Now the Dust has Settled

Now the dust has settled on a fine season, thoughts turn to 2013. This, for the men, has been an extremely competitive season, with the slams shared for the first time since 2003 and each of the big four having their moments.
Djoko with an excellent late run and outstanding play at the 02 emerged on top. Murray won his first slam and Olympic gold, Fed won Wimbledon again and got back to number one and Rafa was outstanding in the first part of the year before being cut down by injury.
Few will doubt that Murray and Djoko will be right up there again in 2013. No one is quite sure how Rafa will do and Fed will, surely, find it difficult to repeat his 2012 performances, although he is still more than a handful for most players. Del Po looked good at the 02 and could make a dent in the top four. Ferrer is likely to be as tenacious as ever and Berdych will be a threat.
Can anyone else make a challenge to the big names? Will Rafa spring right back or take time to get into his stride ? He will have been out for six months and it's gonna be a big effort for him.
Thoughts, please, on how 2013 might pan out.

The usual suspects

I don't see Del Potro having the fitness to go through 7 Slam rounds where he would have to beat, possible three of current Top 5 (i.e. at the Aus Open he could get a QF against Fed a SF against Ferrer and a final against Murray or Nole)

Del Potro can play great for an hour. Berdych for half an hour longer. Raonic for less. They have to do this for two hours minimum and hope there rivals don't click into gear

The glimmer of light for Del Potro in particular is that he could get to No.4, relatively quickly early next year, which gives him a bit of breathing space as he can beat those below Ferrer, relatively easy

B'Brotam. Yes the number four position could be key in the early matches. Ferrer is only a fraction behind Rafa who has 1,200 points to defend in Melbourne.
I wonder whether Rafa is going to go flat out in Melborune, if he plays at all. He may want to ease himself in gently so as to be ready for the clay court season where he has all his points to defend.
At least with Nadal pointswise, it's all gain from Wimbledon onwards in 2013.

You have to say the path is open for a Djokovic dominated year in 2013. Federer and Nadal have their work cut out to keep within the pack. If Djokovic can have better luck off the court without personal problems arising, I can see him sweeping the board.

Roger? Well he will be 32 in 2013. Can he really keep pushing himself to stay at the top of the game? The Wimbledon crown was certainly a welcome bonus. It is a case of whether the field can catch up with him because it is difficult to see him really tailing off.

Nadal will be the most eagerly anticipated return to which everyone will be watching his every move. Supporters and detractors will be looking to see if he will remain the force he has been over the last 8 years and whether a clay dominated schedule will help to keep him amongst the field.

And what of Andy? Well has he the tools to dominate and become World no.1? It is a big if. I am not so certain he could sweep the board with 3 Slams. I can see him winning at Wimbledon and even retaining his US Open title. Another year and with Lendl on board, I can only see him getting stronger. He knows how to win a Slam now, so the pressure will be less intense.

The rest of the field? Well I am looking forward to seeing how well Tsonga and Rasheed work together. I am happy Tsonga is now looking for an outside perspective on his game. Better preparation at the big events for me will be massive and if Tsonga can take on board what Rasheed has to offer.

Berdych and Del Potro. Well time is on their side. Ferrer has had a brilliant year. 2 Slam semi's and a Masters title. Whether he can eclipse of match that is another issue all together. Del Potro is looking near his best. The BH still not quite there and also the key issue is stamina. As we saw against Djokovic he really flaked and was visibly tired. Berdych. The key is consistency. He still has the DC coming up and if he produces a massive performance and starring role, we could see a Djokovic-esq knock on effect which could catapult him to greater heights.

I can hear Sonny & Cher singing already.

They say our love won't pay the rent.....

I don't think any of the pretenders have the stamina to take any of the slams yet. Let's be honest, they'd have to beat two of the top guys (minimum) to get a slam - there's just no way. Maybe Delpo at his absolute peak could trouble the established four, but it seems that he has trouble with Djokovic and Murray in particular.

Djokovic is definitely still the one with a bullseye on his back. I'm sure he's up to the challenge, but he's certainly going to have to maintain his current level, and that's not going to be easy across an entire season. He won't be favourite at Wimbledon or RG, but he'll no doubt fancy his chances at every slam. His level of play is fantastic and injury permitting, it's going to take a beastly performance to remove him from a slam draw. No chance of sweeping the board though.

Murray's the interesting one for me. How's he going to react to this year? I don't think he has to tinker too much, and I doubt he's too fussed about RG since he'll be cleaned out by any of the others, but he's going to be a tough man to beat at the other slams. I think he could take Wimbledon in 2013.

Nadal...who knows? I just hope he comes back at full fitness, rather than once again returning prematurely and suffering in the long run. The tour needs him! He could be the wildcard that mixes up the slam draws if (when?) Ferrer overhauls him and stays there until Wimbledon. He'll still be a massive force though, on all surfaces.

As for Federer, he's still capable of taking out anyone on his day, and is possibly the biggest danger to Djokovic at many tournaments. Like Djokovic he could also win any of them. I don't think his level's dropped too much, and if he's motivated enough then I think he'll once again be challenging for the top spot if things click for him early in the year. No sense in retiring if you can still hammer 95% of the tour with ease.

I can't bloody wait.

Silver - very good summing up, if you don't mind my saying. Probably harder to predict the year ahead than usual as no one really knows what Rafa is going to be capable of.
The big pity about the last part of 2012 is that a resurgent Fed, a newly-confident Murray and a very consistent Djoko were not up against everything that Rafa can bring to a match.
I'm not one for putting an imaginary asterisk next to a win if a top player - like Rafa - was not in that particular tournament. But there is little doubt that having no Rafa on the tour does mean something is missing. And I don't even like the guy's style.