Final Grades for Tennis' Top Stars at the 2015 Grand Slam Events
Each new tennis season is an epic adventure, spanning from the end of December through the following November. But four specific events perpetually define that long stretch of time: the majors.
It seems like only yesterday the best players in the world were dueling Down Under. Nine months have since flown by, with a thrilling U.S. Open serving as the climax to this journey. Now, it’s time to reflect.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams very nearly won calendar Grand Slams, soaring past the competition into another stratosphere. They weren’t alone in enjoying success at majors.
Roger Federer (twice) came perilously close to ending his drought. He couldn’t follow through, but the Swiss legend should feel encouraged nonetheless.
Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova can also empathize with Federer’s experience of reaching a championship match and falling short. Some of their peers, however, were even less fortunate.
In 2015, Rafael Nadal’s struggles escalated, with the “King of Clay” losing his crown at Roland Garros. Because of poor results at the other three majors, his future looks increasingly murky.
In the following slides, we’ll analyze the above stars and a few of their mates inside the Top 10. Based on their cumulative performances at the four Grand Slam events, each player will be assigned a grade and listed in ascending order.
It's time for the final report cards.
Caroline Wozniacki
1 of 13
Grade: D
After Caroline Wozniacki finished runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Open, hopes were rekindled for her to finally win a Grand Slam. As it turned out, that run was just fool's gold.
To call her performance at the majors in 2015 discouraging would be an understatement. It's been more of the same from the Dane: She racks up wins at lower-level events then gets overpowered at the important ones.
Her best result at a major this year? Reaching the fourth-round at Wimbledon, where eventual finalist Garbine Muguruza sent her packing.
And that was the high point for her at the Grand Slams. She exited the other three in the second round, falling to the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Julia Goerges and Petra Cetkovska.
“It really sucks to lose a match like that,” Wozniacki told the Press Association (h/t the Guardian) after her U.S. Open loss to Cetkovska. “Here, not playing my best level but still being so close, and still having my chances but not closing it out, that hurts. That really hurts.”
All those ranking points from a year earlier? Gone. As a result, she's clinging to her spot in the Top 10, and Wozniacki may not be there much longer if she keeps coming up short at top tournaments.
Rafael Nadal
2 of 13
Grade: D
Just a year-and-a-half ago, Rafael Nadal triumphantly raised a ninth Roland Garros crown above his head.
He hasn't made it past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since.
After injuries forced him to sit out most of the summer and fall in 2014, Nadal entered this season looking to get back on track. Instead, he went further off the rails.
Given a straight-sets beatdown by Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Nadal clung to the idea of the French Open as his place for salvation. But Novak Djokovic dealt him another demoralizing quarterfinal loss, ending the Spaniard's reign in Paris. It was a full-fledged dethroning with Nadal unable to offer much resistance.
Pain would follow at Wimbledon, where qualifier Dustin Brown's serve-and-volley blitz knocked out Nadal in the second round.
His toughest defeat at the majors, however, came at the U.S. Open. Despite winning the first two sets and leading by a break in the third, Nadal somehow squandered that massive advantage to Fabio Fognini.
His third-round exit in New York means Nadal finishes a season without a Grand Slam victory for the first time since 2004. Now, it's fair to wonder if he'll ever win another one.
Ana Ivanovic
3 of 13
Grade: D+
One bright moment masked by tons of misery. Meet Ana Ivanovic's 2015 season.
The Serb deserves credit for reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros—the first time she'd gone that far at a major in seven years—but her play at the other three Grand Slams left a lot to be desired.
At both the Australian Open and the U.S. Open, Ivanovic faltered in the first round. She fared only slightly better at Wimbledon, winning just one match before Bethanie Mattek-Sands knocked her out in the second round. All together, she finished with a paltry 6-4 record at the majors.
For a player who's a staple inside the Top 10, Ivanovic's continuing struggles at Grand Slams is an utter disappointment.
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Kei Nishikori
4 of 13
Grade: C-
Stop us if you've heard this before: Injuries kept Kei Nishikori from being 100 percent when it mattered most.
It's a shame to see the Japanese star constantly dealing with physical woes, and they've definitely limited him throughout the past few months.
At Wimbledon, a calf injury forced Nishikori to withdraw before the second round. But the one that really stung—in more ways than one—was a hip problem suffered in Montreal.
An ailing Nishikori had to skip Cincinnati, robbing him of precious preparation before the U.S. Open. With the pressure of defending finalist points hanging over his head, he traveled to New York; but his stay wouldn't be long.
Possibly still affected by that hip, Nishikori lost his opening match to Benoit Paire. A nightmare result considering his magical run the year earlier.
While he made the quarterfinals at both the Australian Open and French Open, Nishikori's inability to do any damage during the last two majors hurts him here.
Petra Kvitova
5 of 13
Grade: C-
Thanks to her victory at Wimbledon in 2014, Petra Kvitova was a trendy pick this season to challenge Serena Williams' monarchy. That grandiose dream didn't become a reality for the Czech.
Kvitova's play at the Grand Slams proved frustrating to watch. Despite all her power and pedigree as a champion, she failed to beat any player seeded higher than 30th at those four events. That's not acceptable for someone of Kvitova's caliber.
She didn't quite hit rock bottom, but third-round losses at the Australian Open and Wimbledon were the low points for her at majors. A fourth-round defeat at the French Open sandwiched those results, putting extra pressure on her to do well in New York.
The world No. 4 actually showed some encouraging signs at the U.S. Open, but eventual champion Flavia Pennetta came back to beat her in their quarterfinal clash. Another tough loss for Kvitova in her rocky 2015 campaign.
Tomas Berdych
6 of 13
Grade: C
Tomas Berdych's fashion sense is unusually bold, but his performance at the majors in 2015 lacked a similar panache.
When he bludgeoned Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Berdych looked like a man on a mission, intent to finally add a career-defining piece of hardware to his collection. Instead, he fell flat in a shaky four-set loss to Andy Murray in the semifinals, and the bad mojo from that match seemed to linger with him.
Berdych's fate at the other three Grand Slams? Fourth-round exits at every one of them—and each one more puzzling than the last. The low-point came at the French Open, where he took only eight games off undersized Gilles Simon.
For a man with such an imposing physical presence, Berdych bizarrely shrunk in the spotlight. He cooled off precipitously from the strong form earlier in the year that saw him reach three finals and four other semifinals.
The root of that sudden descent is anyone's guess, but as he hits age 30, the clock is ticking for Berdych to become a major champion.
Simona Halep
7 of 13
Grade: C+
The wait for Simona Halep to breakthrough for a maiden Grand Slam continues. And from what we saw at the 2015 majors, she doesn't seem any closer to achieving that goal.
Her semifinal berth at the U.S. Open was her peak. Yet Flavia Pennetta totally outclassed her in that match, a loss that has to hurt more knowing that she could've played in the final and not had to face Serena Williams.
At the other majors, Halep put together more up-and-down results. Ekaterina Makarova tossed her aside in the Australian Open quarterfinals, and the world No. 2 later crashed out from the French Open in the second round. A brutal first-round loss to unknown Jana Cepelova at Wimbledon represents her nadir.
Halep is probably still bitter about that one, but she turned things around this summer. By going as far as she did at the U.S. Open, expectations will rise again for the Romanian. We'll see if she can parlay that result into more success next year.
Maria Sharapova
8 of 13
Grade: B-
Maria Sharapova reached a Grand Slam final (Australian Open) and another semifinal (Wimbledon) during 2015. Most players would be ecstatic with those results, yet they represent the latest ebbs in a long-running narrative for Sharapova.
Both those losses came to Serena Williams, the old thorn in her side. Against her top rival, Sharapova couldn't muster many positives, and her losing streak to the American reached 17 matches.
Coming into the French Open as the defending champion, she saw her hopes of a repeat end in the fourth round when Lucie Safarova bounced her in straight sets. That result marked her earliest exit from a major this season.
Unable to compete at the U.S. Open because of a leg injury, Sharapova didn't have a chance at redemption in New York. Looking back, the Russian can take some solace in the fact she made that Aussie final. But Williams once again served as the kryptonite holding her back from greatness.
Andy Murray
9 of 13
Grade: B
Andy Murray did so much right at the Grand Slams this year, but his near misses and one particular defeat prevented him from receiving a higher grade.
His season started off with a bang when he made the Australian Open final, but he tripped at the finish line for the fourth time in his career. He gave Novak Djokovic an early fight but then came completely unraveled as the match progressed.
A fine run on the European clay provided Murray optimism for the French Open, especially with a psychologically wounded Rafael Nadal off his game. The Scot raced to the semifinals in Paris to book a date with a familiar opponent: Djokovic.
Spread out over multiple days, their intense battle saw Djokovic win the first two sets, lose the next two and finally surge ahead in the fifth. That experience of coming close but running into a buzz saw opponent followed Murray to Wimbledon.
At the All England Club, Murray couldn’t withstand the serving clinic laid on him by Roger Federer. He fell in straight sets despite not playing all that badly himself. Chalk that one up to tough luck.
Things trended further downward at the U.S. Open, where a tired Murray lost in the fourth round to powerful Kevin Anderson. His streak of reaching 18 consecutive major quarterfinals ended with a whimper.
The search for a third major remains elusive for Murray.
Roger Federer
10 of 13
Grade: B+
Roger Federer's three-year quest for Grand Slam title No. 18 continues, but he came closer than ever to finally ending the drought.
His fortunes turned around after a surprising third-round exit at the Australian Open to Andreas Seppi, his earliest loss there since 2013. That result proved an outlier rather than an omen as he steadily improved at each of the last three majors.
A quarterfinal shellacking to powerful Stan Wawrinka in Paris wasn't one he'll remember fondly. Then again, Wimbledon is always where his true judgement comes. And he delivered on the grass, racing past Andy Murray in the semifinals thanks to a virtuoso performance.
But his nemesis Novak Djokovic spoiled his party. Again.
For the second-straight year, Djokovic topped Federer in the Wimbledon final. That bitter defeat sent the Swiss back to the drawing board, and he debuted a new tactic for the U.S. Open: ultra-aggressive, half-volleys on second serves.
The new trick helped him storm to the final without dropping a set, but Djokovic once again stole his thunder in a four-set thriller. No matter what he tries, Federer just can't find the perfect solution to the Djokovic enigma.
For a man who recently turned 34, Federer's ability to make two-straight Grand Slam finals should be lauded. He's seemingly getting better with age and remaining viable longer than anyone thought. The end isn't here yet.
Stan Wawrinka
11 of 13
Grade: A-
For the first time in his career, Stan Wawrinka made the quarterfinals of all four majors in a season. But his seminal moment in Paris showed why Stan is indeed the man.
Earning payback after an epic five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals, Wawrinka stunned the world No. 1 in a masterful championship performance. Helped by the slower clay, the Stanimal’s jaw-dropping power completely stymied Djokovic and earned him a second Grand Slam title.
Wawrinka couldn’t pull off the Channel Slam because of a heartbreaking quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon to Richard Gasquet, but he rebounded by advancing to the semifinals in New York. Unfortunately for him, Roger Federer was in rare form and denied Wawrinka another chance to play Djokovic.
Overall, the Swiss star went 21-3 at the majors, cementing his status as one of the game’s best prime-time players.
Serena Williams
12 of 13
Grade: A
She set the bar so incredibly high for herself and tripped over the final hurdle. Yet Serena Williams' 2015 season should still be considered a roaring success.
With titles at three Grand Slams and a semifinal appearance at the other one, such performances are another reason why she's arguably the best ever in women's tennis.
There were plenty of tough three-set matches along the way, but her will and mental strength pushed her over the top at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros.
At the French Open, five of her seven matches went the distance. Each time, she found that extra gear to carry her when it mattered most. Williams could have exited Wimbledon early as well, but her inspiring third-round comeback over Heather Watson is one for the time capsule.
Perhaps the pressure to become the first singles player (male or female) to win a calendar Grand Slam since 1988 was too much for her to handle in New York. Pushed to three sets by both Bethanie Mattek-Sands and sister Venus, it was clear she wasn't at her absolute best.
Unseeded Roberta Vinci took advantage, pulling off an all-time stunner of an upset in the semifinals and leaving an off-kilter Williams to ponder what could have been.
Though she couldn't complete her mission at the U.S. Open, Williams can reflect proudly on another year of brilliance.
Novak Djokovic
13 of 13
Grade: A+
What more can be said about this special Serb?
Novak Djokovic is truly worthy of all the praise heaped upon his shoulders, and his 2015 season will go down as one of the best in the history of men's tennis. He made the finals of all four majors, winning three in decisive fashion and putting together a combined 27-1 mark at those events.
In Melbourne, he wore down Andy Murray, bageling the Scot in the final set for his fifth Aussie crown. Djokovic's championship performances at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open followed a similar pattern, as he dropped the second set each time to Roger Federer but grew stronger as the matches progressed.
Not even Federer's best could pose serious damage to the ruthless perfection of Djokovic. Opponents have found that deflating reality out far too often during his run of dominance.
He came so close to sweeping all four majors, but a red-hot Stan Wawrinka simply hit him off the court in the French Open final. After finally usurping Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, Djokovic's inability to complete the career Grand Slam is the only blemish on an otherwise sterling year.
With 10 majors already in hand, there's no telling how high Djokovic will climb. The record books are at his command.
All statistics are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com and WTATennis.com unless otherwise noted.
Joe Kennard is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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