Top 5 contenders for No. 1 ranking in Men's Tennis in 2018

2018 is promising to be a very exciting year for Tennis. With the first quarter of the season about to get over, we have already seen glimpses of what to expect going further into the season. The clay-court swing would see the return of Rafael Nadal on the tour as Roger Federer takes a sabbatical until the grass-court part of the season starts.

It has been heartening to see a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro make his mark early in the season. In a career hampered by injuries, Del Potro's return to form and his display of top-flight tennis is a welcome change for fans and players alike. Federer has been as sublime as ever and even at 36, has nearly dominated the first three months on tour.

With the younger generation of Zverev, Coric, Chung, Schwartzman and others also announcing themselves so early in the season, it becomes a study in a case to figure out who might be the top contenders for year-end no. 1 ranking as the season goes by.

It is still too early to make such predictions as the competition is thick, but this might be the year when the coming generation challenges the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic for the ultimate throne.

Let us have a look a the contenders for this season's year-end no. 1, across generations.

#5 Milos Raonic

Raonic looks set to rise in 2018 after an injury break

Two years ago Milos Raonic reached his career high ranking of 3, just about at a time when the old guard of Men's Tennis was looking to fade away with a crop of new challengers waiting to dethrone them. But an injury-laden 2017 made the talented Canadian wait a bit longer.

Raonic is yet to set the stage on fire in 2018, but a semi-final outing at Indian Wells and a run into the Miami quarters provides a glimpse into his future for the rest of the season. Interestingly, he lost both of the above matches to Juan Martin del Potro.

A poor 2017 season according to his standards has hampered his ranking, and thus he is set to face tougher draws in the coming tournaments. With form on his side, he should comfortably break into the top ten by the time Wimbledon starts. The second half of the season looks promising for the Canadian as he is defending less number of points and looks to rise further up in the rankings.

It would take a lot of effort and luck for him to clinch the year-end number one, but if he can manage to break into the top 5 before the last Grand Slam of the year, the field would be wide open. Raonic didn't play a single tournament last year after the Canada Masters and can grab invaluable points in the hard-court swing of the tour later.

Rising to no. 1 after starting the year at a lower ranking is not unprecedented in Tennis, and neither is winning title after title post the US Open, but it took the greatness of Nadal and Murray to achieve those feats.

The jury is still out on whether Raonic can produce that level of tennis against a pool of supremely talented rivals, but if he can it would be a testimony enough of his skill and his contention of being a forerunner in the race of becoming Tennis' next great.

#4 Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov has been long touted as the successor to Federer

Grigor Dimitrov finished the 2017 season on a high by winning the Nitto ATP Finals. It was only the third time since 2003 that a player outside the Big Four won the prestigious tournament, which only the top 8 qualify to play.

He has had a decent start to his 2018 campaign, making it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He had a great run at Rotterdam, finishing as a runner-up to Roger Federer. Dimitrov reached the finals at Rotterdam without dropping a set.

Although he was quite inconsistent in the previous tournaments at Miami and Indian Wells, the upcoming clay-court season provides him with ample opportunity to gain valuable points and boost up his ranking.

Federer has already announced his absence from the clay-court swing and Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka are clearly struggling with form and fitness issues. With Nadal also making a comeback from injury, this might be Dimitrov's best chance to dominate the next few months on tour if he can improve his consistency.

Dimitrov also has a good chance at Grand Slams and rest of the Masters 1000 tournaments this year as he isn't defending a lot of points, with a title run at Cincinnati last year being the only result of major significance.

He is defending only 775 points in the remaining Grand Slams and Masters excluding Cincinnati. With form on his side and an improved ranking compared to last year, Dimitrov can prove to be a major threat to the old guard.

Year-end no. 1 ranking might still be a distant dream for the current world no. 4, but if he can produce the level of tennis that he is usually expected to, anything is possible.

#3 Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev has taken the ATP circuit by storm at a very young age

The German wonderkid has been making all the right noises of late. He announced himself at the world stage last year by becoming the youngest player since Djokovic to capture multiple Masters 1000 crowns in a single season. He defeated Djokovic and Federer to win titles at Rome and Montreal respectively and compiled an impressive 55-22 year-end record.

The 20-year-old world no. 5 has made it to the Miami finals this year, and a win against Isner will propel him to world no. 3. With a whole lot of season still to play, this might as well be Zverev's year at the top.

Although there is a steep challenge in the form of Nadal on clay and Federer on grass, Zverev has been high on form and confidence and with improved consistency can provide the big boys a run for their money.

Typically a good hard-court player, Zverev has proved his mettle on clay too and would look to capture valuable points in the next couple of months. Among the younger lot, Zverev has by far made the biggest impact on tour, coming ahead of the likes of Dominic Thiem and Borna Coric.

A better run at Grand Slams this year would further consolidate his position at the top, and with a bit of luck going his way, we might witness him being the first World No. 1 outside the Big Four.

#2 Juan Martin Del Potro

A resurgent Del Potro is looking a class apart this year

Juan Martin Del Potro is nothing less than an enigma. He won his first and only Grand Slam quite a while ago, the 2009 US Open, defeating the great Roger Federer in the final and Nadal in the semi-final, aged just 19.

Since then it has been a tough ride for the Argentine. Recurring wrist injuries have hampered a major portion of his career, and after multiple surgeries Del Potro is back on tour, looking fit and fine as ever and determined to make up for the lost time.

His biggest victory of the season yet came just about a week ago at the Indian Wells final, against old nemesis Roger Federer. He looked promising to complete the 'Sunshine double', but a shock loss to Isner at the Miami semi-final ended his run.

There exists little doubt about his form and fitness though, and a good clay-court season looks overdue. The challenges for Del Potro are not less and he would be wary of that. Having captured the first Masters 1000 trophy of his career, his confidence is sky high.

Clay is not his most natural surface but hardly anyone doubts his talent to succeed on it. His immense power would come handy on the slow red dirt. With his current form, he looks to be the prime challenger to Nadal in the absence of Federer and a struggling Djokovic.

His performance in the coming couple of months would set the tone for the rest of his season as he looks to defend comparably a greater amount of points in the later stages of the tour.

2018 provides Del Potro with his best chance yet to add more Grand Slam titles to his kitty. It would always be a question of 'what if' had he been fit throughout his early career. All is not lost though and we are yet to see the best of the Tower of Tandil. It won't come as a big surprise this time if he demolishes the Big Four to establish his own supremacy on the ATP circuit.

#1 Roger Federer

Federer would be back on tour with the start of the grass-court season

There isn't anything new that can be said or written about Roger Federer. The man defines Tennis itself. About four months shy of being 37, he defies all logic and continues to win Grand Slams and was very recently ranked no. 1 on the tour. He continues to revel in any new challenge and is still eager to win a lot more.

With his body not responding to the demands of a year-long tour, Federer's decision to skip the clay court swing last year proved to be a master-stroke as he went on to win the Wimbledon and titles at Shanghai, Basel and Halle. He has already won the Australian Open this year and made it to the finals at Indian Wells, thus replacing Rafael Nadal from the no. 1 spot in the rankings.

An early exit from Miami saw him lose the no. 1 ranking to Nadal again, but a timely break from the tour might be everything that his ageing body needs. He would still be in the top 4 by the time the grass-court season starts and would be pushing with all his strength and experience to win what might be his last Wimbledon trophy.

The real challenge for Federer starts with Wimbledon as he looks to defend a whopping 6000 points, but one should underestimate Federer at their own expense. He faces stiff competition from the younger and older generation alike, and a few bad matches might end his hopes. But such is the aura around him that he is already the favourite of the lot to finish the year as the highest-ranked player for a record-equaling 6th time.