalled Bjorn Borg’s record of six Roland Garros titles with a stirring four set victory over arch rival Roger Federer. The Spanish top seed fought back from 2-5 down to take the opening set and recovered impressively after losing the third set to dominate Federer in the fourth set and claim victory.

In the semi-finals Federer had looked at his vintage best to snap the 43 match winning streak of red hot Novak Djokovic to reach a fifth French Open final. However the 29 year-old Swiss found Nadal too strong at the key moments in an exciting final.

The Championships, Wimbledon (20th June – 2nd July)

Final: Novak Djokovic (2) d. Rafael Nadal (1) 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3

Novak Djokovic produced a superb display to triumph for the first time at the All England Club with a four set win over reigning champion Rafael Nadal. The second seeded Serb broke the Spaniard in the tenth game of the first set to move ahead before producing a breathtaking second set.

The 24 year-old withstood a Nadal comeback in the third set to win after two hours and 28 minutes of play. By virtue of the victory Djokovic took the World No.1 ranking from the Spaniard, it was also the fifth time that the Serb had defeated Nadal in a final during 2011.

US Open Championships (29th August – 11th September)

Final: Novak Djokovic (1) d. Rafael Nadal (2) 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal thrilled a capacity crowd in the Arthur Ashe stadium with a magnificent final which saw the top seeded Serb lift his first US Open crown after four pulsating sets of bruising tennis.

In a repeat of the 2010 final the world’s top two players traded stinging blows throughout many titanic rallies during the four hour and 10 minute clash.

Trailing by two sets Nadal battled back to claim the third set as he fought valiantly to hold onto his title. However the Spaniard appeared to tire in the fourth and with one final kick Djokovic sealed his third major crown of an incredible season.

ATP Player of the Year – Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic was crowned ATP Player of the year and ITF World Champion for the first time after putting together one of the greatest seasons in tennis history.

The Serb swept three of the four Grand Slam titles, a record five Masters 1000 shields, a total of 10 ATP World Tour titles and an incredible 41 match winning streak (43 including 2010 Davis Cup final wins) which ran from January until the semi-finals of Roland Garros.

The 24 year-old rose to the World No.1 ranking for the first time on 4th July after claiming his first Wimbledon title. At year’s end the Serb had won a record $12,619,803 prize money after finishing the year with 70-6 win/loss record.

ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award – Rafael Nadal

World No.2 Rafael Nadal was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for his off court work. On court the Spaniard had another successful season to finish ranked in the top two for a seventh consecutive year.

At Roland Garros Nadal lifted his 10th Grand Slam singles title becoming the second youngest player, after Borg, to achieve the feat. Earlier in the season at Monte Carlo he became the first man in the modern era to win the same title for seven years in a row and at the end of year he led Spain to a fifth Davis Cup crown.

Finishing the season with a 69-15 record the 25 year-old passed Pete Sampras for second place on the all-time ATP prize money list with $45,064,377 career earnings.

ATP Fan’s Favourite and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Awards – Roger Federer

Despite not winning a Grand Slam for the first time since 2002; the Swiss former World No.1 finished the season strongly with a 17 match winning streak and three consecutive titles.

At The O2 arena in November the 30 year-old became the first player to win six year-end titles as he avenged his Wimbledon quarter final defeat to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 to defend his crown at the Barclays ATP World Tour finals. The victory was Federer’s 70th career singles title and ensured he moved past Stefan Edberg with 807 career singles match wins.

The 30 year-old reached his 23rd Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, where he was denied a second French title by great rival Nadal, and was stopped by Djokovic in the last four of the Australian and US Opens.

ATP Doubles Team of the Year and Fan’s Favourite team – The Bryan Brothers

The American twins Bob and Mike Bryan completed another superb season to finish ranked top of the doubles rankings for the seventh time in nine years. They lifted eight ATP World Tour titles including their 10th and 11th major titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

At the end of the season the 32 year-olds moved into their 271st week ranked as the No.1 doubles players - surpassing John McEnroe’s long standing record of 270. At the Rogers Cup in August the Brothers claimed their 700th career match win.

ATP Comeback Player of the Year – Juan Martin Del Potro

2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed a superb comeback season to rise from 484th in the January rankings to 11th at the end of the season.

After wrist surgery in 2010 limited the giant Argentinean to only four tournaments the former World No.4 proved in 2011 that he is still a force to be reckoned with the men’s game.

He lifted two ATP World Tour titles, (Delray Beach and Estoril), reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, helped Argentina to the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas final and finished the year with a 48-18 record to end the year poised just outside the top ten. The 23 year-old will be a major threat on all surfaces in 2012.

ATP Most Improved Player of the Year – Alex Bogomolov Jnr

Alex Bogomolov Jr enjoyed a breakthrough season moving from 166th to a career best 33rd in November to capture the ATP Most Improved Player award.

The 28 year-old – who at the end of the season switched allegiance from US to Russia – reached two ATP World Tour semi-finals (St Petersburg and Los Angeles), three quarter finals, lifted one ATP Challenger title and reached the third round of the US Open.