1 Novak Djokovic
2014 Won 61 Lost 8 Titles 7 Prize money $14,250,527
There is no sensible argument about who is the best player still standing at the end of 2014. Advocates of Rafael Nadal have to acknowledge the dominance of Novak Djokovic, below, at least until the Spaniard returns to full fitness, while Roger Federer, sitting just behind the Serb in the rankings after a rousing surge at the end of the season, is now also struggling with a back problem. In the jungle of modern tennis Djokovic is not only the best but the strongest. He declared on Sunday, “Right now I’m at my pinnacle in the career. I physically feel very fit. I’m very motivated to keep on playing on a very high level.” That is a chilling and simple declaration of intent.
2 Roger Federer
2014 Won 72 Lost 11 Titles 5 Prize money $9,343,988
When the 33-year-old Swiss announced from the floor of the O2 Arena an hour before the final of the ATP World Tour Finals that he was not fit enough to play, a gasp of disappointment swept the venue. If his back injury does not recover in time for him to partner Stanislas Wawrinka in the Davis Cup final against France in Lille, starting on Friday, there will be a rumble of consternation throughout the game. Federer this year has had twins, a new racket, a new coach and a new attacking strategy, approved and encouraged by Stefan Edberg, to refresh not just his own career but his sport too. It would be a considerable blow to tennis if the most durable and elegant player in the game were to be begin a slow decline. But even Federer is human.
3 Rafael Nadal
2014 Won 48 Lost 11 Titles 4 Prize money $6,736,843
If this end-of-term report is sounding more like a medical roll call it is because the modern game has reached such a pitch of intensity that survival and recuperation have become the essential building blocks of any credible assault on the upper reach of the rankings. The estimable Spaniard has slipped from his mountainous 2013 peak, when he came back successfully from seven months of rehab on his creaking knees. He still owns Roland Garros and more than likely will until he retires but further injuries to back and wrist, as well as an appendectomy, hindered his post-Wimbledon progress this year. As for the hard-court and grass-court tournaments, Nadal will have to reconstruct his game yet again, starting in Melbourne in January at the Australian Open. It is hardly beyond him.
4 Stanislas Wawrinka
2014 Won 38 Lost 17 Titles 3 Prize money $5,582,116
It was Switzerland’s No2 player who hurt Nadal first in 2014, beating him in the Australian Open final after eliminating Djokovic. Injury to Nadal notwithstanding, the Stanimal deserved his heartwarming victory but struggled to carry that form and confidence forward, as he wryly admitted during the past week, after first falling spectacularly to Djokovic then nearly toppling Federer in the semi-finals in Greenwich. His game remains fundamentally sound and there are many good judges who rate his single-handed backhand as even more potent than Federer’s. But Wawrinka is still prone to losing too many matches in his head rather than off his racket He picked the right strategy against Federer, mind, but could not quite turn aggression into victory against a player who has had his number for most of his career. A few cross words were apparently exchanged in the locker room after that match but they will be in harness against France on Friday.
5 Kei Nishikori
2014 Won 54 Lost 14 Titles 4 Prize money $4,431,363
The 24-year-old Japanese player has been the player of 2014 for many, with victories over all of his peers, and betters, at some point. Yet he, too, is vulnerable to injury – more than most, in fact. He was, for instance, beating Nadal hands down in the Madrid final in May until struck down yet again by injury when twisting in the shot. He showed extraordinary resilience to reach the final of the US Open, only for his stamina to evaporate in front of the educated shot-making of Marin Cilic, another of the emerging class of challengers to the old order. Nishikori has the game, the attitude and the dedication. What he needs is a reliable body to translate those gifts on to the court in big matches. If he is fit, he will be dangerous again in Melbourne.
6 Andy Murray
2014 Won 59 Lost 20 Titles 3 Prize money $3,904,822
If players were buildings, Murray would be a hospital. Reluctant as he is to dwell on the back surgery that put him out of the game for four months, there can be no denying he is still adjusting to the demands such a traumatic experience made on his body. His service action has changed, especially on second serve, to allow for more comfort in his lower back and, although he said he was not conscious of the slight move away from the perpendicular in his ball-toss, he was prepared to go back to the tapes and have another look. Given his attention to detail, he will no doubt take that information with him to Australia. He put himself through hell to make the ATP World Tour Finals and losing to Federer so spectacularly in the final group match hurt him deeply. But he is a fighter. Like Wawrinka, he is some times burdened by over-analysis. If he can play freely, trusting his power on both wings and give less attention to the naysayers, he has the talent to come again strongly in 2015.
