Andy Murray Tops Superstar Grades at the 2016 World Tour Finals
Andy Murray is the king of 2016 after winning the World Tour Finals and vanquishing rival Novak Djokovic. The Scot endured the group of death, two marathon matches and showed a lot of heart to go with his firm grip on the No. 1 ranking.
There’s another side to the story in considering Djokovic. The Serb is on the road back to his best self, even if he fell short of a fairy-tale ending heading to 2017.
Meanwhile, the other six stars competed at London with varying success. A few overachieved and played with a lot of resolve. Others were disappointments. We examine what went right or wrong and attach grades to their week in London.
In addition, we will rank the player performances as a countdown. All eight players are ranked from most disappointing to Murray at the top. We close with a brief statement on what this could mean for each star when 2017 opens in Australia.
8. Gael Monfils
1 of 8
We’re not going to give an “Incomplete” grade to Gael Monfils. The Frenchman played through pain and injured ribs in his second-match loss to Dominic Thiem, but he was unable to compete in his final round-robin opportunity against Novak Djokovic. He will go into the books as a disappointment.
It’s too bad for Monfils. He had played some of the most consistent tennis in his career from August through October, including becoming a semifinalist at the U.S. Open, but the rib injury caused him to pull out of Paris, and he was mostly a punching bag at the World Tour Finals.
This was his first career appearance for the year-end extravaganza, and he was swept by Milos Raonic and upended in three sets by Thiem. David Goffin replaced him for the Djokovic match, and the Belgian was promptly brushed aside.
Kudos for Monfils in not quitting in his Thiem match. He could have packed it in and got off the court, but he played the best he could to earn his money. He can live with that effort and be proud to build on his No. 7 ranking in Australia. We give him a passing grade for his efforts, but his performance was not up to par.
If he can stay healthy and consistent, Monfils can try to hang inside the top 10, but at age 30 it’s not likely he will become a top-five player and major winner like Stan Wawrinka.
WTF Grade= D
7. Stan Wawrinka
2 of 8
Time to lay down the hammer on Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss has been a spectacular story since the 2013 Australian Open, reinventing his career as a three-time major winner. There are warts as well, mainly the inconsistencies from one week to the next as he often gets bounced by lesser players. But that’s the risk-reward package with Wawrinka. He is what he is.
The problem this past week was his feeble effort in the second set of his third round-robin match. Wawrinka needed to defeat Andy Murray to get into the semifinals, but after one set the handwriting was on the wall. He hardly showed up in the second set, more or less moving methodically, seemingly unwilling to grind hard against Murray. He looked like he wanted to climb over the Alps and hide.
It was a sour ending after a competitive win over Marin Cilic, but even by then the damage was done. He got spanked in his first round-robin match against Kei Nishikori and needed to win out.
Will Stan the Man be ready to compete for another Australian Open title? Probably. He’s on the short list of those capable, and the Plexicushion is his best surface, certainly better than London’s speedier O2 arena.
Plus, the blocky Swiss might be smarting from the past week’s crumble. He also dropped to No. 4 in the ATP rankings.
WTF Grade= C-
6. Marin Cilic
3 of 8
In some ways, Marin Cilic was one of the disappointments. He had played excellent tennis coming into London and figured to have the inside track as a semifinalist from the stronger John McEnroe group.
But Cilic never could get it going in a lackluster loss to Andy Murray. His serve and forehand were muted by Murray’s defensive precision and offensive control. He looked nothing like the player who whipped the Scot for the Western & Southern title in late August.
Then he lost out against Stan Wawrinka, and suddenly the tournament was over.
Well, he did recover and play with redemption to defeat Kei Nishikori, and he can feel good about that win, but it was too late to wipe away the fact that he underachieved last week.
Things should look up in 2017. He’s No. 6 in the world with a great chance to exceed his third-round loss in Melbourne last January. There’s no reason he can’t charge ahead on the hard courts that precede the clay-court tour. Cilic is very capable of winning a surprise major to sit next to his 2014 U.S. Open trophy.
WTF Grade= C
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
5. Dominic Thiem
4 of 8
Not a lot was expected from Dominic Thiem after he played fairly horrendous and tired tennis in recent months. The 23-year-old Austrian made his first appearance in the World Tour Finals, but despite his inexperience he had a chance to get to the semifinals.
He took a hard-fought set from Novak Djokovic—the only set the world No. 2 would lose en route to the finals. He was healthier than Gael Monfils, so he did his job in keeping his nerve and pulling out the three-set victory.
It came down to one match for the semifinals against Milos Raonic, but the big Canadian’s serve was too much. In the end, Thiem’s tournament was rather a success considering the low expectations coming into London.
While it’s true he was part of the weaker group, Thiem can hold his head up for 2017. He will need to pace himself better with his schedule, prioritize and peak for big tournaments and match the kind of result that saw him get to the French Open semifinals. Maybe he can get a Masters 1000 title and start defeating some of the heavyweights for a consistent top-five ranking.
WTF Grade= C+
4. Kei Nishikori
5 of 8
How many tennis fans had Kei Nishikori coming out of the strong John McEnroe group? He was arguably looking up at Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic, players who all have greater weapons and abilities to dictate play.
But Nishikori can dictate play with his speedy legs, aggressive groundstrokes, energy and heart. The Japanese star did enough to earn his way to the semifinals by crushing Wawrinka, dueling Murray to almost a draw in a three-and-half hour duel and losing a meaningless round-robin match to Cilic.
On the other hand, he could have performed better against Cilic and he was battered in just over one hour against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. It was the kind of loss that showed just how far he is from being a major champion. He’s so very good but may not have the juice to get over the top for a Masters 1000 or major title in 2017. Everything has to break his way combined with his absolute top tennis.
WTF Grade= B
3. Milos Raonic
6 of 8
There was a lot of doubt about Milos Raonic coming to London. He had withdrawn from the Paris semifinals because of a torn right quad, and there were questions if he could actually move well and complete a match.
But Raonic proved he was deserving of his new No. 3 ranking. He dismantled Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem, and he lost two slim tiebreakers to Novak Djokovic. He loomed large as a dangerous semifinal opponent to Andy Murray and lost a thriller that included a match point in the third-set tiebreaker.
How do we characterize Raonic’s 2016? When healthy, he was a Wimbledon finalist and the next best thing to Djokovic and Murray, other than Stan Wawrinka’s U.S. Open title. But he is constantly battling injuries with his large frame, and despite improvements at the net and with his decision-making, he’s going to have to be healthy at the biggest tournaments.
If so, Raonic is the best bet to be a first-time major winner in 2017.
WTF Grade= A-
2. Novak Djokovic
7 of 8
Novak Djokovic came into the WTF final the fresher player after finishing off two blowouts and four wins. He proved that he is not that far off from being the No. 1 player once again, but he’s going to have to survive more battle-tested moments to regain his crown.
Then again, Djokovic often went through the motions with his strategic patterns, and he was unable to turn the tide after two breaks that saw the first set vanish and the second set with an early burden on his shoulders. The confidence in his groundstrokes was weak against the best of Murray.
Or maybe Murray’s just better right now. The Scot has paid a greater price the past few months with his physical and mental preparation. He looked like he wanted it a lot more than Djokovic.
We assign Djokovic an A- grade for defeating Raonic head-to-head and destroying Nishikori, even if he fell short of matching Murray’s level.
All of which should weigh heavily on Djokovic’s offseason. He’s going to have to raise his level if he is to defend his Australian Open title and come anywhere close to the domination he had in the first half of 2016 that peaked with the French Open title.
Djokovic will be back, even if his stranglehold on the tour has loosened. Murray is an opponent he can target, and when he couples his training with his old desire, the Serb could rise up and get another major or two in 2017.
WTF Grade= A-
1. Andy Murray
8 of 8
The difference between Andy Murray and everyone else? Belief? Desire? Fitness? Well-rounded defense and offense? The experience to stick to his game plans and adjust accordingly?
Yes, it’s all of the above.
He’s got the heart of a lion. He shrugged off a marathon duel with Raonic (and the toll of the midweek Nishikori contest) to lay it all on the line against Djokovic. The new Murray controlled the rallies with a brilliant combination of added pace to his variety, pushing Djokovic into many of his errors. He won five straight games to break it open from midway in the first set to seize control of the second set. Then it was over.
Murray proved deserving of the year-end No. 1 ranking in defeating the one player who was missing from his resume since his pair of torrid winning streaks from summer through the WTF.
Sky Sports TV fairly gushed over Murray, relishing his great shots and savoring its calls for Murray as the “World No. 1.” And it’s well-deserved. Few players in tennis history have shown the Scot’s willingness to be an iron man. He pursued the other Big Three legends for one decade. He came back after a three-year drought between majors. He hoisted up his Davis Cup teammates, and he never stopped his relentless pursuit of capturing and finishing the year as the No. 1 player.
It’s good to be the new king.
WTF Grade= A+
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
