By Erik Gudris | Monday, November 17, 2014

 

The ATP World Tour Finals singles event ended on a muted note. Could the week that wasn't provide insight into what's in store next season?

Photo Credit: AP

The ATP World Tour Finals in London ended with the expected winner Novak Djokovic holding up the coveted trophy for a third year in a row. Yet, the week as a whole provided little excitement on the singles court, until the weekend that provided drama and disappointment for players and fans alike.

While theories abound as to why so many matches were one sided (the courts were too slow, the players were tired after a long season, etc.) maybe it's better to look ahead to next season and examine why a field touting the "elite eight" really ended up being about the "terrific two".

Let's start in reverse order.

US Open champion Marin Cilic, despite going to three sets against Stan Wawrinka, still didn't feel like he really belonged in the event. If anyone is going to have a hard time living up to the expectations that go along with being a newly crowned major winner it will be Cilic who will likely not make a repeat appearance in London next year.

Same goes for Tomas Berdych. Despite yet another consistent season, Berdych really didn't show anything that suggests he's going to challenge the elite of the tour next year. Unless he finds that "insert name of famous former player" coach he keeps wishing for, 2015 could see Berdych start his slow descent down the rankings.

Milos Raonic is still very much a work in progress. While he keeps improving in all areas of his game, he hasn't quite put it all together yet and relies too much on his serve as the cornerstone of his game. Still with time on his side, if Raonic can add just a little more originality, he just might take off next year.

Andy Murray could well be the biggest question mark in 2015. His humiliating beatdown at the hands of Roger Federer wasn't the ending to the year Murray would have wanted. After working so hard just to make it to London, Murray ended up being less of a factor than many thought he might be. If Murray wants to make it back to "big four" status, something is going to have change.

Could Kei Nishikori become the next member of the "big four", and not just rankings wise? That will all depend on his health and fitness as the Japanese star remains one of the most constantly injured players on tour. If he can keep his body intact, Nishikori has the potential to reach yet another major final.

Stan Wawrinka, who entered London with zero momentum, almost pulled off the upset of the week. Post-Melbourne triumph, we never quite knew what to expect out of Wawrinka who still perhaps feels something of an inferiority complex to the tour's elite. He shouldn't, given he's proven he has the game to beat the best and win a major. If he decides that he indeed should be "the boss", he could become a real force.

Roger Federer began London with one of the great storylines of the season only to see it end in disappointment. After dismantling his round robin field, Federer survived his semi against Wawrinka only to be forced out of the final due to a back injury. While the immediate concern for Federer is the Davis Cup finals, his withdrawal from the London final is definitely a warning sign for next season.

Federer achieved a superb 2014 season by staying injury free and perhaps this recent back issue is just a temporary one. Yet all the hopeful talk that the 33-year-old Federer could play for, perhaps five or six more years, is just that. Hopeful. His unfortunate withdrawal from London was a hard, cold reality check that Federer likely won't play tennis for an extended stretch in the last part of his career. All any tennis fan, and the ATP Tour itself, can do about that is simple - prepare accordingly.

And then, there's Novak Djokovic who holds the year-end trophy for a third year in a row and finished World No. 1 for the third time in four years. At age 27, Djokovic's reign over the sport could just be beginning. Once viewed as the "third man", he is now the one to beat week in and week out.

Djokovic's rivalry versus Federer, now the best in the sport, could again become the dominant plot next year. Djokovic certainly could develop a new rival in say Wawrinka or Nishikori but neither of those players has proved yet that they are ready to do that on a consistent basis. Perhaps that was the biggest takeaway from last week's event. That despite all the hype about the next wave of players, the tour still comes down to how well Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal perform. No one appears quite ready yet to break up that trifecta of domination.

Any review of the year-end finals wouldn't be complete without a nod to two players who weren't even there. Nadal shut down his season to deal with a myriad of ongoing injuries. Juan Martin Del Potro is planning his own comeback from yet another injury setback. How each bounces back as they try to stay healthy will certainly impact next year's season. If they don't, that certainly could allow more new faces to make their debuts in London.

The year-end finals started and ended in a way that nobody wanted. Except for Djokovic, it probably will be an event few will want to remember. But don't be surprised if we look back at the unexpected events in London and realize that in reality they were just the beginning of yet another season where despite all the efforts of the "elite eight" the ATP's biggest prizes will be decided by only the one who rules them all.