2014 timeline
<<< TIME-LINE >>>
January 1st – The best players in the world of the late 80s & early 90s, Boris Becker & Stefan Edberg back in action! This time as coaches of great players: Becker is hired by Novak Djokovic while Edberg is eager to help Roger Federer in regaining the Grand Slam crown. Other former major champions follow suit: Goran Ivanisevic, Michael Chang and Sergi Bruguera, working with Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori and Richard Gasquet respectively – at the end of the season it is clear that only the latter cooperation fell through.
January 14th – Australian Open, the first round. With an ace Andreas Seppi [25] saves a match point against Lleyton Hewitt [43] and wins 7-6 6-3 5-7 5-7 7-5. It’s the first time that one player has beaten the other three times being one point away from defeat. In the past, Seppi managed to do this in Sydney ’06 & Rotterdam ’08. Gilles Simon fights off seven match points overcoming Daniel Brands. Simon will win in October another match involving the defense of multiple match points (six: against Roberto Bautista).
January 21st – Australian Open, the quarterfinal. One year after losing a deciding 22-game set on Rod Laver Arena, Stan Wawrinka [8] takes a revenge on Novak Djokovic [1] snapping his 28-match winning streak (25 in Melbourne) with a stunning 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 victory in exactly four hours, despite winning eight points fewer… If Djokovic had won the match, he would have been the first man to beat the other player four times in five-setters.
January 25th – Australian Open, the final. Lukasz Kubot/Robert Lindstedt d. Eric Butorac/Raven Klaasen 6-3 6-3. Totally unexpected final and the more experienced pair deals better with pressure situation of achieving a lifetime success. The 31-year-old Kubot & six years older Lindstedt prior to the Aussie Open ’14 had played together just two main-level events losing in the first rounds on both occasions. The 31-year-old Klaasen of South Africa entered the event with very modest 2-5 record at majors.
January 26th – Australian Open, the final. Shocking conclusion because Stan Wawrinka [8] in twelve previous meetings against Rafael Nadal [1] hadn’t even won a set… losing twenty-six. The Swiss player displays great tennis in the 1st set, but in the next three sets Nadal struggles with a back pain and his movement is substantially limited. The final scoreline: 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3. Wawrinka should have actually won it in straight sets, but horrendous errors crept into his game in the 3rd set. The maiden-major champion says: “Right now I still don’t know if I’m dreaming or not, but we’ll see tomorrow morning.”
February 4th – Zagreb, the first round. Ivo Karlovic [79] ties a 19-year-old record of Mark Philippoussis, serving 44 aces in a three-set duel against [68] Daniel Brands 6-7 7-5 7-6. Karlovic’s achievement is slightly more impressive because he played less points on his own serve – 93, while Philippoussis – 98.
February 25th – Dubai, the first round. After dropping the first set in a tie-break, Juan Martin del Potro [5] retires to Somdev Devvarman [78] due to pain in his left wrist. The Argentinian for the second time in his career is forced to finish a season so early (previously in 2010) in the consequence of the same injury.
March 1st – Acapulco, the final. After a thrilling encounter, ranked 22nd in the world Grigor Dimitrov struggles past a one spot higher ranked Kevin Anderson 7-6 3-6 7-6, erasing a 2:4 deficit in the decisive tie-break. The Bulgarian was exceptionally entertaining for the crowd with his extraordinary flexibility; prevails three consecutive matches being a few points away from defeat. The last time something like that happened in Rotterdam 2002 as Nicolas Escude triumphed in Rotterdam.
March 20th – Miami, the first round. A new record for the shortest match: exactly 28 minutes and 20 seconds as Bernard Tomic [74] is humiliated 0-6 1-6 by Jarkko Nieminen [40]. “I felt like I did the best that I could and I’m happy with the way I’m coming back,” said 21-year-old Tomic, who had hip surgery after Melbourne Park. “Hopefully in a little bit of time I can get back to 100 percent. “It’s not easy but I’m trying, doing everything, doing my best to get there.” The young Australian was out of the competition just two months (underwent surgery on both hips).
March 21st – Miami, the first round. Oliver Marach and Dmitry Tursunov defeat Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky 7-6 3-6 [11-9]. For the second time in history occurs a doubles match in which a pair saves six consecutive match points in the super tie-break.
March 28th – Miami, the semifinals. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic reach the final without lifting their racquets on Friday after their potential foes Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori withdrew. Nishikori pulled out with a groin injury and Berdych felled by gastroenteritis. For the first time in history both semifinals aren’t played on account of two walkovers.
April 18th – Monte Carlo, the quarterfinal. David Ferrer [6] joins an elite club becoming just the third player in eleven years to defeat Rafael Nadal [1] in Monaco. In the all-Spanish contest, Ferrer produces a gutsy attitude to stun the eight-time champion 7-6 6-4. “It is special,” says Ferrer. “Last time I beat Rafael on a clay court was 10 years ago. I had to wait 10 years to beat him on a clay court! I am happy because I am in the semi-final and because I am playing very good this week. Maybe this week, it was my best week of the season.” Nadal for the first time since his ascendancy to the “King of Clay” status in 2005, seems a bit vulnerable. Besides the sensational loss to Ferrer, he is defeated by Nicolas Almagro for the first time in eleven meetings (in the Barcelona quarterfinals) and looks pretty hopeless in the final of the Madrilena Open before Kei Nishikori suffers an injury leading 6-2 4:2*.
May 25th – Roland Garros, the first round. The worst Grand Slam record which belongs to Juan Antonio Marin (0-17) is safe when Marinko Matosevic [45] records his first victory at majors on his 13th try by defeating Dustin Brown, however, Filippo Volandri [99] has lost his 18th consecutive Grand Slam match as being dismissed in straight sets by Sam Querrey.
May 26th – Roland Garros, the first round. Argentine qualifier Facundo Bagnis [143] makes a memorable and emotional Grand Slam debut, battling to a 6-1 6-2 1-6 3-6 18-16 victory over Julien Benneteau [45] having saved a match point at *10:11. Bagnis clinched the 4-hour, 27-minute victory with a volley into the open court, and fell to the ground in celebration. Two years earlier, Paul-Henri Mathieu had come up on the winning end of an 18-16 decisive set, prevailing against John Isner in the longest match at Roland Garros by numbers of games played. “Given the fact it was Roland Garros, of course it’s cruel,” said Benneteau, who went to Bagnis’s side to embrace the unexpected winner. Almost two weeks later, Benneteau celebrates arguably the biggest success in his career capturing the doubles title at French Open alongside Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
June 8th – Roland Garrros, the final. Although Rafael Nadal [1] notched a clay-court season below his standards and lost four previous matches to [2] Novak Djokovic, he once again finds a way to triumph on his beloved Parisian courts with a 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4 victory after 3 hours 31 minutes. It was their sixth meeting in Paris (6-0 Nadal), no other pair played as many matches at one major. The 28-year-old Nadal ties Bjorn Borg with 64 titles (the same number of titles obtained Pete Sampras) conquering the French Open for the ninth time. “Federer has 17 and I have [won] 14 Grand Slams,” said Nadal. “[Breaking the record], it’s not a source of motivation for me. I’ll follow my own path. Then when my career is over, we’ll count. I don’t really care that much about the records. I’ll still play with a lot of intensity. I’ll still be motivated.“
June 13th – Halle, the second round. After the longest decisive tie-break since 1999, Philipp Kohlschreiber [27] overcomes Dustin Brown 6-4 5-7 7-6 withstanding five match points in the (18/16) tie-break having squandered a match point in the 10th game of the final set on serve. Between Autumns of 2013 & 2014, Kohlschreiber is involved in deciding third set tie-breaks seven times and finishes as a winner only in the confrontation against Brown [85].
June 26th – Wimbledon, the second round. Nick Kyrgios [144] fights off nine match points (!) as he comes back from two sets down to outlast No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet 3-6 6-7 6-4 7-5 10-8 in seven minutes shy of four hours on No. 2 Court. In the decider, Gasquet leads 40/0 at 5:4, another three match points has at 6:5, one at 7:6 & two at 8:7! He also led 5:4* (30/0) in the 4th set! “It was an unbelievable match out there,” says Kyrgios. “My first ever two-sets-love down, coming back and winning. It’s an amazing feeling… I played some unbelievable tennis today.” The only other male players to save as many match points during Grand Slam singles victories: Christophe Roger-Vasselin and Vincent Spadea (both at Roland Garros).
June 27th – Wimbledon, the third round. Marin Cilic [29] denies Tomas Berdych’s [6] 100th Grand Slam match win. The 26th-seeded Croatian knocks out the Czech 7-6 6-4 7-6 in fading light on Court No. 3 at 9:38 pm. “I was very fortunate to be able to win that one,” explains Cilic.
July 1st – Wimbledon, the fourth round. “I think I was in a bit of a zone out there. It hasn’t sunk in what just played out out there. I played extraordinary tennis. I was struggling a bit on return, but I worked my way into it. I served at a really good level and I’m really happy.” says Nick Kyrgios after his four-set victory over Rafael Nadal 7-6 5-7 7-6 6-3. The 19-year-old Australian, who fired 37 aces against Nadal [1], is out of gas in his next match which loses to Milos Raonic and it ends his 12-match winning streak on grass (before Wimbledon, Kyrgios won Challenger in Nottingham as a qualifier).
July 5th – Wimbledon, the final. Mainly thanks to sensational returns, Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock capped a dream Wimbledon campaign with a 7-6 6-7 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. “We had a lot of fun,” says Sock. “People could see that. I think that’s part of why we did well. We really enjoyed being out there, enjoyed the moment. It was both of our first times on Centre Court there. As kids we grew up watching this tournament. This is what we kind of dreamed of doing. To be able to go out there and play the best doubles team of all time and to get a win was pretty incredible.” Pospisil and Sock are the third pairing this century to win the Wimbledon title on their tournament debut, following Stephen Huss/Wesley Moodie in 2005 and Jonathan Marray/Frederik Nielsen in 2012.
July 6th – Wimbledon, the final. Twenty-four years after creating the third and last Wimbledon final against each other, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg meet in the final on their favorite Centre Court again, this time as coaches. Almost four hours of play, Roger Federer [4] saves a set point in the opening set and a match point in the 4th set, but in the end Novak Djokovic [2] survives 6-7 6-4 7-6 5-7 6-4. The Serb in his on-court speech says: “It was a great match to be part of. He’s a magnificent champion, a great example of a great athlete and a role model for many kids. I respect his career and everything he’s done.” Djokovic comes back to No. 1 in the world…
July 27th – Umag, the final. Pablo Cuevas [60], as a qualifier, defeats Tommy Robredo [18] 6-3 6-4. The Uruguayan captures back-to-back titles (previous in Bastad) even though he hadn’t played an ATP final within seven years since his main-level debut (US Open 2007). Cuevas says: “I never expected to win two tournaments in a row. This week was more difficult because I had to play [qualifying] and I played against very good players. During the two years I was out, I thought I would never be able to play again and especially at that level.” The following week Cuevas’ 14-match winning streak is snapped in Liberec (Challenger).
August 3rd – Washington, the final. In the first all-Canadian final in history, Milos Raonic [7] dispatches [36] Vasek Pospisil 6-1 6-4 in 68 minutes. Raonic becomes the first man in nine years to win five tie-breaks in five consecutive sets (Mark Philippoussis did it in years 1997 & 2005).
August 8th – Toronto, the third round. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [15] makes short work of [1] Novak Djokovic (6-2 6-2) avenging eleven consecutive defeats to the Serb, who seems undercooked getting married after Wimbledon. A day before the sensational loss, Djokovic barely escaped defeat to Tsonga’s compatriot – Gael Monfils (6-2 6-7 7-6) – cliping the line with his forehand at *5:6 (15/30) in the 3rd set. Thanks to that victory Djokovic improves his head-to-head record against ‘Le Monf’ to 10-0.
August 17th – Cincinnati, the final. A week after losing the Montreal final to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Roger Federer [3] claims his first ‘Masters 1000’ title in two years (his longest break at winning the most prestigious events since 2002) defeating David Ferrer 6-3 1-6 6-2. Nine days before at the Canadian Open, Federer eliminated Ferrer [6] in three sets as well. The Swiss extends his head-to-head against the Spaniard to 16-0, which is the third most lopsided rivalry in which one of players is deprived of a single victory.
August 28th – US Open, the second round. 34-year-old Victor Estrella [80] of Dominican Republic, the oldest player to make his main-draw debut at the US Open (won his first Grand Slam match two days before), defeats sixteen years younger Croat – the US Open 2013 junior champion – Borna Coric [204] in four sets. Estrella became the first Dominican Top 100 player in March ’14.
September 7th – US Open, the final. Bob and Mike Bryans win their fifth title in New York after a 6-3 6-4 victory over Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez. The Bryans have now won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles together and 100 doubles titles as a team. No other team in the Open era has won more than 61 titles together. “I was having flashbacks to my whole career towards the end of that match,” Bob Bryan said. “It was wild. I was thinking juniors, college. It was an incredible moment. I was trying to stay in the moment, but it was impossible.”
September 8th – US Open, the final. For the first time since the French Open 2004, both finalists are debutants in a Grand Slam final. Kei Nishikori [11] is not able to compete against Marin Cilic on equal terms after very demanding three consecutive matches. The Croat [16] triumphs under two hours gaining all sets ‘6-3‘ and says: “My team has brought something special to me, especially Goran. We’re working really hard, but most important from all the things he brought to me was enjoying tennis and always having fun, and I think enjoyed my best tennis over here and played the best ever in my life.” Cilic displayed unbelievable form in his last three matches of the tournament, against Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Nishikori. He didn’t play at the US Open 2013 due to suspension – had failed a drug test in Munich earlier that year…
September 16th – Metz, the first round. Michal Przysiezny [136] is two points away from 17th loss in succession (sixth worst losing streak in the Open era) but defeats Pierre-Hugues Herbert [127] in the third set tie-break. Two weeks later these two players teamed up for the first time, upset as lucky losers in the Tokyo first round the Bryan brothers, and win another three matches together to capture the title! Przysiezny is unranked in doubles (!), Herbert ranked No. 139.
September 21st – Metz, the final. David Goffin [45] join Roberto Bautista and Pablo Cuevas as the third player to win his first two titles in 2014. The Belgian tops [39] Joao Sousa 6-4 6-3 on Sunday, having beaten the main favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. Goffin is a revelation of the second half of the season winning 44 of his 48 matches since Wimbledon (in the meantime captured four Challenger titles & two ATP titles).
October 5th – Beijing, the final. Novak Djokovic [1] has a match point on serve at 5:0 in the 2nd set to produce the first ‘double bagel’ in a main-level singles final. Eventually his opponent Tomas Berdych [6] gets two games in that one-sided 66-minute meeting. Berdych, who held serve in 35 of his first 36 service games in Beijing before the final, admits afterwards: “I met somebody in the final who I’ve never seen before. I was just swept off the court.”
October 8th – Shanghai, the second round. Roger Federer [3] withstands two set points in the 1st set and five match points in the 3rd set overcoming Leonardo Mayer 7-5 3-6 7-6. The Argentinian [25] says before the match that Federer was his idol growing up, tears in his eyes are visible at the handshake… Federer goes to win the tournament four days later – his second straight Masters 1000 title. The Swiss enjoys great second half of the season collecting four titles in total.
October 24th – Basel, the quarterfinal. Borna Coric upsets Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-6. The 17-year-old Croat [124] reaches his first ATP semifinal which guarantees him finishing the year as the youngest player in the Top 100. He says: “It’s unbelievable for me. I just want to enjoy the moment. I’m just so surprised and it’s an unbelievable feeling.” Nadal [3], who decided to participate in the tournament despite appendicitis, announces skipping the last two tournaments to undergo a surgery (it happens on November 3rd).
October 26th – Valencia, the final. Andy Murray [10] d. Tommy Robredo [21] 3-6 7-6 7-6. It is the longest ‘best-of-3’ match of the year (3 hours 20 minutes) and the third longest three-set final in history. Murray saves five match points (two in the 2nd set and three in the 3rd set), and the emotionally devastated Robredo shows him middle fingers at the net when the final is over 🙂 The most astonishing is the fact they faced each other five weeks before in the Shenzhen final, and Murray also survived despite facing five match points (!) – it is the first case in history that a player defeats the other twice in finals being one point away from defeat on both occasions. “I know it was an incredible match,” said Murray. “The tennis at the end and in the second set was high level. I played well at the right moments.”
October 31st – Paris, the quarterfinal. David Ferrer [6] blows a 4:0 lead in the 2nd set tie-break being eliminated by Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-7 4-6 in a match of two ‘Masters’ contenders. Because of that defeat Ferrer doesn’t qualify to the season ending tournament for the first time since 2009. Nishikori [7] has beaten Ferrer three times in dramatic three-set matches of 2014, their duration respectively: (Miami 3:05, Madrid 2:56, Paris 2:43). Two weeks later they will play another three-setter in London with the same outcome (Ferrer replaces injured Milos Raonic) – this time less than two hours is required.
November 15th – London-Masters, the semifinal. After squandering four match points (three on serve) Stan Wawrinka [4] loses to Roger Federer [2] 6-4 5-7 6-7 in an all-Swiss duel. The 33-year-old Federer, who had won three match point-down battles in his last five events of the season, now has improved his H2H against the four years younger compatriot to 15-2, but that long, demanding encounter costs him a severe back pain; in the consequence Federer is not able to play the final against Novak Djokovic, which means the first walkover in the 45-year-old history of the tournament as far as semifinals or finals are concerned.
November 23rd – Davis Cup, the final (Lille). A world record tennis-crowd of 27.000, witnesses brilliant performance of the best player in history as Roger Federer outplays Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-2 6-2 to secure Switzerland its first Davis Cup title in history, twenty-two years after the first final for the Swiss team. It is Federer’s 73rd win of the season (he won twelve matches more than the leader of the ranking Novak Djokovic). Federer says: “Just a great match, great atmosphere. It was a beautiful weekend for tennis. We fought hard for it, I’ve been playing this game for almost 15 years now and clearly I’ve never come as close as this last weekend. I’m happy I was able to stay calm and play a good match when I had to and I’m happy for all the guys on the team.” Switzerland d. France 3-1.
<<< DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY >>>
Giants
The Big 4 has been ruling in men’s tennis for seven years (isn’t it boring?) and it’s really tough to predict how long it would last. Since 2005 the Top 2 has been mixed up by different combination involving only these three guys: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic. This year (previously in 2012) the main rivalry have co-created Federer & Djokovic. It seemed rather unlikely at the end of 2013 when Federer finished as No. 6 (his worst position since 2002). The Swiss superstar has rejuvenated himself under the tutelage of Stefan Edberg, his childhood idol. Although Federer won a personal H2H against Djokovic in 2014, and notched more victories overall, it was the Serb who survived their most important encounter – a thrilling five-set championship match at Wimbledon. Djokovic has established himself as a player worth comparing to Federer & Nadal in the historical context, he seems to be extremely motivated, perhaps it triggers Federer’s thoughts to stay on the Tour as long as possible to keep his marvelous records safe.
Veterans
The first few years of this decade features the domination of very experienced players, in their late 20s or early 30s, something absolutely unprecedented in the previous decades when players were expected to peak around the age of 25. Milos Raonic has recently become the first Top 10 guy born in the 90s, but he’s already 24 year-old; former best players in the world from Sweden, Bjorn Borg & Mats Wilander, at the same age were almost considered as veterans! Three players born in the 70s still occupy the Top 100: Ivo Karlovic, Radek Stepanek & Tommy Haas.
Improvement
Last year I thought that Vasek Pospisil & Pablo Carreno would be new faces in the Top 20 – they haven’t fulfilled those expectations, and finish the year outside the Top 50. I didn’t expect that two other players of great improvement would be Roberto Bautista (jumped from 58 to 15 within twelve months) and David Goffin (from 110 to 22). I suppose that Bautista has reached the limits of his tennis potential, nevertheless his stable results on different surfaces allow to predict he’s going to be seeded at majors in the next few years. Goffin enjoyed unbelievable second part of the season, so if he stays healthy he may target to get into the Top 10 next year… A progress on a much larger scale enjoyed Kei Nishikori & Marin Cilic, the US Open finalists. Cilic’s future is quite enigmatic because the Croat played out of his skin the last three matches in New York; in turn Nishikori displayed very good form throughout the year, at the moment I consider him as the best baseline player in the world as far as offensive strokes are concerned… Stan Wawrinka is a separate case; the 29-year-old Swiss became the first player to win his first Grand Slam, Masters 1000 & Davis Cup within a season – three spectacular successes, especially winning a major title seemed rather beyond his range over the years. After such a phenomenal year, I doubt that Wawrinka may find extra motivation to be a serious threat during the most prestigious events of 2015.
Youngsters
Dominic Thiem (b. 1993, season-jump from 139 to 39), Nick Kyrgios (b. 1995, 182->52) and Borna Coric (b. 1996, 303->91): the three youngest players in the Top 100. The year 2015 will be their first full season at the main-level, each of them is supposed to play more than twenty tournaments without the need to surpass qualifying rounds – it’s quite solid material to be better orientated in their potential development. In my opinion, which is mainly shaped by Wimbledon, Kyrgios may become the first No. 1 born in the 90s, however, the upcoming eleven months should be crucial in verifying this assumption: historically speaking the best players in the world after their first appearance in the Top 100, usually finish another season around the Top 20 at least.
Comeback player
Viktor Troicki had been banned from playing tennis in 2013 for 18 months, the suspension was reduced on appeal to one year though, and the Serb returned to the tour in July 2014. As player No. 847 he got a “wild card” in Gstaad and used it wisely reaching the quarterfinals. Afterwards he was mixing his Challenger schedule with a few ATP tournaments, doing it successfully (19-19 record), placing himself No. 99 in the end of the year. At the beginning of the ban, Troicki was ranked 53…
“Loser”
Michal Przysiezny… the 30-year-old journeyman from Poland notched 16 defeats in a row between January and September (in the meantime won six qualifying matches at the main-level and three at the Challenger level), which means the sixth worst losing streak in the Open era. What’s quite intriguing, despite the bitter streak, Przysiezny was able to play competitive matches against much higher ranked opponents winning dramatic sets (he saved six set points in the 1st set of a 5-set loss to Jarkko Nieminen, saved 7 set points in the 2nd set of a 4-set loss to Lleyton Hewitt – both matches at majors – and stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saving 3 match points in the decider), and captured his maiden title in doubles, actually out of nowhere – he wasn’t even classified in the doubles ranking!
Match point Waster
Tommy Robredo… the Spaniard in 15th year of his professional career, was involved in tight sets & tight matches with staggering frequency, especially considering his style of play. He had always been known as a very efficient under-pressure-player, and in the year 2014 he improved his amazing 5-set record to 16-4, nevertheless, he suffered three defeats squandering match points – 14 match points wasted in total (!), and what is really bizarre, 10 of them as a consequence of facing Andy Murray, five for each of the two finals they played against each other (moreover Robredo lost to Leonardo Mayer wasting 4 match points at Vina del Mar). On top of that, the Hostalric native lost two matches (Fabio Fognini, Marin Cilic) being two points away from victory.
Retirements
Two notable players born in 1981 called it a career: Nikolay Davydenko [high rank 3] & Olivier Rochus [high rank 24], also four years older than them Marc Gicquel [No. 37] and two years older Bjorn Phau [No. 59]. Besides went into retirement more obscure guys like Paul Capdeville, Rik De Voest and Alessio di Mauro. Among a few doubles specialists who finished professional journey in 2014, Mahesh Bhupathi (40 y.o.) is definitely the most recognizable as a 4-time Grand Slam champion.
<<< STATISTICAL SUMMARY >>>
64 tournaments played in the year 2014, by surface: 36 – Hard, 22 – Clay, 6 – Grass. Below the list of titlist:
7 – Novak Djokovic
5 – Roger Federer
4 – Marin Cilic, Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori
3 – Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka
2 – Roberto Bautista, Tomas Berdych, Pablo Cuevas, David Goffin, Ernests Gulbis, Lleyton Hewitt, John Isner
1 – Pablo Andujar, Carlos Berlocq, Federico Delbonis, Juan Martin del Potro, David Ferrer, Fabio Fognini, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Martin Klizan, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Feliciano Lopez, Leonardo Mayer, Gael Monfils, Milos Raonic, Lukas Rosol, Bernard Tomic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga & Fernando Verdasco
Most matches won:
73 – Roger Federer
61 – Novak Djokovic
59 – Andy Murray
55 – Tomas Berdych
54 – Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori
Longest winning streaks:
28 – Novak Djokovic (24 wins in 2013)
14 – Roger Federer
13 – Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka
11 – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal
10 – Pablo Cuevas, Roger Federer
Leaders by surface:
hard (outdoors & indoors): Roger Federer – 56
clay: Rafael Nadal – 25
grass: Feliciano Lopez – 12
indoors: Marin Cilic – 16
Singles & doubles winners (1): Lleyton Hewitt (Newport)
‘Wild Cards’ winners (7): Kei Nishikori (Memphis), David Ferrer (Buenos Aires), Grigor Dimitrov (Bucharest), Bernard Tomic (Bogota), David Goffin (Kitzbuhel), Andy Murray (Vienna & Valencia)
Qualifying winners (2): Martin Klizan (Munich), Pablo Cuevas (Umag)
Lucky loser winners: none
Oldest winner: Roger Federer – 33 years 2 months (Basel)
Youngest winner: Bernard Tomic – 21 years 7 months (Bogota)
Lowest ranked winner: Bernard Tomic – No. 124 (Bogota)
First time title winners (5):
28 – Federico Delbonis (Sao Paulo)
47 – Roberto Bautista Agut (‘s-Hertogenbosch)
49 – David Goffin (Kitzbuhel)
74 – Pablo Cuevas (Bastad)
90 – Leonardo Mayer (Hamburg)
Longest final:
3 hrs. 56 min. Novak Djokovic d. Roger Federer 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 (Wimbledon)
Shortest final:
54 min. Juan Martin del Potro d. Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1 (Sydney)
Longest matches (best of 5):
4 hours, 38 min. Andrey Golubev d. David Goffin 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 12-10 (Davis Cup)
4 hours, 35 min. Gilles Simon d. Daniel Brands 6-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 16-14 (Australian Open)
4 hours, 27 min. Facundo Bagnis d. Julien Benneteau 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, 18-16 (Roland Garros)
Longest matches (best of 3):
3 hrs 20 min. Andy Murray d. Tommy Robredo 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Valencia)
3 hrs 18 min. Rafael Nadal d. Gilles Simon 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 (Rome)
3 hrs 13 min. Roberto Caballes d. Joao Sousa 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 (Casablanca)
Longest tie-break:
Wimbledon: John Isner d. Jarkko Nieminen 7-6(17), 7-6, 7-5
Longest tie-break in the deciding set:
Halle: Philipp Kohlschreiber d. Dustin Brown 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(16)
Most match points saved:
9 – Nick Kyrgios d. Richard Gasquet 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 10-8 (Wimbledon)
Most set points saved:
9 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Kevin Anderson 7-6, 7-6 (Rome; 1st set)
Best comeback:
Marcel Granollers d. Benoit Paire 6-2 3-6 7-6 (Chennai)… 1:5 in the 3rd set, saved MP at *3:5
Match point(s) saved title winners (7):
– R.Nadal saved 2 MPs in SF (against P.Andujar) in Rio de Janeiro
– G.Dimitrov saved 1 MP in Final (against F.Lopez) at Queens Club
– J.Isner saved 2 MPs in 2R (against R.Ginepri) in Atlanta
– L.Rosol saved 2 MPs in Final (against J.Janowicz) at Winston-Salem
– A.Murray saved 5 MPs in Final (against T.Robredo) in Shenzhen
– R.Federer saved 5 MPs in 2R (against L.Mayer) in Shanghai
– A.Murray saved 5 MPs in Final (against T.Robredo) in Valencia
Most tie-breaks won:
1. John Isner – 42
2. Milos Raonic – 39
3. Ivo Karlovic – 34
4. Roger Federer – 27
5. Tommy Robredo – 24
Best tie-breakers by percentage (at least 10 played):
1. Milos Raonic 39-13 (.75)
2. Richard Gasquet 16-6 (.72)
3. Gael Monfils 14-6 (.70)
4. John Isner 42-22 (.65)
5. Stan Wawrinka 21-11 (.65)
Most aces served throughout the year:
1. Ivo Karlovic – 1185
2. Milos Raonic – 1107
3. John Isner – 989
4. Marin Cilic – 744
5. Kevin Anderson – 623
Aces per match (at least 40 matches):
1. Ivo Karlovic – 18.5
2. John Isner – 17.3
3. Milos Raonic – 16.5
4. Sam Querrey – 14.3
5. Kevin Anderson – 11.6
Most aces in a match:
44 – Ivo Karlovic (Wimbledon) 3 sets, defeated Daniel Brands
42 – Alexandr Dolgopolov (Wimbledon) 4 sets, defeated Benjamin Becker
42 – John Isner (US Open) 4 sets, lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber
Qualifying leader: 7 – Dominic Thiem
Biggest H2H: 5 – Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic (3-2)
Double bagels: A.Murray d. M.Zayed 6-0, 6-0 (Doha) & R.Machado d. D.Tursunov 6-0, 6-0 (Oeiras)
Doubles:
Title leaders:
10 – Bob & Mike Bryans
8 – Jean-Julien Rojer, Horia Tecau
4 – Daniel Nestor, Nenad Zimonjic
3 – Vasek Pospisil
2 – Andre Begemann, Julien Benneteau, Johan Brunstrom, Eric Butorac, Juan S. Cabal, Frantisek Cermak, Mariusz Fyrstenberg, Santiago Gonzalez, Chris Guccione, Julian Knowle, Raven Klaasen, Scott Lipsky, Marcin Matkowski, Florin Mergea, Philipp Oswald, Alexander Peya, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Bruno Soares, Jack Sock
Most matches won:
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan – 65
Most match points saved:
6 – two matches (J.Benneteau/E.Roger-Vasselin & O.Marach/D.Tursunov – winners)
Longest Super-Tie-Break:
S.Groth/C.Guccione d. A.Shamasdin/D.Sharan 7-6, 4-6, [19-17] (Bogota)
Longest tie-break:
R.Junaid/A.Qureshi d. D.Brown/A.Krajicek 6-7(14), 7-6, [10-7]
