Novak Djokovic Tops Winners and Losers at 2015 ATP World Tour Finals

King Novak Djokovic capped off his brilliant 2015 tennis year with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory over Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals. It's the perfect ending to the World No. 1's dominant string of 11 titles, including three major championships and six Masters 1000 titles.

Let the legacy conversations continue as Djokovic looks ahead to 2016, with few other new goals to accomplish outside of capturing Roland Garros and Cincinnati, Ohio. Otherwise, he has all but locked up the featured slide in our "winners and losers" column. Until further notice, it's etched in stone.

There were additional triumphs and failures in a competitive week with seven other superstars. There was Rafael Nadal's success, Andy Murray's ambivalence and Stan Wawrinka's inconsistencies. There were memorable fights from younger Kei Nishikori and old lion David Ferrer.

Here we go with our last 2015 star-filled edition of Winners and Losers, where we log the weeks of tennis results and commentary as it happened.

Loser: Weakest Round-Robin Efforts

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It’s asking a lot for all players to give their absolute best at all times during round-robin stages. By midweek, some players have clinched semifinals spots, while others are hopelessly eliminated. Nevertheless, a few Burnt Bagel awards for the top-three tank jobs.

Stan Wawrinka

After losing a tight first set in his opening match against Rafael Nadal, Wawrinka lost his composure. Some of this was tactical. He was passive on Nadal’s short topspin, but he often unloaded on deep balls and sprayed them outside the lines. It wasn’t long before he was muttering at himself.

He took more big hacks at balls instead of working points, and he hardly cared to track down shots on defense. Soon, he was in the locker room.

Novak Djokovic

It’s understandable that he lost his second match to a sharp Roger Federer, but Djokovic clearly lacked energy and fight in the second set. In his own words, he “just handed him (Federer) the win, especially in the second set.”

Was he already thinking it would be easier to take a set or two from Berdych rather than fight back against Federer? That’s the ugly side to a round-robin match.

Andy Murray

After losing his first-set tiebreaker to Stan Wawrinka in their final round-robin match, an encounter that had the last semifinal slot on the line, Murray was listless coming into the second set. He made more errors and suddenly did not get to as many of Wawrinka’s blasts.

Was Murray already thinking that this would be a good time to pull out and catch a flight to Belgium? More on that later.

Winner: Toughest Round-Robin Efforts

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For the most part, there was a lot of fight and tough play from all eight players. For instance, Tomas Berdych lost all three of his matches, but he battled the best he could against three very talented and inspired opponents. He’s not going to win any awards for that, but we can respect his efforts.

However, the following three players played some special tennis, deserving of our Golden Breadstick awards.

Kei Nishikori 

After getting drilled by Novak Djokovic in the opener and outlasting Berdych in his second match, Nishikori fought tooth and nail with the great Roger Federer.

He was particularly fearless in attacking Federer’s second serve with his athleticism, taking balls early and forcing Federer to raise his game. Their second and third sets were entertaining and aesthetically pleasing for tennis fans, but ultimately, it was Federer who closed with the big break.

David Ferrer 

Already eliminated from the semifinals before his third-match warmups against Rafael Nadal, Ferrer could have easily decided to give in after two early breaks. Amazingly, he dug in and got back the breaks, then went on to win the first-set tiebreaker.

In the second set, he opened by winning the exhausting 14-minute game. Ferrer never goes down easy, and even at match point, he was trying to claw his way back.

In the end, he pushed Nadal an hour longer than most players would have attempted.

Rafael Nadal

Why did Nadal continue draining his energy in the Ferrer match after losing the first set? Had he taken a page from Wawrinka’s first match, Nadal could have gone to the locker room with fresher legs for his already-confirmed semifinal meeting against Djokovic.

But this is still Nadal, and his mentality does not hand away matches. It was a great treat for the fans in London as Nadal pulled out a thrilling match, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4.

Loser: Andy Murray

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Earlier we noted Andy Murray’s loss to Stan Wawrinka, which eliminated him from a semifinal slot. The Scot is a great player, but he lost his chance to seize the year-end No. 2 ranking, leaving it in the hands of Novak Djokovic to try to stop Roger Federer from winning the WTF and claiming the No. 2 ranking. (Note: If Federer won, Murray could have also claimed the No. 2-ranking with a Davis Cup match win later in the week.)

Furthermore, it adds more fuel to those who would like to stoke up the idea that Murray is a consistent star but one who cannot power his way through more imposing rivals. He didn’t help his cause by getting drubbed by a resurgent No. 5 Rafael Nadal and a tougher No. 4 Wawrinka, who looked more willing to hit his way to victory.

Finally, Murray’s loss was a blow to Team Belgium’s Davis Cup title aspirations. That’s right, the loss gives Murray two extra days of rest and removes the grind of one or two more matches. This will allow Murray to have fresher legs and more time to train on clay for next week’s Davis Cup finals.

Belgium would have preferred that Murray play three more gruelling sets against Djokovic and Federer, but Murray’s loss is Team Britain’s gain.

It would be unthinkable that Murray was trying to lose the Wawrinka match, but by the second set, was there really much incentive to fight as if a major championship was on the line? Rather, there was a lot more to gain against Team Belgium.

Winner: The Big Three

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They are not going away anytime soon.

Tennis’ “Big Three” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic continue to age, but their hearts and wills to win are unparalleled.

Each player is better than he was at this point one year ago when talks crept in that players like Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov might take sizable territory from the fading empires of the Big Three.

Not so. As long as the Big Three can stay healthy and fit and as long as they can keep fighting for big titles, they are not going to roll over.

So forget about the premature obituaries that claim Stan Wawrinka busted up the Big Three or the false claims that Andy Murray somehow expanded this to a Fab Four.

This WTF tournament was just the latest reminder that Nadal might make it back as a future contender, that Federer continues to reinvent what greatness is and that Djokovic is still going to enjoy a much longer reign as King Novak.

Loser: Stan Wawrinka

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Nobody can take away Stan Wawrinka’s two major championships, and he’s earned recognition as a big-match player because he has timed a few of his vintage performances on the biggest stages. But his play at the WTF finals this week was a mixed bag of powerful shots and questionable efforts.

Against Rafael Nadal, Wawrinka cracked after a tight first set. He grew frustrated, muttered at himself and was distracted from thinking about what he had to do to get back in the match. He didn’t quit, but his body language made him a far less effective player, and Nadal rolled him out of the O2 Arena quicker than one of his towelling-off sessions.

Credit to Wawrinka for righting the ship against David Ferrer and persevering after a 2-4 tiebreaker deficit against Andy Murray, but he mysteriously shriveled up again in the semifinals against Roger Federer, losing 7-5, 6-3.

Up 4-2, Wawrinka played a few loose points and Federer got his break back. That’s going to happen, but from then on, Wawrinka didn’t play with his fearless risk-reward tennis.

He stroked safe returns but rarely stepped in to attack Federer’s backhand. Once again, Wawrinka did not fight back in the second set, nor did he resemble the player who recently rose to prominence by playing as if he had nothing to lose.

Maybe Wawrinka is better as the underdog, when everyone is counting him out. When the greater expectations are on the table, it’s been more difficult for him to sustain his best tennis.

Winner: Rafael Nadal

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Few tennis fans could have expected Rafael Nadal to roll up an undefeated 3-0 round-robin record in the Ilie Nastase Group. He hammered Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray by taking 24 of 34 sets. But his lengthy three-set comeback against David Ferrer took its toll and contributed somewhat to a more-fatigued effort in the semifinals.

The real problem was Novak Djokovic, who gave another lesson in how far off Nadal is from competing for the 2016 Australian Open title. Nadal’s strengths and tennis patterns play into Djokovic’s superior strengths.

Almost every short forehand from Nadal was attacked by Djokovic’s impressive backhand. which feasts upon high topspin. And that was one of many advantages Nadal will need to overcome if he is to challenge his rival for titles once again.

But give Nadal a well-deserved “winner” card for this past week. He defeated three top-10 opponents. By contrast, it took Nadal nearly 10 months in 2015 to defeat three top-10 players, from Doha to Beijing.

Most importantly, the Spaniard has built positive momentum and confidence to get energized for great training in the offseason. If all goes well, he could be a threat to win the 2016 Australian Open in two months.

Loser: Roger Federer

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Any other player might be satisfied to whip Novak Djokovic on the way to a 3-0 round-robin record, followed by a semifinal victory over World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka.

But it’s not enough for Roger Federer who once again lost a huge title in the final to Djokovic. Despite six good titles in 2015 and three victories over his Serbian rival, Federer ended 2015 in the manner that will define his year: so very great, but not great enough to defeat Djokovic for the biggest titles.

“I think this year had a lot of great things in my game,” Federer said after losing his final, as reported by ATP World Tour.

Federer ends the year ranked No. 3 after working hard to add more offensive variety to his game. There were moments he looked as lethal as ever, but it is no longer possible for him to dominate the way he could 10 years ago. Then he had more youthful legs, and there was no 2015 Djokovic on the scene.

At this point, there are no moral victories for the Swiss Maestro. He’s right up there as a prime contender, and he plays to win majors and huge titles.

This past week, for all of the great play, he will be most disappointed with his loss, but then it’s back to the future, as he reiterated, per ATP World Tour:

"

I've got to keep pushing forward. Got to keep practising hard, being serious about all the things I do. Now rest, recover, enjoy my family, my wife. Just have a great time there. Then once I get back to practice, the gym, enjoy that part as well, which I do. Thankfully, I found a way to embrace that part as well over the years.

"

Winner: Novak Djokovic

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Actor Bill Murray once played the role of a frustrated protagonist in the movie Groundhog Day, where he is caught in a time warp and must repeatedly live out the same, winter day over and over again. It’s strikingly similar to what it must feel like for the ATP’s best players to escape defeat at the hands of Novak Djokovic.

Over and over again, the week ends when the Serbian holds up the big trophies and his defeated competitors must go back to the drawing board.

The scary thing was that semifinal and final rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, respectively, did not play badly. They brought their best competitive efforts, only to see it all swatted back with interest like so many of Djokovic’s stellar shots.

He’s not perfect, but he’s brilliant in volumes. King Novak reigns on.

What was most impressive?

1. The Djokovic serve, which had a Pete Sampras kind of effect—that is, bailing him out when pressure points or breaks were on the line.
2. The Djokovic baseline offense that stretched Federer from corner to corner in wearing down the Swiss.
3. The Djokovic baseline defense that hammered back passing shots at the Maestro’s shoes, neutralizing winners and disintegrating his backhand.
4. The Djokovic standard of mental toughness and will to win.
5. All of the above.

And that’s where we are with King Novak, who turned in perhaps the greatest season of all time in men’s tennis. That will be the subject of tomorrow’s article.