The ATP Tennis Top ten have probably already written their Christmas 2015 wish lists and dropped them in the post, but The Tennis Review decided to ask the Tennis Santa to give them all a gift for 2016 as a little something extra in their stocking.
Novak Djokovic – A French Open Title
Djokovic has certainly been good enough to win the one slam missing from his collection. Three times he has made the final (2012, 20014, 2015), and he is only the second player to beat Rafael Nadal in Paris.
The pressure of completing the career slam seems to get to him though- in 2012 he double faulted championship point down, in 2014 he played his nerviest match of the season, and this year he was overwhelmed by Wawrinka.
After his French Open final loss to Wawrinka this season, Djokovic would have been forgiven for getting down about coming up against one of the performances of the year in what was his most important match career wise.
The Serb had done all the hard work in the lead-up- winning Monte Carlo and Rome, beating Nadal twice- and had made the hard decisions- pulling out of Madrid- only to find that a man he had beaten 13 times and lost to only three times was feeling in the mood for grabbing his fourth win.
But the Serbian came back to win Wimbledon and the US Open and prove he was the man to beat at the Slams in 2015. In 2016, perhaps the Tennis Santa can help him be not just the man to beat at Roland Garros, but to be the man unbeaten.
Andy Murray – A second serve
Murray would probably have swopped the Christmas Jumper that Santa so kindly gave him for Christmas last year and which he is so merrily wearing in the above photo for a much more needed gift- a second serve.
Santa was kind to Murray in 2015, though, gifting him a No.2 ranking, a slam final, and a win over Djokovic in the ATP 1000 Canadian Open final. But if Murray wants that No.1 ranking, that elusive Australian Open crown, and more than a single win over Novak in 2016, he very badly needs Santa to bring him a Second serve.
Against Novak Djokovic, the best returner in the game, Murray’s second serve is the worst possible weakness to have in in slam and ATP 1000 finals. In those pressure filled situations, Novak stands a bit further in the court on the second serve and Murray knows what will come at him if he does not produce something special- a winning return.
The very presence of Djokovic breathing down his neck as he tosses the ball for the second serve has seen Murray double fault at big moments or throw in a weak delivery which has been, and deservedly so, swatted away by the Serb.
A stronger second serve would give him the chance to make those jumps in his career- world No.1 and another Slam title- that could turn him from a very good player to a great one.
Roger Federer – Slam No.18
Santa has been incredibly good to Federer over the years, bringing him plenty of slams, but three seasons have gone by now without one, and with only a few Christmas tennis years to go for the Swiss, another final slam, the elusive No.18, would be warmly welcomed.
Santa is most likely to bring that slam to Federer at Wimbledon. The Swiss star has certainly made it look like that is where he would like it- he has not included any Roland Garros warm ups in his schedule and will compete in an additional Grass court warm up in Stuttgart.
An 18th slam would not only be a welcome Christmas present for Federer- tennis crowds around the world have shown in 2015 just how much they would like to be present at an 18th slam trophy presentation and would consider Federer’s 18th slam one of the best gifts the Tennis Santa could bring them.
Stan Wawrinka – More consistency
Stan Wawrinka has shown he can be more consistent in 2015. His titles were quite spread out (Chennai in January, Rottterdam in February, Roland Garros in early June, Tokyo in September) and his grand slam record was SF-W-QF-SF.
However he is still arguably the streakiest slam winner around. That streakiness is no bad thing- the consistency displayed by the likes of Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer is freakish for the tennis world- but a little more consistency could see Wawrinka go deeper in ATP 1000s and 500s and balance out his CV (he has ‘only’ one ATP 1000, two ATP 500 and six ATP 250 titles).
It would also enable tennis fans to get more chances to marvel at that oh so beautiful backhand- what a great gift that would be.
Rafael Nadal – That fight back
If you wanted to see something puzzling this season, then you should have tuned into watching Nadal at the slams.
The sight of Nadal being blown off court by Berdych in Melbourne, Brown at Wimbledon, Fognini at the US Open, and most puzzling of all, by Djokovic in straight sets at Roland Garros would have had many people wondering if this really was the 14 time slam champ on court.
There was something sad about seeing Nadal lose the third and final set of his Roland Garros quarter final 1-6. That Djokovic should finally beat him there was no shock considering their respective forms going into the match, but that he should go down without that one thing he almost prided himself on – his fight- was mystifying.
No one has fought harder than Nadal in the last ten years of tennis, and without that fight he was unable to get out of those matches he had for many years squeezed out of.
If Santa gave him his fight back, he could go deeper in events, get some of that confidence back, and get back into the top four.
That would be a great gift for tennis fans of the Big Four who would like to see a couple more seasons of that quartet fighting it out, and for Nadal fans for whom the Spaniard’s fight was one of the many qualities they admired in the man.
Tomas Berdych – Mental strength
Tomas Berdych played some of his best career tennis in the early part of 2015. He made a great run to the Doha final and then beat Nadal in straight sets in the Australian Open quarter-finals with some formaidable clean hitting.
Both runs though were ended with poor losses in big matches. The Czech went down to Ferrer in straights in the Doha final, and then put in a weak performance against Murray in the Australian Semis.
Both matches were big ones against gritty players and the Czech was not able to put in his best tennis with the pressure coming at him from all side.
If he wants to achieve a slam, and his tennis certainly should be able to produce one, then Berdych is going to have to conquer whatever demons it is that drive his best tennis away on the big match day.
That is going to be a tough job, but perhaps the Tennis Santa can give him a helping hand and put a little extra mental strength in the Berdych stocking.
David Ferrer – A lucky draw at Roland Garros
Ferrer, the 2013 French Open finalist, is, at the age of 33, in his tennis twilight years.
Good years they are, too. The Spaniard is ranked No.7 and won five titles in 2015.
Tennis has had many hard working, talented top players sneak in a slam – Thomas Johansson, Gaston Gaudio, Andreas Gomez among them- and Ferrer’s name would not look odd alongside them.
All of those players had a bit of luck on their way- Johansson had a distracted Safin in the final, Gaudio made Coria’s nerves work for him, and Gomez had a final debutante in Agassi who was having a bad hair-piece day.
Ferrer would also need a huge stroke of luck. Such luck certainly has happened in the past to others, and could happen again. And you have to think if anyone deserves it, it is the veteran Ferrer.
Kei Nishikori – An Injury Free season
In March 2015, Nishikori reached a career high ranking of No.4 after a twelve month period that had seen him make the US Open final, reach an ATP 1000 final in Madrid, and win titles in Barcelona, Memphis and Tokyo.
Nishikori was unable to hold onto that ranking for long, however. The Japanese was plagued by injuries and though he won titles in Barcelona and Washington, after each success came injury and tournament withdrawals.
A first round exit at the US Open and an early exit from the Japan Open were the low points of what has been an up and down career. By the end of the year, he had dropped to world No. 8.
If Santa can bring Nishikori arguably the most vital gift of all for a tennis pro, or indeed anyone- health- then the Japanese might really be able to get some momentum going after a strong tournament run and reach his potential.
At 25, Nishikori is nearing his peak, he just needs the strength to make that final step to the top.
Richard Gasquet – More fast, low bouncing courts
Watching Gasquet defeat Wawrinka at Wimbledon and make the Basel semis was a great sight in 2015, and the Frenchman getting more chances to move so skillfully up to the net with his deft touch would be a gift for not only him, but for fans of old-school tennis as well.
Gasquet has not been able to live up to the huge expectations thrust upon him in the early 2000s, but not because he lacks the skills. Like many all court players, Gasquet’s all court skills have been abandoned for the gritty, back-court, defensive baseline game demanded by the current conditions of the ATP Tour.
Perhaps the ATP could gift Gasquet and his like a few more faster courts in 2016? The tennis santa would give them plenty of gifts all year round in the form of fans pleased with greater variety, and a chance to see some beautiful tennis skills in action.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga – Better shot selection.
The tennis Santa has certainly been generous to Tsonga over the years- he has given him a great serve, a good forehand down the line to get up the court with, advanced net skills, and a sublime variety of shots that makes him one of the game’s great shot-makers.
However, Santa has forgotten one crucial gift when it comes to Tsonga- the ability to make the right decisions what to do with all those shots.
If Tsonga was better at picking the right shots, many of those tight matches he has lost over the years might have gone his way.
It is not too late though- in 2015, despite a long injury lay-off, Tsonga made the French semis and the US Open quarters. The Frenchman has shown he can always find his way to the big matches no matter what obstacles get in his way – now he just needs Santa’s help finding the right shots at the crucial moments and seize himself a career defining moment in 2016.
What would you give your favorite top ten tennis player for Christmas? Let us know in the comments box below.
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