Who has been the best player in 2012?

For the first time in a while, no player has won more than one grandslam in an annual year. With Djoko winning Aussie Open, Rafa winning French, Roger winning on grass and Murray finally breaking his duck at the US open. The question is who has been the best player over the year and why?

For me it has been Federer and murray in that Roger has won another wimbeldon in his early 30s and murray got the gold medal double with a slam at the USO. One of these two players based on how the end of the year goes will be player of the year despite the fact that someone else could be year end #1. The other 2 top 4 guys have had years that don't meet their expectations.

Ooh, that's a tough one. Murray may have got his first slam AND the much coveted Olympic gold, but I think Federer's slam win and claiming back the number 1 spot at his age just edges it for him.

Novak winning a slam and reaching 2 other slam finals is not too shabby either. Really has been a tremendous year for men's tennis in my opinion.

Hard one to answer really. If you are looking at best record at the slams this year, Novak takes it with a win, 2 runner ups and a semi. If looking across all tournaments, you could make an argument for all of the top 4, nadal until his injury included. Murray winning us open and Olympics puts him up there (though I still dont feel Olympics is that big a deal and tennis doesnt really belong there). Federer coming back at over 30 to win Wimbledon is fairly impressive feat. I don't think you can really call one player over the other 3. Murray has had a very good year but he is non existent in the clay season while other 3 contend on all surfaces.

Well slasher its hard to ding murray for his clay court season considering the summer he pulled off. Clay is just not his best surface oddly and he can be forgiven for stinking up the joint in the spring. By that measure Sampras never had a good season because he would usually flame out every spring. I think he came to Italy and France for holliday frankly and wanted to get the tennis out of the way as soon as possible to get to the sights and shops.

Federer. So far

O2 is the 'tie break' decider!!

If judged by overall results then probably Federer although some might argue a few of those results were helped by player form/absence or a clay court that played anything like a clay court.

If judged by story then Brian Baker.

If judged by successful comebacks then Tommy Haas.

If judged by best young player then David Goffin.

If judged by most improved then maybe Janko Tipsaveric.

This is how far each of the top four players have reached in the tournaments they have played so far. I've listed last tournament played first and then gone back in descending order (so for Djokovic, Federer and Murray the last tournament played was the US Open... for Nadal it was Wimbledon. I have given details of each tournament were the player has only reached the quarter finals or less. Also for Nadal in Miami where he withdrew but was not beaten in the semis.

Djokovic

F, F, W, S, S, F, F, Q (Madrid blue clay), F, W, S, S, W

Federer

Q (US Open), W,F,W,F,S,S,W,r32 (Miami),W,W,W,S,S (Doha withdrew)

Nadal

r64 (Wimbledon), Q (Halle), W, W, R16 (Madrid blue clay), W, W, S (Miami withdrew), S, F, S

Murray

W, r16 (Cincinnati), r16 (Canada withdrew), W, F, r32 (Queens), Q (RG), r16 (Rome), Q (Barcalona), Q (Monte Carlo), F, r64 (Indian Wells), F, S, W

banbrotam wrote:Federer. So far

O2 is the 'tie break' decider!!

Federer has enough (six) WTFs. I wonder if he will push hard to try and get a seventh WTF. I hope he does.

Well Djokovic leads the race so to choose anyone but him requires either suspension of the rule of the points system or belief that Federer will overcome it.

That's really interesting HE.

Djokovic's consistency is staggering. He is losing some matches to the other 3 top guys, but nobody else is touching him. Federer similar.

Murray used to get criticised for owning masters and below, but not producing in the big ones... That's turned on its head now. I didn't realise what a generally up and down year he's had in terms of the masters and below.

Still, if you'd offered him Wimbledon final, Olympic gold and US open champion, I think he'd have accepted a few r32's.

Hilariously, Hawkeye now ranks the Masters as much as the Majors

I wonder why

banbrotam wrote:Hilariously, Hawkeye now ranks the Masters as much as the Majors

I wonder why

Good point, I didn't even notice that they'd suddenly become important!

Where did I rank anything? I have just summarised the results of all tournaments played by the top four players this year. You can analyse them however you want.

Hawkeye, if you're going to emphasise that Nadal withdrew in Miami & wasn't beaten, maybe you could be consistent with Murray's exit in Canada.

Anyway, as to the question, I'd go with who's first in the race for now, but if either Fed wins one of the remaining master and WTF, I'd change my mind. Likewise if Murray won both masters and the WTF.

YvonneT wrote:maybe you could be consistent with Murray's exit in Canada.

And Fed's in Doha as well. But it's possibly just simpler to look on it as Nadal exiting Miami in the semis. I'm not sure why the emphasis on that particular result.

Federer for me. Six titles including at least one on each surface trumps Novak's consistency and Murray's olympics/US Open double.

YvonneT.

I have corrected it. Why so harsh anyone can make a mistake? There has been lots of talk about Nadal's withdrawal but I can't remember Federer or Murray withdrawing.

YvonneT wrote:Hawkeye, if you're going to emphasise that Nadal withdrew in Miami & wasn't beaten, maybe you could be consistent with Murray's exit in Canada.

Anyway, as to the question, I'd go with who's first in the race for now, but if either Fed wins one of the remaining master and WTF, I'd change my mind. Likewise if Murray won both masters and the WTF.

Yvonne. A relative newcomer to the boards. Welcome!! I see that you're already wising up to our friend Hawkeye - I can see that no-ones going to pull the wool over your eyes

hawkeye wrote:YvonneT.

I have corrected it. Why so harsh anyone can make a mistake? There has been lots of talk about Nadal's withdrawal but I can't remember Federer or Murray withdrawing.

Yvonne's only been on here two minutes (in terms of the number of posts) but she's got Hawkeye sussed

hawkeye wrote:Why so harsh anyone can make a mistake?

You thought my helping you with some inconsistencies in your post was harsh? Oh well. I didn't think those withdrawals were significant either, but the circumstances of Nadal's exit from Miami were certainly not significant to the question of who was the best player of 2012.

I personally don't think the rankings lie, I think Federer has played the highest level but in terms of consistency throughout the whole year Djokovic at the moment just edges it, we do have 2 months to go

This is also interesting from the ATP site. It ranks all the players in terms of their match stats so far this year. I think it's quite useful to see how they compare with each other so I've put them in order. For example for 1st serve points won Federer ranks the highest of the top four so I've listed him first and Murray the lowest so I've listed him last. The figure in brackets is their overall ranking.

1st serve points won

Federer(4th) Nadal(17th) Djokovic(19th) Murray(24th)

2nd serve points won

Federer(1st) Djokovic(2nd) Nadal(3rd) Murray(12th)

Break points saved

Nadal(4th) Federer(7th) Murray(9th) Djokovic(12th)

Service games won

Federer(3rd) Nadal(4th) Djokovic(5th) Murray(19th)

1st serve return points won

Nadal(1st) Djokovic(2nd) Murray(8th) Federer(17th)

2nd serve return points won

Murray(1st) Djokovic(2nd) Nadal(3rd) Federer(17th)

Break points converted

Nadal(1st) Djokovic(5th) Federer(22nd) Murray(28th)

Return games won

Nadal(1st) Djokovic(2nd) Murray(4th) Federer(14th)

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/09/Feature/RICOH-MatchFacts-Federer-Djokovic-Murray-Nadal-In-Own-League.aspx

Good research HE

Nadal's percentage will be boosted by the CC season... but still shows how well he was playing at the time.

I'd like to see how the finals and the indoor season plays out, Davis cup as well I mean these are all worthwhile events that will change our opinion of who had the best season. It is true that the olympics and the slams have been concluded but about one quarter of the schedule remains. And with the honors evenly dispersed among the top guys whoever has the strongest indoor season and finishes strong will have a very strong case for player of the year.

Has to be Djokovic. Consistently at the back end of tournaments. 3 Slam finals. 1 Slam title. 2 Masters titles. As much as I would like to vote for Murray or Federer, tennis is a results business and that is what Djokovic has. Nadal has not played a full season for him to be considered. I hope he makes it back for the WTF as it will stimulate the hype and having 4 Slam winners at the event makes it that much more exciting.

Heather Watson took 1st set v Sharapova. Don't wanna make a new topic.

I think a lot depends on how the season ends. At the moment I would just put Djokovic top but Federer is very close and Murray not far behind in third and Nadal seemingly now out of the running (hopefully for only this year). If ither of these top three stamp their authority on the tail end of the season winning two or three titles and sealing the WTF then that will seal them as being the player of the year.

Amazing how novaks season is considered average but has not once gone out before the quarters in any tournament on any surface. Amazing consistency. Federer is so consistent too

slashermcguirk wrote:Amazing how novaks season is considered average but has not once gone out before the quarters in any tournament on any surface. Amazing consistency. Federer is so consistent too

Yes Djokovic's consistency level is higher than the rest at the moment. I would say people are seeing his year as 'only average' due to his sensational year last year which I think is unfair. Last year was freakish and not the norm so it is fair to say Djoko has had a good year.

To be honest, you can only really consider Djokovic or Federer if you are looking at the complete season.

Murray has had a good last couple of months, but before Wimbledon was starting to come under pressure from Ferrer for #4 after a poor spring (hampered by a stiff back, but his form through IW, Miami and the clay season was relatively poor regardless).

Nadal of course was good through the early season and was his usual sensational self on clay (at least when it WAS clay...), but then Rosol happened, followed by his knee injury, so he can't be under serious consideration.

Out of Fed and Djokovic, I was going to say Djoko has been the better this year as the perception is he's been more consistent at reaching the last stages of tournaments, but Fed has a better w-l record (61-8 v 60-11) and has won 6 titles (including 3 x MS and 1 slam) to Djoko's 3 (2 x MS and 1 slam). Other than defeats to others in the top 4, Djoko has lost to Isner, Tipsy and Del Potro, Federer to Roddick, Berdych and Haas plus a Davis Cup loss to Isner and a walk-over for Tsonga, so Djoko edges that consideration.

Of H2H's, Fed won Cinci and Wimbledon, Djoko won RG and Rome. Oddly, only Wimbledon was not straight sets.
Both have made 8 finals, with Fed being 6-2 and Djoko 3-5.

Really not much to choose between them on this season's form. Federer has regained #1, but that is at least in part because he had good form from this point on in 2011 when Djokovic was tired. Race points have Djokovic about 1000 ahead from fewer tournaments - the difference is basically Federer's early defeat in Miami and QF exit in the USO.

So I think it depends on how you want to judge it - Djokovic edges it on consistency but I'm not convinced he's played to his very best level since RG (and his record of final defeats seems to support that). By comparison, Federer has been a little more up and down (i.e. a couple more earlier losses) but has played better at his best (Wimbledon final was one example).

dummy_half wrote:To be honest, you can only really consider Djokovic or Federer if you are looking at the complete season.

But we aren't looking at the complete season as there is still a quarter of the season to go.

Murray has had a good last couple of months, but before Wimbledon was starting to come under pressure from Ferrer for #4 after a poor spring (hampered by a stiff back, but his form through IW, Miami and the clay season was relatively poor regardless).

A good last couple of months? A massive under statement that. Sorry but Ferrer was never really in danger of removing Murray from No.4. Sure he had a surge in points but that was merely because he scored on his best surface (clay) whilst Murray was hampered by injury. Granted Murray's form was patchy at those you mention but I have definitely seen him put more influence on peaking for Slams rather than worrying about winning masters. Like I said it is between Djoko and Federer but if Murray were to end the year strongly and win the WTF then how could you deny Murray being the player of the year if he has won his first slam, the Olympic Gold and WTF? I say wait and see what happens in the coming months before crowning Djokovic or Federer the player of the year.

slashermcguirk wrote:Amazing how novaks season is considered average but has not once gone out before the quarters in any tournament on any surface. Amazing consistency. Federer is so consistent too

Slasher I think there is much in what you say. But as someone who has watched the man for many years his form this summer has not been up to his new level. IMBL made a great point that this year is the best year Djokovic has had as a pro excepting 2011. That is correct but it also doesn't tell the whole story.

Novak starting at the end of 2010 started to really raise his overrall level as a player. He improved, everyone noticed it they couldn't help to miss it. The way he makes swiss cheese of anyone not ranked in the top 4 this year shows how much the improved fitness level and serve has raised his overrall level and level of expectation. This year you can't exactly point to one technical or physical problem like before but there seems to be odd losses of focus and belief in crucial situations throughout this summer and spring.

Now Murray is better, fed is better, and even Nadal before his injury looked stonger. But at this stage in Novak's career he proved that he is a better player than before and when he hits his top or near top level play on most days he will have the better of all three of them. This year he has just had too many poor error filled patches against the top guys in those big games. And that type of sloppiness is not typical of his ground game.

socal1976 wrote:The way he makes swiss cheese of anyone not ranked in the top 4 this year shows how much the improved fitness level and serve has raised his overrall level and level of expectation. This year you can't exactly point to one technical or physical problem like before but there seems to be odd losses of focus and belief in crucial situations throughout this summer and spring.

I would be careful here, lest someone point out Isner (IW), Stepanek (W), Tipsy (Madrid), Haas (Canada) or Tsonga and Seppi matches at RG 2012.

I will have to say Fed matching the young bulls and outsmarting them to reach the no.1 again says he wins the title for the best performance this year overall.

Andy's Gold medal in Olympics is the best single tournament performance, but over all its Fed who wins hands down.

Ciny,Madrid,Indianwells, Wimbledon and Olympics [Silver] is an outstanding performance at 31.

It's Murray because he had the Olympics to add to his slam.
It's Federer because no one else has more slam, and his masters results are best.
It's Djokovic because his slam results are best.
Really close call.

By the way, "whose" refers to posession, like "Whose coat is this?" What you are doing is asking "who has" but shortening it, which is completely different, and should be "who's".

Henman Bill wrote:
By the way, "whose" refers to posession, like "Whose coat is this?" What you are doing is asking "who has" but shortening it, which is completely different, and should be "who's".

Corrected, HB.

LF, check your PM

laverfan wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:
By the way, "whose" refers to posession, like "Whose coat is this?" What you are doing is asking "who has" but shortening it, which is completely different, and should be "who's".

Corrected, HB.

thank you

I didn't want to sound like a grammar nazi, but it was driving me mad thankfully HB got there first

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

laverfan wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:
By the way, "whose" refers to posession, like "Whose coat is this?" What you are doing is asking "who has" but shortening it, which is completely different, and should be "who's".

Corrected, HB.

thank you

I didn't want to sound like a grammar nazi, but it was driving me mad thankfully HB got there first

Glad to be of assistance, MfC.