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We are in the second month of the 2018 season, and it is safe to say that this year is going to be very interesting. With Roger Federer winning his 20th major at the Australian Open in January, and then securing the World No.1 ranking in February, we can say that these two months have been all about this man.
Who are the contenders to finish the year as the World No.1?
The ATP rankings follow a 52-week period, in which the performances of a player for the last 52 weeks is considered. Tournaments are categorized according to the points that are up for grabs in the respective tournaments.
According to the points on offer, the importance of tournaments in descending order are as follows: Grand Slams, ATP 1000 Masters, ATP 500, and ATP 250. Points from Davis Cup and the ATP Challenger Tour are also considered.
The rankings are updated every week on Monday. Roger Federer is the current World No.1. On this note, let us have a look at four players who have a shot at finishing the year as the World No. 1.
#4 Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov has impressed one and all with the way he has been playing since last year. Though he hasn’t been very consistent, his semi-final run at the Australian Open last year, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in five uncompromising sets, was a testimony to the fact that the 26-year old Bulgarian belonged to the big stage.
Since then, he has won four titles that included his first Masters title, didn’t lose a match en route to his first ATP World Tour Finals (which many consider a fifth Grand Slam) title, captured eight top-10 wins last year, and also finished the year as the No. 3 ranked player. If he is able to compete at his best consistently, then there is no reason why he can’t be a contender for the year-end No.1 ranking.
#3 Marin Cilic
After Federer and Nadal, Marin Cilic has been the most consistent player on the Tour last year. The difference between the No. 2 Nadal and the No. 3 Cilic is almost 5000 points. This shows how much Federer and Nadal dominated the sport last year.
But Cilic himself has been in great form. He reached the French Open quarter-finals last year and also the Wimbledon final, but he couldn’t compete properly due to a blister on his foot. His recent form in the Australian Open this year has also been very impressive. He almost gave Federer a run for his money in the final of the Australian Open, which he lost in five sets.
Cilic boasts of a great serve, and along with his aggressive forehand, can blow away the competition easily. Just check out his run to the US Open title in 2014 for proof!
#2 Rafael Nadal
Along with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal also made his comeback last year at the Australian Open, losing to Federer in an epic five-set final. Since then he has been in great form, winning six titles (including his 10th French Open), accumulating a 67-11 win-loss ratio, and also finishing the year as the World No.1.
He can definitely regain the No. 1 ranking, but the unpredictability of his body always raises doubts. On top of that, he had such a great clay season last year that he has to defend almost 5000 points on the red surface alone.
To put that into perspective, Roger Federer has to defend a total of around 7000 points for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to see how Nadal, or more specifically his body, manages to handle the pressure of the claycourt swing.
#1 Roger Federer
Ever since Roger Federer made his comeback at the Australian Open last year, he has been in red-hot form. He won a Tour-leading seven titles last year (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Halle, Wimbledon, Shanghai, and Basel), lost just five matches and had an incredible 91.23% win percentage.
He even had chances to become the World No. 1 twice -- once in Cincinnati and once at the US Open. But with his win this year at the Australian Open and Rotterdam, he has finally reached the top of the pile, and is assured to stay there at least till Indian Wells. If his back doesn’t play any games with him as it did last year during the US Open swing, he will definitely be considered by many as the favourite to end the year as the World No. 1
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