Race to the Top

With the US Open firmly in the rear view now, both tours have moved on to the Asian swing of their schedule. This is a crucial leg for both men's and women's tours as it is the last run of opportunities for players to crack the top of rankings and punch their tickets to the season ending tour championships (my favorite of which is the men's, which boasts the shorthand title WTF). For me, the true drama to watch unfold is the battle for the number one ranking on the men's side. Novak and Rafa both have shots at it and it could very well be determined by this swing of events. Let's take a look at why each of them should have the year end #1 firmly on their to do list:

Djokovic: Could anybody other than Novak have the kind of year he has had and still have it be viewed by many as sub-par? To me, he has become the victim of high performance and expectations to some degree. He had such a massive 2011 and had a very solid 2012 as well. Now everyone expects him to continue to dominate, which just isn't realistic. Even Nadal, when asked how to beat him at the end of 2011, has said that he simply had to wait for Djokovic's playing level to drop back down to Earth a bit. That being said, Novak does have some work to do. He did not get it done in hard court Master's 1000 events this year, lost his bid for a career grand slam in a 5 set epic at the French, got rolled up in the Wimbledon final and took a 4th set beating in the U.S. Open final. Djokovic did manage to win the Aussie and snap Nadal's streak at Monte Carlo but he seemed to falter in a fair amount of the big moments this year. He just hit the 100 week mark at number 1 and keeping it would allow him to build back some confidence going into 2014. For me, I saw a little too much of the Djoker of the past this season. He had more moments of going away mentally, yelling and gesturing to his box and just pulling a "Mopey Murray" routine more so than in 2011-2012. He could use a hard court win over Nadal in one of the Asian events or at the WTF to remind himself that he completely owned Rafa in 2011 and part of 2012 and could do so again. Tennis at the pro level is a game of adjustments. Nadal seems to have made the necessary adjustments to how he plays Djokovic, so now it is Novak's move in their chess game. If he can make the right moves, he could lock up #1 again and set up for a big 2014.

Nadal: Not real sure what else Rafa getting back to #1 could be other than the exclamation point on an absolutely ridiculous season. In my mind, Nadal is an absolute lock for two awards at the end of the year. He will win Comeback Player of the Year & Player of the Year by a mile when this season is over. The guy spent 7 months out of the game and tempered expectations when he came back by just talking about being happy to back on the court. He might be happy, but everyone else not named Steve Darcis (who I will probably never have reason to mention again, ever) that has had to play him is probably pissed. All he has done is amass a 63-3 record, winning 10 titles in 12 finals appearances. He won his 8th French Open, setting the record for most titles at any single Grand Slam, blitzed the summer hard courts by winning in Montreal and Cincinnati and then capped it by taking home the title in New York. He also exorcised the demon named Djokovic by dispatching him in France, Montreal and New York. He made adjustments to how he plays Novak and changed his hard court game overall. He is playing much more offensively, using his serve as a weapon and maintaining court position better than in the last couple years on the surface. Nadal's passion for the game is always firmly evident. He flat out loves the grind and pain it takes to be great and has openly admitted it. For him, getting back to #1 this year would reinforce the work and time he has put in since his injury last year. It would send notice to the rest of the tour there is no safe space on any surface when he is in the draw. Rafa plays a style of game that is tailor made for statement making. If he gets to #1 by year end, that will be a serious statement for Novak and the rest of the gang to think about for 2014.

What do you think? Will Djokovic keep his hold on the top spot or will Nadal reclaim it?

Ps. Congrats to Novak and Jelena on their engagement! Looks like the current top player has found his own #1!