After another memorable year on the ATP Tour, we look back at the 2015 season giving our oscars to the best player, the best rivalry, the best rising star, the best match, the major upset, the greatest surprise, the best matches and the best team.
The best player: Novak Djokovic
The Serbian star enjoyed the best year of his career with a total of eleven titles and one of the greatest seasons in tennis history. He won three Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open), the ATP World Tour Finals in London, six Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Shanghai, Paris Bercy) and his sixth China Open in Beijing. He scored a win-loss record of 82-6 and reached 15 ATP Finals (including all four Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 Tournaments). It’s the first time in history that a player has won the ATP World Tour Finals for four consecutive years. He finished the year with nearly twice the number of points as World Number 2 Andy Murray. He has become the sixth player to clinch the year-end Number 1 Ranking for four or more years after Pete Sampras (six years), Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer (five years), Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe (four years).
The best rivalry of 2015: Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer
Djokovic and Federer met eight times in 2015. Djokovic won five of their head-to-head matches, including two Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon and the US Open), the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in London and two Masters 1000 Finals at Indian Wells and Rome. Federer was able to beat Djokovic three times this year in the Dubai final, the Cincinnati Masters final and in the round robin of the ATP Finals in London. They are now tied 22-22 in their head-to-head matches.
“Against Roger it’s very specific. You need to adjust to the tactics because of his game. He plays very quickly. He likes things to happen fast. He takes away the time from his opponent. He has so much variety in his game with his slice, comes to the net. He has a great serve and his forehand is one of the best ever. He is a very complete player”, said Djokovic of his rivalry against Federer.
The 2015 Wimbledon final: Novak Djokovic Vs Roger Federer
The biggest surprise: Stan Wawrinka’s win over Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros Final
Stan Wawrinka’s 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic dashed the Serb’s dream of winning his first French Open title and complete the career Grand Slam. Wawrinka clinched his second Grand Slam title one year after his triumph at the 2014 Australian Open. In the French Open Wawrinka also beat his compatriot Roger Federer in the quarter final and Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinal. The Lausanne player received the Coupe des Mousquetaires (French Open trophy) from three-time Roland Garros champion Gustavo Kuerten.
The most popular player: Roger Federer
Roger Federer received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, named in honour of his coach and childhood hero. Federer was voted by his fellow players as the winner of this Award for the 11th season and received the award from Edberg himself during the ATP Finals in London. King Roger also received the trophy as ATP Fans Favourite for the 13th consecutive year after receiving 65 percent of all votes casted online.
Thirty-four year-old Federer finished the season with a 63-11 win-loss record ending the season in the top-three of the ATP Ranking for the 12th time in the past 13 years. He claimed six titles (Brisbane, Dubai, Istanbul, Halle, Cincinnati and Basel). In Cincinnati he beat Andy Murray in the semifinal and Djokovic in the final. He has become the oldest player in the Top 10 since André Agassi in 2005.
The best doubles team: Jean Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau
The Dutch-Romanian doubles team completed a perfect season in which they won at Wimbledon (beating Jamie Murray and John Peers) and at the ATP Finals in London (beating Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea). Rojer and Tecau ended the year as the best doubles team in the ATP Ranking. They have become the first doubles team to win the doubles final at the ATP Finals without dropping a set since round robin play began in 1986.
The best Comeback: Benoit Paire
The Frenchman suffered from a knee injury in 2014 but was able to come back in 2015 when he beat Fabio Fognini en route to reaching the third round at the Roland Garros before winning his first ATP title in Bastad. He upset Kei Nishikori in the first round of the US Open to grab his third win against a top-10 player and his first against a top-5 opponent.
The best young player: Hyeon Chung
The 19-year-old South Korean player won the ATP Most Improved Player Award after a successful season in which he improved his Ranking from Number 173 to Number 51. He collected four ATP Challenger Tournaments in Burnie, Savannah, Busan and Kahosjung. He recorded his first Grand Slam match against James Duckworth before losing against Stan Wawrinka (7-6 7-6 7-6). Chung, who lost the 2013 Wimbledon Junior final against Italian Gianluigi Quinzi, reached the second round in Miami (where he lost against Tomas Berdych) and the quarter finals in Shenzhen.
The best matches in 2015
Roland Garros semifinal: Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-7 6-1
Djokovic and Murray battled for more than three hours before the match was interrupted by rain and bad light at 3-3 in the fourth set after Djokovic was leading two sets to one.
Djokovic, who ended Nadal’s streak of 39 consecutive wins in the French Open, broke Murray’s serve to win the first set before breaking twice in the second set to take a two set to love lead. Djokovic had break points in the third set, but Murray broke serve at 5-5 to clinch the third set on serve with 7-5. The match was suspended at 3-3 after two breaks of serve due to a thunderstorm. As the match was resumed on the following day Murray broke again at 5-5 before closing the fourth set on serve to force the match to the fifth set. Djokovic cruised to 6-1 in the final set, ending Murray’s winning streak on clay which included two back-to-back clay court titles in Munich and Madrid.
Wimbledon quarter final: Richard Gasquet beat Stan Wawrinka 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-4 11-9
Richard Gasquet beat Stan Wawrinka in five epic sets after three hours and a half to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal since 2007. Gasquet clinched the 20-game fifth set on his third match point when Wawrinka hit a forehand long after 83 minutes.
Gasquet saved a break point chance at the start of the fifth set before getting the break for 5-3. He failed to serve out for the match as Wawrinka broke back. Wawrinka earned a break point chance at 9-9 30-40. He made three errors to face three match points for Gasquet, who converted his third opportunity after three hours and 28 minutes.
The best team of the year: Great Britain
Great Britain won the Davis Cup for the tenth time in history and for the first time since 1936 with a 3-1 victory over Belgium in Ghent. Murray added the Davis Cup to his impressive collection of titles which features Wimbledon, the US Open and the Olympic gold medal on home soil at Wimbledon. The Dunblane star has joined John McEnroe and Mats Wilander as the only players to boast a 8-0 singles record in the same Davis Cup season. He is the fourth player to win 11 Davis Cup rubbers (eight singles and the three doubles with his elder brother Jamie) in a single year. Murray has become the first player since Pete Sampras in 1995 to win all three rubbers in a Davis Cup Final. The only British win, which did not involve the Murray family came from James Ward, who won an epic five-set match against John Isner in the first round against the USA in Glasgow. The British team also featured 20-year-old Kyle Edmund, who made his debut in the Davis Cup in the Ghent final against David Goffin, who won the inaugural match in the decider after losing the first two sets. Edmund became the sixth man in the history of the Davis Cup to make his debut in the final.
After the triumph in Ghent British Prime Minister David Cameron invited Andy and Jamie Murray, James Ward and Kyle Edmund to Downing Street.
“I imagine it will take a few days before it really sinks in. I probably haven’t been an emotional as that after a match that I have won. I have been pretty upset having lost matches before, but I would say that’s probably the most emotional I have been after a win”, said Murray.
