Welcome to the 2011 Year in Review. FOXSports.com's panel of tennis commentators — Richard Evans, Greg Couch, Brian Webber, Addie Rising and Tim Blankemeyer — have shared their thoughts on the topic of the day for the last two weeks to catch one final look back at a memorable year in tennis and a peek at what's to come.
TO WRAP UP OUR YEAR IN REVIEW, WE ASK . . . WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2012?
EVANS: I am looking forward to Andy Murray doing what his peers think he is sufficiently talented to do — win a Grand Slam.
After four consecutive years ranked in the world’s top four and three appearances in Grand Slam finals (one at the US Open and two in Australia) the 24-year-old Scot has been knocking on the door long enough and maybe it is just one more tiny injection of self-belief that will help him through it.
There is no question that there are three big reasons why Murray has failed to become the first British man since Fred Perry in the thirties to win a Slam and they are called Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. These are three of the greatest players who ever lived and Murray has had to deal with them all on his watch.
It wasn’t like that for Lleyton Hewitt when he won Wimbledon in 2002; nor Thomas Johansson and Albert Costa when they won the Australian and French titles in that same year. Nor for Gaston Gaudio when he won the French in 2004. As far as all-around talent is concerned I think Murray is better than all these players and he may turn out to be better than the only Grand Slam winner in the last decade to have won a title when the Big Four were at the top of their game — Juan Martin del Potro. The jury is still out on the tall Argentine who shocked Federer at the US Open in 2009 and it will be fascinating to see how he performs in 2012.
In the meantime, Murray knows that this is his moment, not quite the once-in-a-lifetime as the Leslie Bricusse song suggested but certainly the time to do great things. The talent is honed and ready. It is just up to him.
Off court I will also look forward to Brad Drewett making a success in his new role as CEO of the ATP. I have known Drewett for 35 years and he is a good man. There was not a corner of the world he did not visit as a player and he has done an excellent job in developing tennis in Asia, and especially China, from his Sydney base. The game needs leadership from someone who can talk to tennis players and deal with tournament directors without fear or favor. It is a not an easy task, especially as changes need to be made. But I think, and hope, this quiet and thoughtful Australian is up to the job.
COUCH: Roger Federer. His 2011 looked like the beginning of the end to most people. He finally went a year without winning a major, and now is 30 years old. To me, he still has it, but is stubbornly using his old racquet, which is a few generations behind in technology.
Either way, it spells problems. But by the end of the year, he was playing better than anyone again, even Rafael Nadal, even Novak Djokovic. Of course, he was doing it during a time of year without majors.
So maybe Djokovic and Nadal, winding down at the end of the year, will come out fresh again in 2012 and start fighting for all the majors. Or maybe Federer, without the pressure anymore of keeping up his majors streak, has freed himself to fight with them. (Here’s to hoping he has used the short offseason to switch racquets). Who knows?
WEBBER: It will be intriguing to see if Roger Federer can maintain the momentum he generated at the end of the year. After failing to win a major event for the first time since 2002, the Swiss star rebounded in the fall indoor season. Federer won three consecutive titles to wrap up 2011, including the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. The 16-time Grand Slam tournament winner will open 2012 riding a 17 match winning streak. While Federer celebrated his 30th birthday in August — a milestone that has marked the start of the decline for many tennis icons — Federer has produced so many remarkable achievements in his brilliant career that it's too soon to write him off as a threat to win a major. Reports of the demise of Federer's career may have been greatly exaggerated.
BLANKEMEYER: More spectacular action from the top three men! Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer. Does it get any better? Has the men’s game ever been more exciting?
With three Grand Slam titles and a 41-0 start, 2011 really was the year of Djokovic. But Nadal also had a stellar campaign, winning the French Open title and losing the Wimbledon and US Open finals to Djokovic. That would seem to leave Federer out in the cold, but Roger was the one who handed Djokovic his first loss of the season in the semis at Roland Garros. And, after a heart-wrenching defeat to Djokovic in the US Open semis, Federer went unbeaten — including victory at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.
If Nadal and Djokovic are healthy, and Federer stays on top of his game, 2012 will be special. Can’t wait!
Richard Evans is a tennis writer for FOXSports.com. Greg Couch is a national columnist for FOXSports.com. Brian Webber is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com's tennis coverage. Addie Rising and Tim Blankemeyer are tennis editors for FOXSports.com.
