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The 2018 tennis season on the men’s side initially saw Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal continue their fairytale rise back to the top as they captured the Australian Open and the French Open titles to make it six consecutive Slam titles between them.
This was followed by an absolutely epic comeback by the Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic who ended their dominance in style once again by grabbing back to back Slams and Masters titles, and ending the year as the oldest ever World No. 1.
Apart from the usual suspects, the tour also saw some groundbreaking results from some of the Next Gen stars in Alexander Zverev, Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric and Stefanos Tsitsipas as the gap between them and the Big 3 has become closer than ever before.
We all know how unpredictable a tennis season can be. So much can change within a span of just a few weeks as seen over the years, but everyone likes to predict what the future looks like.
So, here are some of my predictions for the 2019 tennis season on the men’s side:
#5 Andy Murray to capture his 3rd Wimbledon title
Many people are writing off Andy Murray by saying that he may never return to the level that saw him win 3 Grand Slams and 2 Olympic Golds.
These are the same people who wrote off Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal many times over their careers, and just a few months ago, even Novak Djokovic was considered to be on the decline. But then they showed why they are called some of the greatest to ever play the sport.
Murray may not have a similar number of Slam titles but he is very much a part of the quartet that has dominated tennis in the last decade.
The Brit had his toughest ever season this year as he managed to play just 12 matches after having a hip surgery in January. But he might have learned a lot from the comeback of his rival, Novak Djokovic, and in my opinion, he didn’t make the mistake the Serb made of coming back a little too early, ending his season shortly after the US Open to be 100% ready for the 2019 season.
Due to this, he has saved himself from the potential loss of confidence that could have likely taken place if he had lost a bunch of matches against players he is not used to losing.
He will be mentally and physically fresh in January and will put together some steady performances through the first few months by getting a bunch of wins under his belt and will finally peak on his home soil at Wimbledon to announce the comeback that everybody is waiting for.
#4. Return of the "Stanimal": Wawrinka to win 2019 US Open
Stan Wawrinka stands in a similar position to Andy Murray as he finished his 2018 season no. 66 in the rankings with a 17-17 win-loss record after struggling with his knee throughout the season.
But we did see some flashes of his old self with some strong runs at St. Petersburg, Toronto and Cincinnati.
He has never been the most consistent of players, but he is known to rise on the biggest of stages and can simply be fearless and unplayable at times.
Like Murray, he has done the smart thing by shutting down his season earlier than usual to be absolutely ready to go in 2019.
The Swiss star will get his mojo back by putting some strong performances in the Slams and will have one of his typical, Stanimalistic fortnights at the US Open to win his fourth Slam.
#3. Nick Kyrgios to fulfil his potential and reach Wimbledon final
Nick Kyrgios started this year with a lot promise, winning the title in Brisbane and being the Australian No. 1 but his season slowly went from promising to extremely poor as he struggled with a lot of injuries, slipping down to no. 35 in the rankings.
He even had a lot of mental problems, courting controversy at the US Open after he showed lack of effort in his second round outing that resulted in a pep talk from chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani.
But the Australian recently announced that he has been seeing a psychologist to help with his mental troubles and make him enjoy his tennis once again. He now believes that he is in a good headspace to have a successful 2019 season.
The Aussie star will slowly build up his season and will have a big breakthrough at Wimbledon, where he has had some of his best performances in his career, and will reach the final to once again be in the limelight of the tennis world.
#2. Dominic Thiem will end Big 4 dominance at Slams by winning maiden Roland Garros title
After capping off the season in the best possible manner, Alexander Zverev is believed to be the one that will truly announce the arrival of the Next Gen by winning a Slam next season.
But he is yet to put together a good showing for a two-week period in the best of five format.
Other than the old guard, it is only Dominic Thiem who has been consistent at a Slam with 2 semi-finals and a final showing at Roland Garros in the last 3 years.
Everyone knows that he is a force to be reckoned with on clay and has been knocking on the door for a while now. And with the injury troubles that Nadal has had in 2 of the last 4 slams, the Austrian will finally break the barrier and end the Big 4 domination at Slams by lifting the Roland Garros title.
#1. Roger Federer to announce that 2020 will be his final season
Roger Federer started the 2018 season in the best possible manner by defending the Australian Open title, capturing an incredible 20th Slam. But since his loss to Juan Martin Del Potro at Indian Wells, the Swiss maestro has not looked the same player.
He has had some unusual and heart-breaking losses since then, especially at Wimbledon and US Open to Kevin Anderson and John Millman respectively, and to Kei Nishikori at the season-ending World Tour Finals.
Even some of the matches that he won against the likes of Paire, Medvedev, Bautista-Agut, Krajinovic and Simon, he looked well below par and struggled to find rhythm.
The 2019 season might be even tougher for the Swiss with the Next Gen knocking firmly on the door and players like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych gearing to come back strong.
He will finally see his incredible level of consistency fade through next season and will announce that he will end his stellar career in his home tournament of Basel in 2020.
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