facepalm

I gotta say, Pete, that Roddick and Hewitt are going to be very much at the mercy of their draws this year. A good draw can mean a few quarterfinal appearances in Slams by Andy, or a poor draw could mean he doesn't get past the 3rd round. Hewitt faces a similar problem, although the heights to which he can potentially climb are lower. If he makes it past the 3rd round in any Slam in 2012, he should consider it a job well done. As much as he loves competing, at some point he'll come to the realization that even when relatively pain-free and in good fighting condition, he's not able to compete for titles -- any titles. And at that point, I think his own pride will kick in and he'll call it a day.

I gotta say, Pete, that Roddick and Hewitt are going to be very much at the mercy of their draws this year. A good draw can mean a few quarterfinal appearances in Slams by Andy, or a poor draw could mean he doesn't get past the 3rd round. Hewitt faces a similar problem, although the heights to which he can potentially climb are lower. If he makes it past the 3rd round in any Slam in 2012, he should consider it a job well done. As much as he loves competing, at some point he'll come to the realization that even when relatively pain-free and in good fighting condition, he's not able to compete for titles -- any titles. And at that point, I think his own pride will kick in and he'll call it a day.

Sorry for the double-post. TypePad (or something) got me again.

I don't see why Federer is not on this list. He is older than Serena and Roddick and it's not like he has won a major recently. Maybe because he still is up there in the rankings.

I think Hewitt is the first to retire, followed by Venus and Schiavone. I think Roddick and Serena will fight on for a few more years.

tennisman,

# 3 is much higher than # 186.

Lol alfred. :-)

Not to mention, the level of tennis Fed produced this year was pretty fabulous. Yes, some wtf moments thrown in, loss of focus etc. But he played some truly brilliant tennis and in my eyes can still beat anyone in the world on any day. Can't say that about anyone else in his generation (those that are left playing).

Tennisman,
He did win a major -the year tourney.

tennnisman, even though federer didn't win a grand slam this year he got to a final,quarter, and 2 semi's so he still in the mix and most likely can still win a few more I believe this year since I think djokovic is going to have a let down and even though he lost the last one in the u.s. open he is still close enough that he can beat djokovic

Serena on the cusp!? It took a major effort by 2 players to beat her at the slams this year, after all her health issues and not a lot of matches under her belt. Theres probably just 2 women in the top 5 that can trouble Serena and its not the most experienced players.
Federer will have a harder time , because the mens field is stronger.Roger seems more 'on the cusp' than Serena

Pete-- You seem to use the phrase "begs the question" in almost every post these days. You use it incorrectly every single time. I know this is nit-picky, but you are a professional writer.

For future reference:

http://begthequestion.info/

@Christopher
I also noticed this Bodo's expression - "effetely ... taxing". I looked up some dictionaries but still couldn't get the meaning.

I can see your the points you guys are making. I agree he has played well, but he still has not got back to the winners circle. Obviously had it not been for Djokovic and Nadal he would have done that this year. Year end tourney isn't a major. Fed's last major was 2009 Aussie Open, which will be 2 years ago when Aussie Open starts. But he still does have the gameplay to still win big and has played well. He just came up a match or two short of a major this year.

And I don't see why Serena was put on this list. Bartoli and Stosur sure had to play a heck of a match to beat her, and to think she did not return until mid June and bam at the beginning of September she had won 2 tournaments and reached the U.S. Open final. I think with that she should not even be a maybe for this list. She will definately return next year.

As for Federer, I am not sure what to expect from him. You guys can give your opinion on my thoughts if you want, but if Novak and Nadal continue to keep the level, he will be shut out again like he was this year from a major. I was impressed by his 3 tournament victories he had at the end of the year, but those were all indoors. He will have his chances next year, but I'm unsure about him for now.

sorry. 2010 aussie open. Not 2009.

Pete

Thanks

Well I have read that one more injury and Hewitt will indeed retire.Hewitt will be 31 in February and I understand his dream is to compete at the Olympics in 2012.Hewitt is playing Hopman Cup,Sydney and Kooyong Classic before the AO2012? I feel he is pushing it somewhat...and the draws will be most crucial to him.

In regards to Roddick this year lets not forget he did suffer some niggling injuries and did have mono? I feel Andy will be 'refreshed' in 2012.Also his serve is always a bonus to him on any surface.

Until someone in the ATP 'steps up' I really cant see the top 4 being altered....though nothing in tennis is ever a given.Hoping that Del Potro can have a 'injury free season' and Murray finally wins a GS title in 2012.

In regards to the WTA

Venus with her current condition I feel is doing the wise thing and listenting to her body.Ruth made a good point the other day when the news of Venus pulling out of Auckland before the AO,at least in the AO you do get a day off in your matches.I am still not giving up hope at this stage regarding Venus playing the AO.Venus still loves the game and being competitive.

In regards to Serena I think we all saw what she can achieve after coming back from her serious condition.I would never write her off.....ever.

It will be interesting with Li to see if she gets a new coach or stays with her 'hubby' as her coach.Once you win a GS title regardless of age I am sure she hasnt got retirement plans....ditto with Stosur and Fran.

Aussie News,

15yr old Ashleigh Barty recieved a w/card into Brisbane International and the main draw of Moorilla Hobart International.

"I know I'll have to really step up to compete against the top girls in the WTA and its going to be pretty tough and a big challenge.But I also know its going to be a really important part of my development and improvement as a player.I'm going to make the most of the expierence and I'm grateful for the opportunity".Barty said.

Hewitt had two epics last year at Wimbledon (Soderling) and Australian open (Nalbandian) so if he stays healthy for at least couple of months he can give us couple of more mathes like this. Ultimate warrior and competitor, he can inflict some damage with little bit of luck here and there.

Roddick is more of a puzzle for me. At 29 he is not that old, and with his style of play he can last

Hewitt had two epics last year at Wimbledon (Soderling) and Australian open (Nalbandian) so if he stays healthy for at least couple of months he can give us couple of more mathes like this. Ultimate warrior and competitor, he can inflict some damage with little bit of luck here and there.

Roddick is more of a puzzle for me. At 29 he is not that old, and with his style of play he can last лонгер

лонгер - longer in cyrillic
sorry

Roddick's losses at the majors this year were all to quality players. Wawrinka can beat anyone on his day - he just doesn't own that many days. Nadal is Nadal and Andy had played Ferrer, who can tire anyone out, in his previous round. Feli Lopez had a truly excellent summer. Trouble is, with his ranking down he's going to run into quality players sooner in tournaments. He was a bit lucky to win that one tournament - his match point vs Raonic is a contender for MP of the year.

I did expect more from Roddick at majors. Wimbledon especially. Lopez is a though one on grass, for sure, but Andy should win in these matches at Wimbledon, he can play so well there. That was the biggest disappointment of the year for him.

At US open the result was good (1/4 finals) but the way he was beaten by Nadal is really disheartening, it's ok when you lose against Nadal but to get blown away like that for a serous competitor like Andy, that is not a good sign

It seems Pete doesn't know the cutoff for the AO is made 6 weeks from the start of the event. Venus does not have to qualify. 108 WTA players made the cut for AO, Venus is ranked #102 thus she has direct entry into the tournament.

Sorry Pete, after re-reading I realise that you were talking about post AO. However, who's going to make Venus qualify for their event. She's still a GS champion and a crowd puller. She's going to get a WC into any event she wants to play.

Wilson75,
Yes, if I recall, a Slam champion in WTA gets unlimited WCs but I have to read that rule once again.

I would agree with what most people in here said about Serena, like tennisfan, not sure why she would be included in the list? The fact that she failed to win a slam might have something to do with the fact that she only played in two of them and one was one of her first tournaments back. I have always found it interesting that when Sharapova win a couple of tournaments each year, she's in a "resurgence", in spite of the fact that she is marking four years without a slam,but for Serena there is something different when she does the same thing. Both Serena and Sharapova won two tournaments and made it to the final of a slam so why the difference. In regards to Venus, would agree with Wilson, she will get a wildcard based on name value alone. Venus was offered wildcards going into the USA immediately. On the off season, Venus earned millions playing exhibitions in Italy and the Carribean. Why? Because she's a still a very big ticket draw. I would also disagree that things have changed that much in the WTA, I think the fact that Serena was able to win back to back tournaments and make it to the final of a GS is an indication that a lot of thing have stayed stagnant in the WTA.

"I think the fact that Serena was able to win back to back tournaments and make it to the final of a GS is an indication that a lot of thing have stayed stagnant in the WTA."

Samantha Elin,
You can say that or either Serena is a beautiful and talented player from North America:) If the "older" generation continues to win Slams, "Generation Suck" (some boards call this edition of players) will have to do some "soul" searching,

For me, I would put Sharapova more on the cusp for the simple fact that in the recent history of the WTA, there has NEVER been a player with a serve like hers(high double faults, high drops of serves) who has won a slam, irrespective of how good their ground game is. Demetieva anyone????

LOL Patrick. And let me save people the trouble, no, I don't believe Caro can win a slam UNLESS she improves her serve no more than I believe Sharapova can win a slam with that thing she calls a serve.

Also in spite of his strong Year end results, I would put Roger on the cusps because in spite of playing in 4 Grandslams he won none and I also believe Novak is simply a better player.

Her 2nd serve is Caro's problem. Her 1st serve is one of the better ones in the WTA. There are other things that are far more important for her to improve than her 1st serve.

Story I read on CNote's site(SI - On the Baseline), ITF will pay the WTA 375K for Caroline, Petra, Na, Marion, Jarmila, Tsvetana and Anabel since they are in the Top 50. This is due to WTA upgrading Brisbane to Premier status.

I don't get why anyone would put federer on this list. At his best he is still beter then everyone else. Saddely he hardly ever has his best form, but still you can never count him out. Serena Williams also shouldn't be on this list, as she will without doubt win more slams.

I realize Bodo adores Roddick, but I wish he'd be the first of this 5 to go.

As for WTA
I was really impressed with Petra Kvitova. She needs to be a little bit more consistent and we could get a new Novak on the women's side...

Caro was consistent, very consistent and all credit for for that. She has relentless attitude. If she could just improve a little bit more and start to get the real aura of a #1 (right now not many of her rivals fear her)

As for Venus, hope she is ok. I like to watch her a lot. At the beginning of the millenium she was a force and now she is struggling physically.

Serena has been through a lot and having her fit and healthy is the best possible thing in 2012. She can play and she can win, hope she wins a major this year. She is still the leading player and a class of her own

And Venus? I suffer from the same disability. She is done tennis after this year...if she even plays at all!!!

I dread when the time comes for any of these players to retire. I realize that retirements always make way for newcomers to come along but, somehow, I always seem to become attached to most of the players.

I feel if anyone calls it a day next year it's going to be Hewitt because of the injuries he has accumulated. I hope that Andy Roddick can go on for a few more years yet - also Venus and Serena, although I worry about Venus trying to cope with her condition and carry on playing.

Roger will be fine for a few years yet and will probably play as long as he wants to play and still win a number of tournaments. I was very impressed with him in London.

Hey,tennisman,Federer has to improve his mental strngth but as far as tennis he already accomplished everything,or not everything,but more than anyone,yet.And somehow as the oldest among the top players he still competes with them as a big threat.

Pete's comments come a little from his bias, but so do mine.
Serena--one more burst of glory. Sadly, not for Venus
Roddick, never a serious threat and that is good. His bad behavior is what has grown and we do not need his arrogant ego. may he retire soon.
Why would you mention Harrison? He's an embarrassment to us Americans. He is dreadful on the court with his behavior and arrogant off the court. I think Americans will want to cheer for other young players, like Jack Sock, and Harrison will increasingly have to battle crowds turning against him. Besides, he is not in the same talent league with Raonic and Tomic!!!
Desperately hoping DePotro can win another major, but his injury came, sadly, at a terrible time in his emergence. He is a delight, though. We need his demeanor in the sport.
Go, Petra and Victoria!!!!

In spite of Serena's amazing performance in her 3-month return to competitive play this year, I can see how someone might see her as being "on the cusp" because she did not play through to the end of the season and, for example, end the season, like Federer, on a high note.

On the other hand, we all know that playing very little after the USO has long been a Serena (and Venus) tradition. :) So, I'll wait to see if she comes roaring back, as she so often does, in 2012 before I have any strong feelings about her status.

Serena...I'm still a little in shock she did not take the U.S. Open '11. It depends how much she wants it. If she mentally decides she's in the game, at least at the majors, she'll be around for the quarters, semis and finals. If she's too committed to her many other projects, she may well be done. That'd be a real shame for women's tennis but really...who can blame her for any attention deficit. She takes off and is unhealthy for almost and year and then comes "back" and destroys almost all the people who were allegedly as good a player as she. As a Serena fan, I am hoping she at least makes one heck of a farewell year with no more fighting with umpires!

All good things must come to an end so let us look back and enjoy all those tennis matches that we saw and enjoyed knowing that there will be a new crop of players that will give us the same kind of enjoyment or even more . However my favorite players of all time will always be KING RAFA and QUEEN SERENA with that said H A P P Y N E W Y E A R everyone .

Wishing Roddick would be the first to go? That's a bit mean don't you
think? Sure, he's prickly as hell but so too would you be if you came up
in the era of Fed/Nadal. Like McEnroe he's a good guy when you get down
to it. Have mercy on Andy.

Posted by theted 12/21/2011 at 11:09 PM

"Tennisman,
He (Federer) did win a major -the year tourney."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is not funny anymore, it's getting rather sad, actually. Roger definitely doesn't need it. The WTF is not a major, it's an important tournament, but not a major.
I can't remember anybody saying that Novak won 2 majors in 2008: the Australian Open and the Year End Masters Cup. :)

Andy Roddick (ATP No. 14) — He'll turn 30 next August, and it's mildly ironic that in this, his first year out of the year-end top 10 in a decade, he finished with the same annual ranking as in 2001 — a year before he crashed that elite company.

Hey Alanis, this is a coincidence, not irony.

Yolita- Little 'm' vs. Big 'M.' As in, the WTF is a major tournament, the same way the Master Series Tournament are. But it is not a Major. I think the confusion/disputation comes from the free and easy substitution of Major for Slam. There are 4 Slams. Full stop. Roger did not win any of them this year. He did, however, end his year with two Master Series tournament wins ; Paris, WTF a smaller tournament win - Basel.

Christopher - thank you for your 'begs the question' link. Very interesting. It has long been one of those phrases lurking about in the recesses of my brain that I wasn't sure if I or anyone else was using correctly.

@Adrian. I agree. He is no doubt accomplished just about everything. No doubt he is an all time great.
He just needs to make a couple of little adjustments in order to continue to stay up there.

And then there is this -

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=15453&zoneid=25

Businessman it is.

"ITF will pay the WTA 375K for Caroline, Petra, Na, Marion, Jarmila, Tsvetana and Anabel since they are in the Top 50. This is due to WTA upgrading Brisbane to Premier status."

Thanks MA for that. I've seen a "crawl" item on TC this week about substantial WTA fines for Petra and Caro for playing in the Hopman Cup, and wondered (and still wonder) why there has been nothing here about it.

Ross- I have been puzzled by that as well. Especially since, the way it is worded on the TC crawl it makes it sound like the players are being fined for doing playing in an ITF sanctioned matches, which makes no sense. Especially given all the hood-de-do sometimes about players not representing their country.

Ross,
I am surprised that the fine have not became a bigger story than it has so far. Like I posted earlier, I first saw it on On the Baseline by C Note at SI. Caroline and Petra would be fined 100K each, Na 75K and the other 4 players are according to the Roadmap structure.

CL and Ross,
The key is that the Hopman Cup is an exo while the WTA is having their first Premier event at Brisbane(it was International last year so playing Hopman Cup for top players were OK) in the same week.

MA- yeah...eventually, I sort of 'got' that. But is Fed Cup or Davis Cup considered and 'exho'? I think not. Why pick on poor the Hopman Cup which, potentially at least, can provide some of the most fun tennis.

Good Morning Everyone,

In regards to the fines the ITF will pay the WTA for players in the Hopman Cup it did make 'small news' here? also I read there is question marks surrounding Paul MacNamee's future role in the Hopman Cup....though I will believe these rumors if they come to fruition.

Roger Federer in 2012: On the "cusp" of his greatest season yet?, To displace Laver '69 in next years Tigor Best Season ever list.

My hopes for Roger in 2012: Initials are "G.S."

Hint: "S" stands for "Slam", but "G" does NOT stand for "Grand", but for something metallic.

Tigress,
Federer run for a Golden Slam will end very early in 2012. Only Steffi will have that distinction to do it in the same year. As far as a career Golden Slam, Federer chances are very good to get that elusive Gold medal.

CL,
Most of the time Fed Cup do not have a Premier event scheduled for that week and Davis Cup do not have any events scheduled.

A germanium slam?

"However my favorite players of all time will always be KING RAFA and QUEEN SERENA with that said H A P P Y N E W Y E A R everyone"

Rafafanatic,my thoughts exactly!

Sherlock

lol!

germanium or geranium?

MA - I know.. I am just being purposely prickly because scheduling wise and respect wise it does seem poor Hopman Cup comes in a distant third. Which annoys be, cause, like I said, of the three 'team' events it is my favorite.

And in Fed 'not exactly news/rather a confirmation of old news'news:

"Twitter from Rene Stauffer:

Federers schedule confirmed: Exo AbuDhabi, Doha, OzOpen, DC, Rotterdam, Dubai... Plans exos in SPaulo, Rio, BAires and Colombia end of year.."

(think all those ...... indicate a few little matches in the middle of the year unstated but assumed, like.....the FO! Wimby! The Olympics! The USO!...and a bunch of Masters events as well.)

Hope Roger has stocked up on Geritol.;-))

Nole will win the Golden Slam! Ooh that would just stick in everybody's craw. Especially Roger's.

Fed's sched: http://www.rogerfederer.com/en/tennis/schedule.html

Germanium or Geranium

That is the question....lol!

TennisDeb,
That is Federer 2011 schedule.

When Tigress mentions "G" she is of course referring to the
Grafenberg spot, or "G-Spot" as it's known in the sex trade.
Mirka has become bored with conventional technique and is now
expanding the parameters. Roger, always a quick learner, is fully
willing to get his hands dirty if that's what it takes. I wish
them good luck in their efforts and a Merry Christmas for all!

Frankly, I think Roger is overplaying a lot next year...what with Rotterdam, DC and a string of exhos in the year. And the olympics. Highly likely that he will end up injuring himself as the year goes on. Let's hope he dosen't have to skip a slam.

MA - whoops. Tell his webmaster to update it. I only found this one, sans exos: http://www.rogerfederer.com/en/esp/news-detail/news/3720-rogers-turnierkalender-2012.html

I highly doubt Roger will injure himself and skip a slam. He'll pull out of Halle again before missing Wimbledon.

@ Beau Peste - isn't Fed's sweet spot smaller since he uses an older racquet?

Lady J - I agree, but Roger has the option...and I think will make good use of it..of dropping tournaments as he goes. W/out penalty because of his advanced age. I think/hope he will jettison Miami and probably Toronto. Sorry for all the Fed fans in and near those cities...but such are the choices. There is an article at RF.com about Roger purposely loading the front half of the year...I forgot the rational..point and seedings I think...

If he gets through the first 4 months injury free, and that will be luck as much as anything else, I think he will be fine. For an old geezer. ;-)

Gotta dash..later.

CL,

True..he can skip MS now as he needs...but Rotterdam is only 250 or a 500 or something. Exhos are zero points. DC is negligible points. He loads the front half of the year...but its not going to help him much for ranking. He's got to win 2 slams to even challenge for the ranking and we know he's not going to win RG.

For the past few years, he's always been unhealthy/injured in the time after AO.

If I were him, I would concentrate on getting rest in the first half of the year (not playing exhos at MSG and DC and Rotterdam all in the same year)....so that the RG-Wimby-Olympics-USO stretch gets fresh attention.

But then I am not him. I know he is going to retire soon, but there really isn't sufficient reason to cram everything into 2012. The world isn't ending in 2012.

oh well, let's see how he does at AO first.

Pete has posted today's thread...

Wishing Roddick would be the first to go? That's a bit mean don't you
think?
--------------------

Maybe so. But he's not the nicest guy, either. And who cares what I think, when Pete Bodo always praises him....

ladyjulia: Roger is taking a month off after Miami. I don't think there's much to worry about re. his schedule. He's not accustomed to pulling out of events when he's not up to playing.

" He's not accustomed to pulling out of events when he's not up to playing."

Edit: "He's accustomed..."

Lisa m.. One more burst of glory for serena but harrison is an embarrasment to americans? Wow.. I wish to hell you werent american..has harrison ever threatened anyone? Or insulted anyone.. No..he is the epitome of what america used to be and needs to be again.. Hardworking and hardfighting on the court and extremely polite off the court

Harrison has a lot of potential in my opinion. He can be a hothead at times. But he is only 19, he will mature and so will his temper. Nothing against him. I hope he can win a tournament next year and do better. He sure came close to a title during the U.S. Open series.

I like Roddick, he is fun to watch. And for me it is always his personality that is fun (the press conferences, exos, charity...) he has been and he is a star.
Also I must say I respect him a lot as a player. He works very hard and just refuses to quit.
Overall if he would qiut, he would be missed for sure