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Tennis in 2014: Novak Djokovic's genius, Roger Federer's flawlessness and a host of new talent

But it wasn't a stellar year for Great Britain's Andy Murray

2014's Grand Slam winners

As 2014 rumbles to a close, the usual suspects stand tall. The year belongs to the imperious Novak Djokovic and his evolving methods of keeping the chasing pack at arm’s length, but critical to his ascension are the rebirth of Roger Federer and the relentlessness of a group of young pretenders.

8 Grand Slam winners

  • Australian Open - Stan Wawrinka & Li Na
  • French Open - Rafa Nadal & Maria Sharapova
  • Wimbledon - Novak Djokovic & Petra Kvitova
  • US Open - Marin Cilic & Serena Williams

While the ‘big three’ remain resolutely in place, British number one Andy Murray has been the biggest victim of a new generation and first-time Major winners Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka.

For Murray, 2014 has been mixed year. He has played some good tennis and physically he is back to his best but his record against the top players means adjustments to his game must happen if he wants to win the biggest tournaments again.

Rafa Nadal endured a stop-start 12 months but took home a fifth consecutive French Open to reassert his clay creativity, and Federer’s new-style that returned him to the elite of the sport reflected a wider change in the future of the men's game.

“We’ve had an amazing year,” said Sky Sports expert Barry Cowan. “We’ve seen the top players get better and we’ve got young players ready to make the next push.

“This year we’ve seen a real shift in the way the game has moved forwards. As we saw in London [ATP Tour Finals], you need to have the ability to come forward, take the ball early and take time away from your opponent.

“I think the next generation of guys coming up with follow that trend of having to play in a different way.

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“When you have guys who dominate for so long, the others around them become inhibited. Now we’ve got players who are prepared to take a risk and play differently. Milos Raonic is a classic case, he was trying to play at the baseline but then realised he is 6’6” and had to do something different to beat the top guys.

“But next year, it wouldn’t surprise me if the top three were still the top three but I can really see Djokovic winning three majors next year.”

A great champion

The Serbian master racked up a brilliant 61-8 win-loss record for the season, culminating with an ATP World Tour Finals win in London after Federer’s injury which was a muted way to celebrate a year that peaked on these shores with an epic Wimbledon victory.

“Djokovic has evolved his game so much over the past few years,” Cowan explained. “He’s gone from being an incredible baseline player to an incredible attacker. It’s a success story and there’s now so many examples where he wins the point within the first five shots.”

Nowhere was this more evident that an astonishing Wimbledon final ousting Federer who had returned to his mercurial best – Cowan’s match of the year.

He recalled: “We saw a contrast of styles, we saw both players go through difficult emotions, we saw a great champion lose the fourth set and come back playing courageous tennis. And we saw, as I’ve been championing for a while, that you can be successful at the net. Hopefully they showed that.”

Greg Rusedski, the former British number one, agreed: “I thought it was a fantastic match from start to finish and Federer was so close to getting his eighth Grand Slam. That match might have been the definition as to why Djokovic is the year-end world no.1.”

Key to the excitement of the Wimbledon final was Federer pushing the world’s best player to his very limit. The Swiss veteran was unable to add an 18th Grand Slam to his trophy cabinet in 2014 but subtle changes to his game means that accolade may arrive next season.

“Even though he lost that Wimbledon final, I saw where everything was starting to fit into place for him,” Cowan remembered.

“He continues to astonish all of us. Physically he has peaked – I don’t know anyone who is better at 33 than at 25 – but Roger has redefined his game. He has accepted, and this isn’t easy after winning 17 majors, that what worked five years ago maybe doesn’t anymore.”

The modern great once again created history in the final fling of the season after securing Switzerland their first Davis Cup title with a masterclass victory over France's Richard Gasquet in Lille.

The Davis Cup was one of the few titles which still eluded the 17-time Grand Slam winner, and now he only has singles gold at the Rio Olympics to become just the third man, after great rival Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi, to win all four Grand Slam titles, the Olympic title and the Davis Cup.

My generation

New generation
Image: 2014 ushered in a new generation of talent to test the established greats

While Djokovic, Federer et al show no signs of giving up their seniority yet, they will be pushed by a group of contenders who have embraced the evolving sport and reaped the rewards.

Stan Wawrinka set the tone, beating both those men en route to an Australian Open victory before edging ahead of his compatriot Federer in the world rankings for the first time. He then beat Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

Marin Cilic continued the trend of the underdog by winning the US Open final against Kei Nishikori, the Japanese star who Cowan tips to sustain his rise.

“Nishikori plays a similar game to Djokovic,” Cowan said. “Nishikori is maturing - hiring Michael Chang has definitely helped - and is entering a period where everything is clicking into place.”

Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov also lead the charge into 2015 with their rapidly improving skillsets but 2014 also witnessed less known competitors make a surprising mark.

“Croatian Borna Coric, who’s just 17 years of age and took out Nadal in Basel,” tipped Sky Sports expert Annabel Croft. “I thought that was a real standout moment this season and he’s someone to very much look out for I the future.”

Another 17-year-old, Belinda Bencic, reached her first WTA semi-final and Nadal suffered another upset to teenager Nick Kyrgios.

The women’s game experienced a similar pattern of established champions sharing the limelight with newer challengers. Li Na became the first Asian singles major winner in Australia before retiring and Petra Kvitova’s name was up in lights at Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, the old guard of Maria Sharapova (French Open) and Serena Williams (US Open) carried on. Williams’ 18th Grand Slam placed her level with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert for second most titles in the Open era.

Much-maligned Murray

Murray's 2014 record against the big three
Image: Murray had no answer to Djokovic, Federer and Nadal this season

So what about Britain’s best hope, Andy Murray? The Scot completed an impressive recovery from back surgery and maintained a top 10 ranking but alarmingly has lost all nine matches against the elite trio of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal – a far cry from his era-defining Wimbledon win.

“There are question marks over Murray,” Cowan confessed. “He needs to embrace certain areas of his game that he has got to improve. He needs to take the ball earlier, come to the net more and not always rely on his defensive skills because the best players are only getting more confident and better. If he doesn’t, he’ll continue losing to Djokovic every time.

“If you look at what Murray and Djokovic do well – they’re great movers with great backhands – but Djokovic is a level ahead. So Andy must bring in new ways to his game to beat the likes of Djokovic who isn’t going anywhere – he’s in his prime at 27 years old.

“The next two months, and I’d say the first six months of next year, are massive for Andy. It’s too simple for any sportsman to say ‘it didn’t happen this year but it’ll happen next year’. You need to take a step back and do something about it.

“Andy will do that, he’s done it in the past. He can’t do anything 50-50, he needs to fully commit. If he plays as he played this year, he’ll finish in the top 10 because he’s that good but Andy is about winning majors and the Masters titles."

2015?

Murray’s hopes of adding more silverware require him to put a frustrating year that culminated with a 6-0 6-1 thrashing by Federer in London behind him.

We can be assured that Djokovic and Federer will still be found atop the rankings in 2015 but Murray must rediscover his magic and Nadal constantly battles his own body. Cilic, Wawrinka and the young generation that they represent will only make things more competitive.

Whatever happens, Sky Sports will be there covering every angle.

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