Nadal Makes Big Statement With Monte Carlo Title

Based on Rafael Nadal's form over the last couple of years, most of the phrases used to describe him went something like "past his prime", "his best days are behind him" or "he'll never win a major tournament again."  But after his Monte Carlo title, it looks like Nadal will once again be a serious threat at Roland Garros.  Sure he didn't beat Djokovic along the way, but his wins over Thiem, Wawrinka, Murray and Monfils were extremely impressive. 

Djokovic is still likely to go into the French Open as the heavy favorite (though another early loss in the Madrid or Rome Masters may raise further questions).  But Nadal's game has always gone up and down depending on his confidence level, and a strong clay court season leading up to the French would have Nadal feeling better than he has in two years.  He may not be able to beat Djokovic head to head, but could certainly be the guy to capitalize if Djokovic somehow slips up along the way.

Perhaps more important than the fact Nadal won the tournament was the improved quality of his play.  Nadal's shots seemed to be jumping off the court more than they have in the last couple of years.  His depth of shot was also improved, as Nadal left fewer shots short in the court where opponents could take the offensive.  If Nadal can continue to keep his high bouncing shots deep in the court, it's hard not to see him having a very successful clay court season.

Tennis fans and analysts have a tendency to write off stars a bit too early, such as when a late-twenties Federer was considered almost done following a couple of losses to Guillermo Canas at Indian Wells and Miami.  No one expects Nadal to be as excellent in his thirties as Federer has been, but he may not go out as quietly as some thought he might.  For now, a confident Nadal on clay is a dangerous proposition for the rest of the tour, and the remainder of the clay-court season suddenly has a very different feel. 

Djokovic Once Again On Track For All-Time Great Season

It seemed hard to imagine that Djokovic could be more dominant in 2016 than he was in his remarkable 2015 season.  Last year Djokovic had one of the best seasons we've seen in the modern era, winning three out of four slams and a record six Masters titles.  This will still be hard for Djokovic to replicate, but he's on the right track after winning the Australian Open and the Indian Wells/Miami double to start the year.  He's so far ahead of the pack that it's conceivable he wins all four grand slams and six or seven Masters titles.

Djokovic's closest challengers over the last few years in terms of the rankings have been Murray and Federer, but both seem further away from Djokovic now than they have been in a while.  Murray is once again in an early season funk, and Federer has barely played due to injury and illness.  Moreover, Nadal is no longer a serious challenger to Djokovic, and Wawrinka's days of giving Djokovic a run for his money seem to be behind him.  Other talented youngish players such as David Goffin, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic are all having very good seasons, but simply aren't in Djokovic's league.

Unless something's wrong with him or he wears down later on in the year, it's simply hard to see anyone beating Djokovic at an important tournament.  No style of play phases him, as he's dispatching the big hitters and baseline grinders with similar ease.  (Yes Simon gave him fits for one match by not giving him pace and getting a lot of balls back in play, but if that was really the strategy to beat him with Murray would surely have a better head-to-head against the Serb).  While Djokovic could potentially be vulnerable against Dominic Thiem on clay, it will probably be at least another year before Thiem's truly ready to knock him out at a big tournament.

If Djokovic is able to win the French Open for the first time it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of going for the 2016 Grand Slam.  It's possible that could make him tight as the year progresses (i.e. Serena at the US Open), or he may relax after having finally completed the career grand slam.  Regardless, at this rate he's so far ahead of the field it might not matter much either way.  Not only does Djokovic seem likely to avoid any seemingly inevitable decline after his epic 2015 season, but it looks like he might even improve upon one of the greatest seasons of all-time. 

Is There a New "Big Four" Brewing on the ATP Tour?

Within the last few years there has been an influx of young talent on the ATP Tour, but no one seemed truly ready to challenge the game's best.  The likes of Kyrgios, Kokkinakis, Zverev, Coric, Thiem, Tomic and others all posted some good results, but many tennis fans wanted more than they were giving.  It finally appears that fans who have been hoping to see some fresh faces at the top may be getting their wish before long.  Since the Australian Open several young players have made serious strides, and they appear closer to reaching the games elite.

20 year old Nick Kyrgios has made waves based on winning a 250 level title in Marseille (which included several quality wins), and following it up with a run to the Dubai semifinals before retiring against Wawrinka.  22 year old Dominic Thiem has been on a tear of late as well.  He won a 250 on clay while beating Nadal along the way, reached a semis the next week which included a win over Ferrer, and is currently in the finals of the 500 level tournament in Acapulco.  Thiem is clearly headed toward the top 10, and will enter the top 5 in the points race for the year after this week.

18 year old Alexander Zverev has been in good form as well, and has cracked the top 60 in the world.  Another 18 year old, American Taylor Fritz, has been rolling in 2016.  He fell to Sam Querrey in the quarters of Acapulco after coming through qualifying, and earlier made the finals of the 250 level tournament in Memphis.  Fritz's goal for the year was reportedly to crack the top 100, but has already done so just a couple months into the year.  His should now have his sights set on a spot in the top 40 by the end of 2016.

While there's a handful of other talented young players, Kyrgios, Thiem, Zverev and Fritz all seem to have grand slam champion level talent.  Someone will have to win slams after the "Big Four" move on in a few years, and these guys seem to be as likely of bets as anyone.  Kyrgios, Zverev and Fritz all have natural "point ending" power that lends itself to grand slam titles, and Thiem should be a dark horse threat at the French Open as early as this year. The slightly older Kyrgios and Thiem already seem to be on their way to passing the "second tier" top ten guys, i.e. Ferrer, Berdych, Gasquet, Nishikori, etc, and at this rate Zverev and Fritz may just be a couple of years behind.

Lots of things can change over the next few years, but if the last month is any indication this group of young stars isn't going to waste much time in making their moves.  It may be a bit early to start calling them the next Big Four, but their future and the future of the ATP Tour appears to be extremely bright.

Thoughts on the Return of Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan Martin Del Potro made his long awaited return to the ATP Tour this week in Delray Beach, where he ultimately fell to Sam Querrey in the semifinals.  The big question was not how he would do, but rather how would he look after having missed so much time due to surgeries on his left wrist.  The initial reaction is that he looked pretty good all things considered, but there are still plenty of questions about his future after seeing him struggle to hit two-handed backhands.

It's hard to say at this point whether Del Potro was simply holding back on the two-hander because he's not mentally ready to let it go full speed, or if it's still bothering him in some capacity.  He sliced a good percentage of backhands, and when he used the two-hander he seemed afraid to truly accelerate through the stroke.  He also ran around as many backhands as possible, though with his forehand it's hard to blame him for that strategy.

If Del Potro continues to improve and gain confidence in his backhand he looks good enough to make a return to the top ten.  But while he can hide his current backhand against lower ranked players, the best of the best will expose that side.  Simply put, unless his backhand improves significantly it's hard to see him challenging the very best in the world for grand slam titles.  There's no reason to believe it won't keep getting better (unless for some reason he can't bend his wrist like he used to or has pain when he snaps through the shot), but at this point it's clearly not where it needs to be.

Del Potro's return to the tour comes at a great time, as men's tennis needs some "new" names who can potentially challenge Djokovic, Murray and Federer.  He's a fan favorite, plays an exciting game (at least when he's unloading on forehands), and has the talent to beat anyone when he's on.  Let's just hope his backhand returns to form, so that we can get the full Del Potro experience we've been missing for the last few years.

Reflections from Rotterdam, Memphis and Buenos Aires

It was an action packed week of tennis on the ATP Tour, with Martin Klizan, Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem all winning titles.  Here are some thoughts following the week that was.

Fritz is progressing faster than expected:  18 year old American Taylor Fritz has been a highly regarded prospect for some time now, but few expected him to adjust to life on the ATP Tour so quickly.  Fritz had already won a Challenger title (to go with his two from the end of last year) and qualified for the Australian Open in 2016, but this week's run to the finals in Memphis lifted Fritz to a whole new level.  He became the youngest American ATP finalist in decades, and is nearing a spot in the top 100.  Like Zverev, Kokkinakis and Coric, Fritz simply isn't wasting any time in his climb up the rankings.  At this rate, Fritz could be headed toward a spot in the top 50 by the end of 2016.  He's still got some things in his game to improve, notably movement and fitness, but Fritz is already the best prospect American men's tennis has had in over a decade. 

Thiem looks ready to make a run toward the top 10:  Thiem won multiple 250 level tournaments on clay last year, so it shouldn't be surprising that he captured another one early on in 2016.  But given that he had to beat Nadal to win his title in Buenos Aires, this one feels a little more meaningful.  Everyone understands Nadal isn't what he used to be, but beating him on clay still counts for something.  Getting that win over Nadal should do wonders for Thiem's confidence, and he may finally believe he can beat guys in the top ten at bigger tournaments.  The key for Thiem heading into 2016 was whether he could translate his success at 250s to 500s, Masters and Grand Slams.  Even though this was just a 250 and doesn't technically answer that question, it's another positive sign in Thiem's development.  At 22 years old Thiem is clearly one of the ATP Tour's brightest young stars, and a spot in the top ten doesn't seem very far away.

Fortunes can change quickly on the ATP Tour:  From the end of 2015 to the beginning of 2016  Martin Klizan lost 6 straight matches.  He began to turn things around at the beginning of February by making the semifinals of a 250 in Bulgaria, and then captured the biggest title of his career this week by winning the 500 level event in Rotterdam.  On his way to the title he fought off 5 match points against Roberto Bautista-Agut in the quarters, and then three against Nicolas Mahut in the semis.  The win should send Klizan from outside the top 40 to around 25 in the world.  Klizan is a talented lefty with a big forehand, and seems to have the ability to rise higher.  He hasn't fully put it all together at this point in his career, but at 26 still has plenty of time.  It will be interesting to see whether Klizan can build on his Rotterdam title, or if this was simply one of those weeks where everything happened to fall his way. 

Zverev looks like a future top 10 player- at worst:  18 year old Alexander Zverev got knocked out of Rotterdam by Gael Monfils in the quarters, but not before he took out third seeded Gilles Simon 7-6 in the third the round before that.  The week before he made the semis of a 250 level event, and the young German seems ready to rocket up the rankings in 2016.  He has a booming serve at 6'6'', and simply crushes the ball off both wings.  While some guys his height see their movement suffer, Zverev flies around the court and plays extremely effective defense as well.  He does need to get in better shape and improve his consistency, but Zverev seems well on his way to becoming a great player on the ATP Tour.  Whether that means winning grand slams or "merely" settling into a spot in the top 10 remains to be seen, but Zverev is looking more and more like a can't miss future star.

What to Expect at the Memphis Open

In the last several years many lower level ATP tournaments have left the United States, but the Memphis Open is holding strong.  This year's field is solid if not spectacular, and should definitely capture the interest of fans of American men's tennis.  Though Kei Nishikori is the top seed and three-time defending champion, about a third of the field is made up of American players. 

It's hard to see anyone seriously challenging Nishikori in the top half.  He'll open with the winner of Frances Tiafoe and Ryan Harrison, which based on recent form looks like it will be Tiafoe.  While Tiafoe has a very bright future, if he does advance to play Nishikori it likely won't be much more than a good learning experience.  Nishikori could then play 5th seeded American Denis Kudla in the quarters, before running into 4th seeded Sam Querrey or 6th seeded Sam Groth in the semis.  If Nishikori even drops a set on the way to the finals it will be a bit of a surprise.

The bottom half should be the more entertaining of the two halves.  Donald Young has gotten off to a slow start to begin the year, but the 3rd seed should be able to build some momentum by reaching the semis.  This is a key year in Young's career, as at age 26 he should be entering his prime.  If he can't capitalize on draws like this, it's hard to see him being much more than a borderline top 50 player the rest of the year.

The bottom section of the bottom half is packed with Americans, including Austin Krajicek, Steven Johnson and teenage prospects Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.  Paul should have a shot to take out 34 year old Benjamin Becker in his opening match, and would have a decent chance against Australian John Millman or Krajicek in the second round.  Fritz opens against a qualifier, and then would face Johnson in round two.  Fritz may be on his way to becoming America's top player, but at this point in their careers Johnson's experience should allow him to prevail.  Johnson has struggled to begin 2016, but it's still hard to see him not advancing out of this section.  In the semis, look for Johnson to get past Young in a tight three set match.  He owns a 2-1 career record against Young, and playing indoors should help Johnson dominate with his big serve and forehand.

In the finals Nishikori should be able to get past Johnson in straight sets.  He owns a 3-0 career record against the American, and is a much more complete player.  Johnson will have to serve great and try to keep points short, but it's hard to see him pulling off the upset.  Nishikori should be able to expose Johnson's weak backhand, and take advantage of the open court when Johnson tries to cheat over to protect it.  Nishikori's focus for the year should be on improving his results in grand slams and Masters tournaments, but winning another 250 should get him in the right state of mind as he prepares to challenge for bigger titles.

More Aussie Open Lessons

Milos Raonic is officially back:  Raonic made his move into the top ten a couple of years ago, and appeared to be ready to rise even higher.  A foot injury in early 2015 ruined his momentum, and he never really got back on track the rest of the year.  He fell outside the top 10, and it looked like his career was suddenly heading in the wrong direction.  Now it appears his decline in 2015 was just a minor blip, and that he's serious about making a run toward the top 5.  Raonic was impressive on his way to the Australian Open semis, and who knows what would have happened if he didn't hurt his leg during his 5 set loss to Murray.  Raonic may not be the smoothest player around and has limited movement, but he's got serious weapons and seems committed to improving his all-around game.  If he can stay healthy, don't be surprised if Raonic finishes 2016 around 5 in the world.

Ferrer isn't ready to go down quietly:  Every year it seems like Ferrer is going to take a step back.  His game is largely based on his incredible endurance, speed and footwork, and that gets harder and harder to sustain as a player gets into his thirties.  Ferrer was struggling heading into Australia, with losses in tune ups to Sock and Marchenko.  However, he was impressive in taking down Americans Steve Johnson and John Isner, before putting up a good fight against Murray in the quarters.  Ferrer's ranking will probably fall off a bit in 2016, but it looks like he's going to continue to give it everything he's got in the coming year.

There's not much separating the winners from the losers: Angelique Kerber had the tournament of her life.  She beat pre-tournament favorites Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams, won her first grand slam title and rose to number 2 in the world.  Not a bad couple of weeks for the German.  But it could have been a completely different story for Kerber if a net cord or shank went against her when she was down match point to Misaki Doi of Japan in her first round match.  While the announcers did give this some attention during the finals, it really is remarkable.  She was one point away from being a first round loser, having to face continued questions about her record in majors, etc, and then she goes out and wins the whole tournament.  Regardless of where Kerber goes from here, she'll always have the label tennis pros want more than anything next to their name: grand slam champion.

American men weren't ready to take the next step:  American men were confident heading into Australia, but left without much to show for it.  Isner and Johnson were mowed down by Ferrer, and neither put up much of a fight.  Meanwhile, Sock lost to Lukas Rosol in the second round.  Sock was sick heading into the tournament, but has to make some changes if he truly wants to become a top singles player who can challenge for grand slam titles.  In hindsight, maybe Sock shouldn't have played a tournament the week before the Australian Open.  (He probably should have played Brisbane and gotten some real matches under his belt two weeks in advance as opposed to the Hopman Cup exhibition).  His decision to continue to play doubles in grand slams also has to be questioned, as for the second straight grand slam he lost a match in which fatigue and/or illness was an issue.  His future is still extremely bright, but he may have to make some hard decisions going forward if he wants to improve his results in the biggest events.

Some Aussie Open Lessons

Djokovic's separation from the field is only growing:  Heading into the Australian Open it was clear that Djokovic was the heavy favorite.  He won 3 of the 4 grand slams in 2015, captured every big tournament at the end of the year, and routed Nadal in a tune up event to start off 2016.  Looking back on the event, it's possible we underestimated just how far ahead of the field Djokovic is right now.  Federer and Murray were simply outclassed by the world number one, and it's hard to imagine either beating him in a grand slam any time soon.  Nadal no longer seems like a threat to Djokovic either, and it's unlikely Wawrinka will continue to be much of a threat as he gets older.  While there are talented young players on the way up, it's hard to find anyone from the 18-25 crop who will be able to challenge Djokovic during the remainder of his prime (i.e. the next 2-3 years).  It's true things can change quickly in tennis, particularly for superstars that are reaching the end of their twenties.  But after watching Djokovic's dominance in Australia, it's hard not to see him racking up a handful of grand slam titles over next couple of years.

Serena is the best in the world by a mile- except when she isn't:  No one denies that Serena is the best female tennis player in the world, and by a good margin too.  But her performance against Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open finals was simply puzzling.  It was the second straight grand slam she suffered a shocking defeat, but more surprising than the loss itself was how poorly she played.  It appeared nerves were a big factor, but Serena missed countless easy shots that a player of her caliber has no business missing.  To Kerber's credit she played a smart match and made Serena hit lots of extra shots, but if Serena was playing anywhere close to her best level she wins it in straights.  As Federer can attest winning grand slams doesn't get any easy when you're 34 years old, and it will be interesting to see how Serena responds at the majors the rest of the year.

Nadal has to stop letting his opponents enter the zone:  Nadal has to be wondering what it is about his game that is letting lesser players enter the zone against him.  For the second straight grand slam he was knocked out early by a talented player who caught fire during the match.  Just as Fognini's incredible shot making ended Nadal's run at the US Open, he fell victim to the talented Verdasco in Australia.  Not to take anything away from Fognini or Verdasco, but when enough players keep finding the zone against Nadal, it's looking more like it's Nadal who is doing something to allow this to happen.  His forehand has clearly let him down over the last year or two, and his lack of confidence appears to be leading him to leave more forehands short in the box where opponents can tee off.  Nadal may not be in full on crisis mode (he is still top 5 in the world after all), but it's looking like he may be stuck on 14 grand slam titles for the foreseeable future.

The "next generation" on the men's side is nowhere near ready:  As referenced above, there are lots of talented tennis players in the men's game in the under 25 age group.  That being said, they are still completely irrelevant when it comes to challenging for major titles.  The emerging teens of Coric, Chung and Zverev didn't make it past round one, though Chung and Zverev did draw Djokovic and Murray, respectively.  Dominic Thiem lost a winnable match to Goffin in the third round, Tomic fell to Murray in straights in the fourth round, and a perhaps still sick Sock had a disappointing loss to Rosol in round two.  Dimitrov seems to be improved from his awful 2015, but failed to challenge Federer at all in sets three and four when it looked like he was going to make it a match.  The always hyped Nick Kyrgios sounded confident heading in, but fell to Berdych in a relatively routine third round match.  Some of these younger players will likely turn into superstars down the road (perhaps when Djokovic, Federer and Murray stop being dominant in 2027), but it's clear they all have a long ways to go.

Winners and Losers from the Australian Open Men's Draw

With the 2016 Australian Open ready to begin, here's a look at some winners and losers from the men's draw.

Winners:

Andy Murray:  Murray knew he'd land on the opposite side of Djokovic as the number two seed, but he was fortunate to see 4th seeded Wawrinka land on his half as opposed to 3rd seeded Federer.  Moreover, he's slated to play 8th seeded Ferrer in the quarters, who just got destroyed by Sock and shouldn't be much of a threat to Murray.  In the early rounds Murray doesn't look to have much to fear either.  He opens with 18 year old Alexander Zverev who is a superstar in the making, but isn't ready to beat Murray in a major at this point in his career.  After that the path looks to be relatively tame.  If Murray fails to make the semis with this draw it would be a big surprise, and he'd be confident heading into a semifinal match against Wawrinka or Nadal.  Winning a third career major in Australia is clearly Murray's goal, and the draw gave him as good of an opportunity to do so as he could have hoped for.

Rafael Nadal:  Nadal has to be thrilled with his Australian Open draw.  Both Djokovic and Federer are in the other half, and his potential quarterfinal opponent is Stan Wawrinka who he historically dominates (and beat in straights at the end of 2015).  While Murray is clearly in good form and would be a tough semifinal opponent, Nadal knows he can still beat him as he took Murray out at the 2015 year ending championships.  Nadal often plays himself into form as a tournament goes on, and he should have the opportunity to do so here.  He's not getting that much attention as a serious contender based on the beat down Djokovic gave him to open up the year in Doha, but with his friendly draw Nadal could end up being a major factor in Australia.

Losers:

Roger Federer:  As the third seed Federer was clearly hoping to land in the opposite half of Novak Djokovic, but he had no such luck.  Assuming he makes it to the semis he'll likely have to find a way to beat the world number one, but his draw to that point is tougher than the one he usually faces.  Federer could face the always tricky Alexandr Dolgopolov in round two, and a Grigor Dimitrov who seems closer to his 2014 form than his 2015 form in round 3.  He could then face the talented Dominic Thiem or David Goffin in the Round of 16.  In the quarters he could find himself facing the big hitting Berdych, Kyrgios or Cilic.  Federer would clearly be favored against any of these opponents individually, but having to role through such a tough draw just to make the semis could take a lot out of the 34 year old.  He's still a serious threat, but Federer's Australian Open draw did him no favors.

Kei Nishikori:  Nishikori failed to build on his success in grand slams in 2015 after reaching the 2014 US Open finals, and it looks like he'll have to wait a little bit longer to do so in 2016.  While his path to the quarterfinals is pretty manageable, he's slated to run into Djokovic in the quarters.  Based on current form Nishikori would struggle to even get a set (which says more about Djokovic than Nishikori).  It's possible Nishikori is ready to make a run at the top 5 in 2016, but it doesn't look like Australia will be much help in that regards. 

The "next generation":  The draw didn't do any favors to much of the promising next generation.  Alexander Zverev could have done damage with the right draw, but has to open against Murray.  Borna Coric would have to meet fellow countryman Marin Cilic in round two, and 19 year old Korean Hyeon Chung who is just outside the top 50 drew Djokovic in round one.  18 year old American qualifier Taylor Fritz has been on a tear to open up the new year, but drew Jack Sock in round one.  Assuming Sock is recovered from the flu in time, this seems to be asking a bit too much from Fritz at this point in his career.  Moreover, the big hitting Thanasi Kokkinakis wasn't even able to play Australia with an injury.  There's a lot to look forward to with this young generation, but it's unlikely we'll see a teenager make a deep run in Australia given their brutal draws.

What We Learned From Week 1 on the ATP Tour in 2016

There may be hope for a "youth" movement in 2016:  The one thing that's been missing from men's tennis in recent years is a young superstar who is good enough to challenge the Big Four.  While that's still a long ways away from happening, there were signs in the first week of the season that younger players (or at least guys younger than 27) are ready to make some moves.  19 year old Borna Coric reached the finals of Chennai where he fell to Stan Wawrinka, and in the process showed he may be poised for a true breakout season in 2016.  Milos Raonic topped Federer to win the Brisbane title, which is impressive even if Federer wasn't feeling 100%.  Also in Brisbane were the talented Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic Thiem and Bernard Tomic, who all had solid tournaments and look to be improved in the new season.  Moreover, 18 year old American Taylor Fritz continued his strong play in Challengers by rolling to the title in Happy Valley.  Given our lowered expectations at what constitutes a youth movement based on the recent past, tennis fans may be in for a pleasant surprise in 2016. 

Djokovic did not forget how to play tennis during the off-season:  If the rest of the tour was hoping that Djokovic lost a step during the off-season, they must be sorely disappointed after seeing what he did to Rafael Nadal in Doha.  The 14-time grand slam champion managed a grand total of 3 games against the World Number 1 in the Doha finals, and in doing so Djokovic sent a clear message to the rest of the tour that he plans on being just as dominant as ever in 2016.  It may be nearly impossible for Djokovic to top his epic 2015 season, but he's already off to a better start given that he lost to Karlovic in Doha to start off the previous season.  Djokovic has now won the last 6 tournaments he's played, and looks poised to have another dominant season in 2016.

The over 30 crowd may begin slowing down:  It wasn't a great week for the over 30 crowd on the ATP tour, and this could be a sign some of the tour's veterans may be in for a rough 2016.  33 and 34 year old Spaniards David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez both suffered surprising first round losses in Doha.  32 year old Gilles Muller got knocked out by a qualifier in Chennai, and 31 year old Gilles Simon fell to Dimitrov for the first time in his career in Brisbane.  And then there was that loss by Federer to Raonic, though Federer did look to be in good form during his run to the finals.  Maybe the over 30 contingent just came out a bit flat to start the season and will get it together soon, but their early struggles could be a sign of more problems to come in 2016.

Don't sleep on Wawrinka in 2016:  Wawrinka didn't drop a set in capturing the Chennai title, and looks to be a threat heading into Australia.  He's won a slam in each of the last 2 seasons, and could do so again in 2016 if a draw falls right.  He didn't get much attention heading into the season, which is justifiable given most people were focusing on Djokovic's dominance, Murray's momentum following his Davis Cup title and Federer's continued great form.  But if Stan stays focused and motivated (which he looked to be to start off the season), we shouldn't be surprised if the Swiss number 2 steals another big title or two in the new season. 

Storylines to Watch on the ATP Tour in 2016

As we get ready to begin the 2016 ATP season, below is a look at some of the biggest storylines to follow during the upcoming year.

Can Djokovic win the career, or even 2016 calendar grand slam?  The obvious storyline heading into the year is whether Djokovic can finally win the French Open and complete the career grand slam.  Nadal is no longer invincible on clay, as Djokovic proved in destroying him on the way to the 2015 finals at Roland Garros.  Unfortunately for the Serb, he seemed to run out of steam by the finals and played a pretty tentative match against an in-the-zone Stan Wawrinka.  Djokovic looks like he'll be the favorite heading in, though based on recent form a tougher Nadal is likely to await than what we saw in 2015.  Murray is much improved on clay and could be a threat as well, and Djokovic will be hoping to find Murray and Nadal on the other half of the draw.  Assuming he's able to reach the finals once again, we can expect Djokovic to learn from his mistake in 2015 and come out with a more aggressive gameplan.  

The less likely but still interesting storyline is whether Djokovic can make a run at the 2016 grand slam.  He only came one match away last year, but it's hard to predict that anyone (no matter how dominant) will pull off this feat.  First, he has to stay healthy, which he's been pretty good at doing throughout his career.  Then, he's got to hope an opponent doesn't catch fire for a prolonged period of time, i.e. Wawrinka at the French.  Djokovic's world class defense generally makes him immune from getting blown off the court in a best of 5 match, but this doesn't mean it's impossible on any given day.  And while Djokovic has owned his fellow members of the Big Four at majors in recent years, if you run into Federer, Murray and Nadal enough at the latter stages of grand slams one slip-up is hard to avoid.  It may be unlikely, but it's still fun to imagine as one of the biggest stories of the 2016 season.

Will anyone new break into the ATP Elite?  We're probably still a couple of years away from the next generation truly joining the elite of the ATP Tour, but it's still a major storyline heading into the season.  Dominic Thiem, Jack Sock and Nick Kyrgios are all in their young twenties and have tons of talent, but whether they can challenge for spots in the top 10 remains to be seen.  Following behind them is the younger Coric, Zverev, Kokkinakis, Chung, Rublev and the deep group of American teens, who are all accomplished but may still need a few more years of seasoning.  If anyone from either of these groups can somehow start to challenge the ATP's best, it will be a breath of fresh air and a major storyline of the ATP season.

Does Federer have one more grand slam title (or Olympic gold) left in him?  It's been amazing how well Federer has played since he entered his thirties, and he's made several grand slam finals in the last couple of years.  But he's been unable to overcome the Djokovic riddle when it matters most, and it's hard to see him knocking off the world number one in a slam final now that he's nearing age 35.  Moreover, Murray and Nadal both look like they'll enter 2016 in good form, which should only make Federer's work more difficult as he attempts to win one more major title.  Federer will clearly be targeting Wimbledon, the US Open and the Olympics (which is the only major singles title he hasn't yet won) in 2016.  He likely won't enter any of these events as the favorite, but if the draw opens up it won't be shocking if he ends up holding one of these three titles.  Whether or not he pulls it off, Federer's attempt to win one more huge event will be a major story to watch in 2016.

Will anyone from the "lost generation" challenge the Big Four?  The "generation" of guys currently in their mid-twenties, i.e. Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Cilic and Del Potro arrived with plenty of hype.  But due to some bad luck in terms of injuries and timing (being right behind one of the greatest groups of players of all time), they're in danger of failing to capitalize on their primes before being passed by in favor of the talented younger generation.  It's not too late for them, but they should all be feeling a sense of urgency.  Del Potro is clearly the furthest away, as he's barely played in the last couple of years with wrist injuries.  The rest all seem capable of having big 2016 seasons, but for this group a "big" season feels like a spot in the top 8.  However, if any of them can win a major (or in Cilic's case a second major), it will be a huge achievement for this group and could perhaps signal a slight changing of the guard.