The 2016 end-of-season awards may have only just been dished out, with Juan Martin Del Potro taking a well deserved crown for Comeback Player of the year in 2016.
The “Tower of Tandil” reached the US Open quarter-finals, and defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal en route to securing a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, finishing inside the Top 40.
Given that the 2016 winners have just been announced, it seems strange to be suggesting a name for the title for 2017. Yet the nature of the award ensures that there are conditions that candidates must normally meet, conditions that in many cases some candidates are already, meeting in part. They must have been absent from the game for some time, yet be able to make a significant impact on the Tour when they return, a truly remarkable comeback. Typically, their absence from the top of the games is due to injury, but it could also be a remarkable return to form for someone such as Ernests Gulbis. I’ve selected five players who, for various reasons, have personal situations that might make them outstanding candidates for the title in twelve months time.
- Bradley Klahn The American has missed nearly two years after back surgery after previously commanding a Top 100 ranking. Having only turned pro in 2012 after a successful college career, Klahn entered the Champaign Challenger last week as a qualifier and won five straight matches through qualifying to the quarter-finals. In a short tournament, Klahn proved that he is fit once again and has the game even though he lacked match fitness to de-throne some notable challenger players including Sam Groth in the first round. His success in Champaign could set him up for a good 2017.
- Thanasi Kokkinakis Normally the comeback player of the year features an older player who has endured an injury reflecting the grind of many years on the circuit. Yet the twenty-year old Kokkinakis features due to an unfortunate shoulder injury that derailed almost all of his 2016 season. After finishing 2015 ranked No.80 as a teenager big things were expected of the young Aussie. with no ranking position to his name after playing just a single event in 2016 (losing to Gastao Elias in two tie-break sets in the first round of the Rio Olympics), Kokkinakis will be looking for success in the Australian swing next year.
- Brian Baker. A former contender for the Comeback player of the year in 2012, he was edged out by Tommy Haas. After tearing his meniscus against Sam Querrey in the first round of the 2013 Australian Open, Baker endured another long injury lay-off, nearly three years before returning at the start of this year. He has spent much of 2016 slowly improving his ranking from outside the Top 1000 to inside the Top 300,a respectable if unspectacular rise. If he can stay clear of injury, a Top 100 finish next year could see him win the Award.
- Roger Federer. Five years ago no one would have predicted Roger Federer being in the position to win one of the few awards in tennis that have so far eluded him. This is one that he would have preferred not to have had a shot at, but now that he does, he must certainly be considered a contender. Having ended his season prematurely after Wimbledon, it will have been more than half a year since the great man took to the court in a competitive manner when he steps onto what one must assume will be Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Given his stature and ranking despite injury (he remains in the Top 20), the lengths Federer must go to be considered are different from his peers. Only a comeback Grand Slam win, or multiple slam finals with a year-end finish in the Top Three would be considered good enough for him to take the title.
- Ernests Gulbis. The mercurial Latvian has seen his once Top 10 ranking fall to No.153 as a result of his notoriously inconsistent form and a shoulder injury that derailed some of his year. His last appearance in 2016 came at the Rogers Cup in July. Gulbis’ talent is without doubt and injury has certainly played some part in his fall. Yet it is likely as much the mind as the body that is responsible for his current status. For Gulbis, it is likely now the former that holds sway over him and his career. With few points to defend at most tournaments next year apart from at Roland Garros, where he reached the Round of 16, the pressure will be off for a talented player who is still just twenty-eight years old.
Wildcard: Tommy Haas. Given that Haas is now thirty-eight, a comeback at this age is more than unlikely, it is improbable. Yet trying to say Haas is out of the equation for consideration is like assuming Tommy Robredo is going out of the 2013 French Open when down two sets – it’s not quite as certain as you might think. Already a two-time recipient of the Award, it would be remiss to discount Haas until the day that he finally, officially, announces his retirement.
My overall personal pick from this group would be Thanasi Kokkinakis. He is young at only twenty years old, and was performing well before injury derailed his campaign. Assuming that the shoulder problem is fixed and he can build match fitness, I would expect big things from the young Australian in 2017.
