2014 ATP World Tour Finals: Winners and Losers from London
Tennis fans will not look back at the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals as a classic. For starters, they were robbed of a championship bout between legends, World-No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Roger Federer.
The tournament, staged at London's O2 Arena, was expected to have competitive challenges from young guns Milos Raonic, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori. It promised stalwart play from veterans Andy Murray, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych. Instead, most of the play was decidedly lopsided, predictable and bland, like a tasteless muffin.
But there were a couple of saving gems, and we will examine these in our "Winners and Losers" column in all of its ugly and admirable forms. Djokovic's dominance, Federer's disappointment and Murray's surprises turned out to be the stories to remember. Read on for our appraisal.
Loser: Round-Robin Blowouts
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We've watched 2014 unfold with several interesting plot twists, threaded around old-school dominance. And so we looked on with eager anticipation to the elite eight at the WTF, even without Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal.
There is competitive parity at the top, right?
Anyone can get hot and win this tournament of stars, true?
Uh, well, actually not.
The top four seeds, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori almost swept their ways into the semifinals and too many of the matches were embarrassingly lopsided. We'll detail a few of the abused in other slides, but for now take a quick look at some round-robin results:
- Wawrinka defeated Tomas Berdych 6-1, 6-1.
- Djokovic defeated Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-1.
- Berdych defeated Cilic 6-3, 6-1.
- Djokovic defeated Wawrinka 6-3, 6-0.
- Federer defeated Andy Murray 6-0, 6-1.
- Djokovic defeated Berdych 6-2, 6-2.
A couple things stand out. One, Djokovic was a steamroller, motivated to keep his No. 1 ranking and put on a show. Two, Cilic and Berdych were abysmal, each getting hammered twice. The gap between the top and bottom four players proved to be a chasm.
Winner: Kei Nishikori
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Kei Nishikori might have bowed out in the semifinals, but he proved to be the best rising star of 2014. Forget that he was one of the big clay-season stories, taking Barcelona and nearly grabbing Madrid. Ignore that he was the U.S. Open runner up, and that he followed that up with two titles on the Asian swing in October.
Right now, Nishikori is one of the most exciting players in tennis, and if he was not the most interesting player to watch at London, then you must be a Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer fan trying to appreciate more accumulated dominance.
Nishikori is a delight, a fresh burst of energy with swift shoes and flashing racket. He anticipates a split second before everyone else, and he is able to counter with aggressive early-rise strokes that can shake up his bigger opponents. His important win, defeating Andy Murray, was not a surprise but rather a confirmation that he is currently the better player.
There's a lot to like about his demeanor and growing confidence. In recent months, he has quietly and firmly stated his belief that he can now beat the best players in the world. He is becoming fitter, more durable and with evolved understanding of playing big-stakes tennis.
Long-time tennis guru Nick Bollettieri, who has coached the likes of Andre Agassi and Boris Becker stated before 2014, according to New York Times, that Nishikori is "one of the [three] best shotmakers" he has "ever worked with."
So while the spotlight continues to shine on veteran stars Djokovic and Federer, Nishikori is one young player who has not slipped badly in the past few months. Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic should give him a round of applause.
Loser: Milos Raonic
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It's not that Milos Raonic was supposed to get out of his group anyway. Raonic was the clear fourth seed of the stacked second group and had his work cut out in trying to defeat Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray.
He was swept by Federer and Murray, but a quad injury kept him from competing against Nishikori for his scheduled third round-robin match.
Raonic told the AP via ESPN that "I have a slight tear in my quad and a large area of swelling." He explained his disappointment in letting down the spectators and the tournament: "As badly as I wanted to play, you've got to be at the top of your game here and I couldn't be close to that today. Wouldn't have been fair to the fans if I had played a mediocre match or had to stop."
On the other hand, the fans likely got a much better match when his replacement David Ferrer took Nishikori to three grinding sets.
Raonic was shelled and wounded, and now he can only rest up and look forward to taking another step up in 2015.
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Winner: Novak Djokovic
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It was possible for Roger Federer to claim the year-end No. 1 ranking if he went undefeated to win the WTF, won his matches to help Switzerland win the Davis Cup and if Novak Djokovic tripped up in the WTF round-robin matches.
As Federer remained perfect into the finals, it was almost as if Djokovic did not want to give the hot Swiss legend a chance to put the No. 1 ranking into his hands. The Serbian left no doubt to closing out 2014 as the worthy No. 1 player.
While he did not defend his run of three Australian Open titles (falling in the quarterfinals), he did win Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Wimbledon, Beijing and Paris. He was a finalist in the French Open and a semifinalist at the U.S. Open.
This marks the third time in four years (excluding only 2013) that Djokovic ends the year No. 1. He joins Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in claiming this honor at least three times. Sampras is the all-time leader with six consecutive seasons at the top (1993-98).
Djokovic went on to win the final in a walkover, closing out his third consecutive WTF championship (joining Lendl and Ilie Nastase) and winning 36 of 45 games. This was another one of his seemingly invincible streaks, and he will once again carry his No. 1 ranking as the favorite to rule in 2015.
Loser: Marin Cilic
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At least Marin Cilic has that 2014 U.S. Open trophy, because any momentum or statement from late September has disappeared. Forget about trying to establish Cilic as a tennis legend; right now we are wondering at that mythical U.S. Open streak that landed that trophy into his hands.
Granted Cilic has been fighting injury, but his effort at the WTF was disappointing if not questionable (some would call it objectionable). He was humiliated by Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych and he rebounded somewhat to win his lone set against Stanislas Wawrinka. Three matches and time to go home.
What next?
The consensus will be that Cilic seized his 15 minutes of fame and that he will be hard-pressed to ever repeat it. The big-serving Croatian has wonderful strokes but can be maddeningly absent just when it seems he can be at the top.
This week at the WTF, Cilic was a virtual no-show. He has that to think about before Australia, 2015.
Winner: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Roger Federer
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In a mostly forgettable WTF tournament, there was one match worth more than the price of admission. Roger Federer vs. Stanislas Wawrinka may be a lopsided "rivalry" (Federer leads 15-2), but lately their matches have been must-see tennis battles.
Federer won the rubber match of their 2014 trilogy, losing the Monte Carlo final but defeating Wawrinka at Wimbledon and in this week's WTF semifinal. It was a dramatic escape that saw Federer claw his way back from four match points to win 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6). Unfortunately, it was Pyrrhic victory for Federer who hurt his back and eventually withdrew from his scheduled final against Novak Djokovic.
The Federer win was eerily reminiscent of his 2013 Indian Wells match versus Wawrinka, a three-set match he held on to win, but at the cost of a serious back injury that would hamper him the rest of the year.
The match on Friday's semifinal was once again the hard-hitting groundstrokes from a hot Wawrinka challenging the versatile and creative ways Federer could carve out at net and with his forehand. He converted his only match point with a drop volley, leaving Wawrinka to fret about his own missed opportunities.
Federer is a great contrast to any top player because his style has original contrast and a different flavor for each opponent. Right now, the Federer-Wawrinka battles have become a treat because Wawrinka has reached his career peak and Federer has continued to age well with guile and fabulous skill, backed by occasional flashes of his old self.
By Sunday, there were also rumors that Federer and Wawrinka had combative discussions late into the night, according to tennis commentator John McEnroe in sources such as The Daily Mail and Eurosport.
How will they respond as Swiss teammates in the attempt to win their first Davis Cup? Will Federer's back be fit? Will tension flare up when adversity strikes? Stay tuned.
Loser: The Non-Final
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It had to be much worse for Roger Federer than the prospect of facing red-hot Novak Djokovic in the WTF final: There was the Swiss legend, showing up with a track-suit sweater and a microphone, explaining to the crowd that he could not compete, as recorded in BBC Sport:
"I'm sorry I'm not fit to play. I hope you understand. I wanted to come out personally and explain.
I did everything I could. I took pain-killers, had rest until the very end, but I just cannot compete at this level with Novak.
At my age it would've been a risk.
It's not that much of a surprise. This back spasm, whatever it might be, it's just not a fun thing to have during the day. It's just uncomfortable. But I'm positive and I'm hopeful that it's going to go away soon.
"
What's next, director Peter Jackson explaining that the December release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be cancelled due to technical deficiencies?
Of course we can excuse Federer who has missed only a few matches in his career, but the disappointment for tennis patrons at London and tennis viewers throughout the world was an anticlimax to a suspenseful and bizarre 2014 (which saw two semifinalists at the Miami Masters, Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishiori, withdraw from their matches), to say nothing about the disappointing week at the WTF.
Winner: Andy Murray
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I had written an Andy Murray "Loser" slide in the wake of his disastrous 6-0, 6-1 crushing at the hands of Roger Federer in the Scot's final match at the WTF.
But Murray proved his heart and spirit by helping to salvage the disappointment of Federer's withdrawal from the WTF final. He set aside his video game and answered a call to entertain the spectators with an exhibition loss to Novak Djokovic (8-5) and play exhibition doubles with John McEnroe against former stars Tim Henman and Pat Cash.
Murray's explanation was just as cheery, according to The Mirror:
"I was playing Mario Kart on my sofa when I got the call. I was winning at that!
I have to apologize - I obviously pushed Roger so hard on Thursday.
"
Murray did not have to do this, and after Thursday's embarrassment might have felt like the O2 Arena was the last place he would want to be. Tennis fans often see Murray as a sullen and feisty competitor, at times wearing too many emotions and perhaps expressing language more colorful than they would prefer to hear.
He is not usually labeled for his sense of fun and humor. But there he was, giving of his time and rekindling the tournament with a nice parting gift for London's tennis fans.
Well done, Andy Murray.
Loser: 2004 WTF Final
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There are plenty of classic final matches for the WTF. Since 1970, it has changed venues and surfaces often enough, but the thrill of pitting the best players in an all-star bracket has usually resulted in spectacular results and memories.
But not at Houston's outdoor courts in 2004. The highlight was a lengthy second-set semifinal with Roger Federer outlasting talented Marat Safin 20-18 in the tiebreaker.
The final was a bust. Federer destroyed Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2, in a match that was about as one-sided as the double bagels he delivered to Hewitt a couple months earlier at the U.S. Open final.
It was significant, because it marked the end of Hewitt's short-lived time near the top of tennis, even though he would push himself to one more major final a couple months later, falling to Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.
Federer's presence and victory at Houston was similar to what we saw from Novak Djokovic this week (although Federer "only" had a games won-loss margin of 40-26). Understand that by the end of 2004, a young Federer had clearly established his own dynasty. At Houston, he was hardly touched, which was fascinating but hardly competitive tennis.
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