New Year. New desires. New goals and new dreams to achieve. 2016 presents itself in an exciting manner in the tennis world. There are many doubts that swirl through the air for this year. Will Roger Federer finally achieve his 18th Grand Slam? ¿Will Novak Djokovic reprise the domain he had in 2015? Will Rafael Nadal achieve his 10th Roland Garros? Everyone speculates and will have their predictions, these are ours.
Will Novak Djokovic achieve the Olympic gold?
If he we were to play on grass as in the last edition or on clay, it would have been another story but being on hard surface, the Olympic gold has a clear favorite and that is none other than Novak Djokovic. The Serbian is to be prepared perfectly for this appointment because after two attempts, Nole has not been able to get the gold medal at the Olympics.
Another victory in Australia?
He finished the year on a high note and will be difficult for someone to cope as practically nobody will find its highest peak form as soon as he did. Only a demanding game on quarter finals or semis under the intense sun of Melbourne could deprive him to reach the final but once there, it will be difficult for anyone to be able to beat Novak.
Will Nadal win the Garros once again?
June will be a very difficult month for all. Nadal has a -clear- not to repeat tour of land as 2015. He did not achieve a single title at this time of year yet again would fill with doubts and ghosts the player and would be a turning point in his career. He and his team know this and have prepared everything so he gets to this time of the year on top.
It remains to be seen if he starts the year in the same way he ended the previous but if he continues, Paris will again be Spanish territory. With a much higher ranking than he had reached in 2015, he will not have to face any top 4 until the semifinals. Our bet for the Roland Garros is Rafa.
Will Roger Federer win his 18th Grand Slam?
This is what he has been preparing for so long. With Edberg it was relatively close to it and the success of their union with Ljubicic depends if it succeeds. The Swiss knows it’s now or never. It may be his last great year to get it as the years weigh and the ones on the bottom are pushing hard and the ones already consolidated are stronger than ever. Our bet is that he will succeed at Wimbledon.
Will Andy Murray shorten distances with Djokovic?
The Brit is preparing into making the distance between him and Novak become smaller after in a year which we have seen the English lower in ranking than the Serbian. Again working full time with Amelie Mauresmo, after beating Bjorkman and with the injection of morale that has led him to win the Davis, Murray will be a much more dangerous man that surely will see in the Grand Slam finals, yes, Finals and who knows if he could actually add another major to his resume. Time will tell.
Will Dimitrov improve enough to get back in top 10?
To speak of disappointments, we predict that Grigor will definitely improve slightly compared to 2015 (it would not be very difficult either) but still will not get to be among the top 10. We believe that he can bring up his numbers if he achieves some good results in a tournament but we see him unable to maintain a certain regularity or consistency in the court.
Will Coric or Kyrgios win their first ATP title?
This 2016, with such a tight schedule where many of the tops are gonna be skipping several tournaments will make it easier for these young guys to achieve their first official titles. Kyrgios was already in a final in 2015 and Coric reached a couple of semifinals and quarterfinals. They have the quality and talent to start and to surround any high ranking positions in the top 20.
Will Djokovic will finish the year as No.1?
We believe that 2016 will generally be far more contested than what it was in 2015. There will be several winners of Grand Slam and only the best prepared will arrive with enough fuel to the US Open and the season finale. Even with this, we think Djokovic will remain the No.1 in ranking for one more year although the distance from the second and third will be much more closer than it is now.
