2013 ATP Rankings Prediction - World Tour Finals

As the 2013 calendar moves into the Asian swing and races to the season ending World Tour Finals, things are seriously heating up. 

With only the top 8 players qualifying for the ATP Emirates World Tour Finals in London, 5 spots remain to join the 3 already qualified players; Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Here are my predictions for the top 8 leading into the World Tour Finals:

1^st Rafael Nadal  - After returning from knee injury, Nadal has had an incredible year by any standard. Having missed the Australian Open, the Spanish gladiator swept through the clay-court season gathering 6 titles including a record 8^th French Open.  Despite a first round upset loss to Steve Darcis (ranked 135 at the time) at Wimbledon, Nadal then went on a 17 match winning streak to take out his 13^th Major at the US Open. His US open victory places him 3^rd on the all-time Majors list behind Federer (17) and Sampras (14). Nadal is undefeated on hard courts this season.  If Nadal reaches the final of the China Open in Beijing this week he will return to number one in the rankings. I predict he will take the number one spot and hold on at least until the world tour finals.

Nadal is set to make his 6th appearance at the season ending championships

2^nd Novak Djokovic – Currently clinging onto the number one ranking, Djokovic is walking the tightrope. Unless he can take out the title in Beijing this week, he will relinquish the number one spot to Rafael Nadal. That being said, Novak has had an outstanding season.  The Serbian has compiled a 52-9 win loss record and casually racked up $7.3 million in prize money alone this year (behind only Nadal’s $10.4 million).  Djokovic will not be able to hold onto the number one ranking, unless he can pull the rabbit out of the hat by winning Beijing and the last two Masters 1000 events. Novak will enter the World Tour Finals in second place.

Djokovic broke the 100 weeks at number 1 milestone this year

3^rd Andy Murray – Looking to remain unbeaten on home soil at the O2 arena in London, Andy Murray was the third to qualify for the finals this year. Unless he has problems recovering from his minor back surgery, Murray’s 1000 point lead over Ferrer should coast him in to the finals in 3^rd position. However, I predict Murray will rest over the Asian Tournament Swing in an attempt to be ready for Aus Open 2014 – he may pull out of the finals, allowing another player to take the coveted spot. The Scot has a 43-8 win loss record this season and made waves by winning Wimbledon (the first scot to do so since Fred Perry in 1936).

Murray: currently out of action

4^th David Ferrer – Runner up at the World Tour Finals in 2007, the humble Spaniard has again flown under the radar this season behind the shadow of Nadal. However, his season has been arguably his best yet.  David made his best ever grand slam result this year by reaching the final of the French Open (lost to Nadal).  Backing this up, Ferrer rounded out the year so far with a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open, and quarter final appearances at Wimbledon and the French Open. Always a fierce contender, if David can come close to replicating his Masters Paris win at the end of last year’s season he will enter the finals in fourth position.

2013 - Ferrer's best season yet

5^th Thomas Berdych – Looking to qualify for his 4^th straight year, the Czech has had another exceedingly solid year.  With a 47-18 Win-loss record this season, Thomas has just moved up into 5^th position in the rankings. I expect him to continue on in the same fashion and make a strong finish to the year holding on to his position despite an attack from Federer in 6^th.

Berdych has put in a great year yet still lacks the edge to tackle the top 3

6^th Roger Federer – This year the Swiss genius has had one of his worst years in the past decade. Yet despite this he is currently ranked 6^th in the world -justification to his status as perhaps the sport’s greatest of all time. Federer is currently 7^th in the Year to Date rankings yet I predict a decent showing at the final indoor hard-court events of the year to take him above Juan Martin del Potro.

Federer's shock year has seen him slide from world number 1

7^th Juan Martin Del Potro – A finalist at the WTF in 2009, Del Potro has the power game to challenge any of the game’s elite. However, recovery from a wrist injury has not been without problems.  Del Potro has played fewer matches this season yet wins at Rotterdam & Washington, an Indian Wells final (lost to Nadal) and a semi at Wimbledon has kept him aloft in the rankings. After some time out, spectacular results will not immediately re-emerge yet the Argentine will do enough to scrape qualification for the finals.

Del Potro lost in an epic to Hewitt in the 2nd rd of the US Open

     

8^th Milos Raonic – Jumping from a current ranking of 11^th, the Canadian will usurp Tsonga, Wawrinka and Gasquet to clinch the last spot at the O2 arena. Hoping to make his first appearance at the world tour finals, the young star has been on outstanding form of late.  The 22 year old is largely seen as the leading player of the new generation and his title win at Thailand last week with wins over Gasquet and Berdych sends him into a promising position to make an assault on the top 8. The indoor courts leading into the finals will also support the Canadian’s enormous serve.

The 22 year old has steadily been rising up the rankings