Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1

Current No. 1 Rafael Nadal ensured he will finish the year on top by winning his first two round robin matches at the World Tour Finals in London.  He accomplished the same feat in 2008 and 2010, but has never finished the year on top in consecutive years.  Can he defy the odds in 2014?

Here is a look back at the players who finished the season at No. 1 over the last ten years:

2013 - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2012 - Novak Djokovic (SRB)
2011 - Novak Djokovic (SRB)
2010 - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2009 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2008 - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2007 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2006 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2005 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2004 - Roger Federer (SUI)

Nadal's "Magic Number" at 2

To clinch the year-end No.1 ranking, Rafael Nadal has a "magic number" of 2.  Nadal needs two wins (or two losses by Djokovic, or a combination of one win by Nadal and one loss by Djokovic) in the round-robin stage of the World Tour Finals.

Rafa currently has 12,030 ranking points, while Nole has 10,610.  Djokovic can still get a maximum of 12,300 points by season's end if he becomes an undefeated champion at WTF (which he accomplished last year) and if he wins his two Davis Cup Final matches.  By winning two round-robin matches, Nadal will add 400 points to his tally, pushing his total to an insurmountable 12,430.

Federer-Nadal at the US Open: Will it ever happen?

Tennis greats Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have played each other 31 times, but never on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.

When the draw came out at this year's US Open, tennis fans looked forward to a first-ever meeting in New York between Federer (seeded 7th) and Nadal (seeded 2nd), who were drawn in the same quarter.  Nadal did his part, but Federer was knocked out in the 4th round.  In years past, it was Nadal who failed to reach the later rounds more often.  Here is a look back on the previous US Open results of Federer and Nadal since 2003 (Nadal's first US Open):

2013 - Federer(4R), Nadal(?)
2012 - Federer(QF), Nadal(DNP)
2011 - Federer(SF, lost to Djokovic), Nadal(F)
2010 - Federer(SF, lost to Djokovic), Nadal(W)
2009 - Federer(F), Nadal(SF, lost to Del Potro)
2008 - Federer(W), Nadal(SF, lost to Murray)
2007 - Federer(W), Nadal(4R)
2006 - Federer(W), Nadal(QF)
2005 - Federer(W), Nadal(3R)
2004 - Federer(W), Nadal(2R)
2003 - Federer(4R), Nadal(2R)

Between 2008 and 2011, Federer and Nadal came within one match away from meeting in the US Open Final, but either Roger or Rafa lost his semifinal match while the other man won his.  It just wasn't meant to be!

Well, maybe next year.  Or the year after that.  Hopefully, Federer won't hang up his racket just yet, AND Nadal's knees hold up!

Murray Joins Wimbledon Winners Circle

World No. 2 and British number one Andy Murray disproved his predecessor after all - although it took 77 long years, another British man has won Wimbledon, after Fred Perry last did in 1936. 

Murray has cemented his status as part of the elite "Big 4" of men's tennis by adding a second Grand Slam title to his name.  He is the first player to win multiple majors since Novak Djokovic won his second Australian Open title in 2011.

Can Federer Defend His Wimbledon Title?

Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal were successful in defending their Australian Open and French Open titles, respectively.  It is now Federer's turn to defend his major.  Is he up to the task?

To do so, Roger has to beat Rafa in the quarters, Murray in the semis, and Djokovic in the final.  It's a tall order, but it's not impossible.  After all, Federer is the "King of Grass".  This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Roger's first Wimbledon title (2003).

Of the six previous times Roger had to defend his Wimbledon trophy, this is how he fared:
2004 - Defended his 2003 title
2005 - Defended his 2004 title
2006 - Defended his 2005 title
2007 - Defended his 2006 title
2008 - Failed to defend his 2007 title (lost to Nadal in the final)
2010 - Failed to defend his 2009 title (lost to Berdych in the quarterfinals)
2013 - ????

If he is successful in his title defense bid, Federer will win a record 8th Wimbledon, joining Nadal (who earlier this month won a record 8th French Open) as the only players to win the same major eight times.

A Comeback For The Ages

After missing seven months on tour from July 2012 to January 2013 because of injury, Rafa Nadal has gone the distance in all the tournaments he played this year.  He has entered eight, winning six titles and losing in two finals:

Chile - Finalist (l. to Horacio Zeballos)
Sao Paulo - Winner (d. David Nalbandian)
Acapulco - Winner (d. David Ferrer)
Indian Wells - Winner (d. Juan Martin Del Potro)
Monte Carlo - Finalist (l. to Novak Djokovic)
Barcelona - Winner (d. Nicolas Almagro)
Madrid - Winner (d. Stanislas Wawrinka)
Rome - Winner (d. Roger Federer)

He is the favorite to win the French Open.  Nadal, the three-time defending champion, is bidding to win a record 8th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.  Seeded third, he is on course for a semifinal match against top seed Novak Djokovic.  2009 champ Roger Federer, who is seeded second, is on the other half of the draw.

Rafa timed his comeback perfectly - of the eight tournaments he entered, only one (Indian Wells) wasn't played on clay.

Happy New Year from Tennis Fun!

After a long absence, Tennis Fun is back for the 2013 ATP World Tour tennis season.  First, here's an obligatory recap of 2012.  As in the last four years, the top stories of last year were dominated by the "Big 4" of men's tennis.  For the first time since the "Big 4" era, each of the top four won a Grand Slam title in a single calendar year.

(1) Novak Djokovic (Australian Open)
The year-end No. 1 for two consecutive years, Serbia's Novak Djokovic won his 3rd Aussie Open trophy and 5th Grand Slam title overall.  He also won the ATP World Tour Finals defeating No. 2 Roger Federer.

(2) Roger Federer (Wimbledon)
 World No. 2 Roger Federer had a record-breaking season in 2012, surpassing the record of Pete Sampras for most weeks at No. 1.  The Swiss maestro pushed up his tally to 302 weeks (16 weeks more than Sampras') at the top after falling back to the No. 2 spot.  Roger also won his 7th Wimbledon trophy this year (his record 17th overall major).

(3) Andy Murray (US Open)
Third-ranked Andy Murray finally broke through the Grand Slam winners circle in 2012 by winning his first major at the US Open.  It was the Scot's fifth Grand Slam final.  Murray also won the gold medal in the men's singles competition at the London Olympics, defeating Roger Federer.

(4) Rafael Nadal (French Open)
World No. 4 Rafael Nadal won his "traditional" major in Paris - his record 7th French Open trophy and 11th Grand Slam title overall.  After a shock defeat to Lukas Rosol in the 2nd round of Wimbledon, he did not play a single match again for the rest of the 2012 season.  He will miss the first Grand Slam of 2013 after withdrawing due to a stomach virus.