Well, what an exciting year it was, and what a fascinating year we are about to start. When, at the end of 2008, journalists asked “Who do you think will end the year 2009 #1 in the world, many thought Rafa Nadal would be the one. Some like me thought Roger Federer would do it. Roger has an absolutely fantastic game. It is effortless, and he has many options in his game. Andy Murray remains among the top 5 players to watch out for in 2010 even though I really don’t like his game and find it rather boring. Ok, killing the pace can be a good thing against many hard hitters, and it works great when you’re quick and can counterpunch the way Andy does, but I just think he is boring to watch and doesn’t create much at all… Now mark my words, I will bet Juan Martin del Porto will finish 2010 #1 in the world. He has an amazing game and I am pretty sure he will overpower just about everybody on the tour. Another prediction: Rafa Nadal will fall out of the top 5. My bet is he will finish between 6 and 8.
I can’t finish the year without looking back ten years ago. 1999 was Andre’s year. After winning the Paris Open against Safin in 4 sets, et reached the Masters’ Cup final after crushing Pete Sampras in the round robin competition, but losing to Pete badly in the final.