2015 Season Review: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga holds his trophy after defeating France's Gilles Simon during the ATP Moselle Open finals. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN 

After Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was another player who has witnessed other players achieve Grand Slam glory before him. After his first major final back in 2008, Tsonga has not reached that stage since then. Injuries, periods of inconsistency, and the sheer fact that he can’t compete with the best week in, week out has been the story of his career. 2015 was no different for the Frenchman.

Win/Loss

The world number 10 finished his season with a 32-16. Injuries kept him out for the first couple of months, and he didn’t hit into peak form until much later in the year so finishing with 30+ wins is respectable for the Frenchman. Once again, he finished with a losing record against the top ten with 5-8 record. That brings his career record to 38-71 against the top ten. His standout record was going 14-5 in matches that went to a deciding set.

High Points

Tsonga’s high point of his season had to be his magical run at his home Slam, the French Open. Leading up to the French, Tsonga was just 6-5 after playing in five tournaments. The rust of two months off clearly showed, but Roland Garros offered him a chance to get him into midseason form thanks to the best-of-five format and knowing he was able to face less dangerous opposition in the opening rounds.

His first two matches came against players sitting outside the world’s top 80, and he was dominant, dropping just 11 games in the process. After another straight sets win in the third round, Tsonga met Berdych. Neither players’ best surface was clay, and the Czech was the favorite coming in, but the Frenchman used the crowd and inconsistencies from the world number six to get to the quarterfinals.

He met Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinal, and thoughts of doubt were beginning to creep into his mind as he soon saw his two set lead vanish. He was able to regroup to win the fifth set and created the memorable photo below.

Tsonga creating filling in the “T” so the message says Roland Je T’aime, translating to Roland, I love you. Stephane Allaman/DPPI Media

His dream run ended at the hands of eventual champion Stan Wawrinka. Early on, it looked like butterflies were taking over Tsonga knowing that it has been quite awhile since the French has seen a finalist in their home Slam.

Low Points

Tsonga’s lowest point of the season came during the first four months of the season. The first half of those two months saw Tsonga sidelined due to injury. Once he made his comeback, he played in Miami, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome. In those five events, he went 6-5.

Best Results

Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France pose with their trophies after their men's singles final match of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Tsonga won only one title this year, and that came in his home country of France. He won the Moselle Open over fellow countryman Gilles Simon. A month later, the 30-year-old made his second final of the year at the Shanghai Rolex Masters after an enthralling three set win over Rafael Nadal. He met the freight train, Djokovic, and was dispatched with quite ease. Nonetheless, it was the one week of the year where we saw Tsonga playing masterful tennis.

Worst Results

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (R) receives medical treatment during his first round men's singles match against Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria at the China Open. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER/Getty Images

It took Tsonga a couple of tournaments in before he was knocked out in the opening match. At Barcelona, he crashed out to Marcel Granollers in his opening match. Fernando Verdasco would eliminate Tsonga from the Western & Southern Open in the found of 64. The Frenchman’s final early exit came at the China Open, coming at the hands of Andreas Haider-Maurer. The poor air quality in China  could’ve attributed to that loss as that was a hot topic due to a number of upsets occurring in the opening week.

Grade: B-

Barring the injury, this season is what we’ve come to expect from Tsonga. We saw him get hot for one week, making a Masters final and had a couple of deep runs at Grand Slams. We also saw him win one title this year. The next couple of months will be key to Tsonga’s year because he has no points to defend and at age 31, his window to win a Grand Slam is shutting fast.

2015 Season Review: Tomas Berdych

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic poses with the trophy after winning the final match against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain on day eight of the 2015 Shenzhen Open. (Photo by ATP World Tour)

Tomas Berdych is one of those players that have failed to take the next step in winning a major. While he’s been waiting to take that next step, players like Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic have leaped right past him in winning Grand Slam titles. His seasons for the past number of years are pretty similar, finish inside the top eight, win a couple of tournaments, and get deep into a major or two and a couple of Masters. Nothing too mind-boggling, but it gets the job done.

Win/Loss

The Czech number one finished the season with a 57-22 record. Despite hitting 50-plus wins once again, Berdych struggled against the world’s best and when it mattered most. He finished a dreadful 3-14 against the top ten and had a losing record in finals going 2-3.

High Points

The first five months of the season saw Berdych reach the semifinals or better in six of seven tournaments. With the help of a couple of early upsets to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the 30-year-old found himself in the final in Doha against David Ferrer but finished runner-up to the Spaniard.

At the Australian Open, he found himself in the quarterfinal against an out-of-form Nadal, but the Spaniard had picked up a cool 17 straight wins over Berdych. The world number six could not pick a better time to play the match of his life, delivering a mind-boggling straight sets win over the world number five, including a second set bagel. He’d crash out in the semifinals against Andy Murray where there was a bit of heat between Kim Murray and Berdych.

A couple of ATP 500 events in February had Berdych in the finals and semifinals again. He faltered in a second straight final, losing to Wawrinka in Rotterdam then was knocked out in Dubai 

by Djokovic.

In Miami, he met the world number two again in the semifinal, and once again, it was Murray who came out on top. He finished his hot run on the clay with a final in Monte Carlo and semifinal run in Madrid, losing to Djokovic and Nadal respectively.

Low Points

Summer has usually brought about good fortune to Berdych, but this year not so much. At Wimbledon, he was shockingly woeful in his fourth round exit to Gilles Simon, succumbing in straight sets. In both American hard courts Masters events, he won a combined two matches in Montreal and Cincinnati, crashing out to Donald Young and Alexandr Dolgopolov respectively. Another match he was favorite in was against Richard Gasquet at the US Open, and once again, he disappointed, losing in four sets to the Frenchman.

Best Results

Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych poses with the trophy during the award ceremony after defeating USA's Jack Sock at the ATP Stockholm Open. (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

We already talked about Berdych’s hot start to begin the year, but none of those tournaments culminated in titles. The Czech picked up his first title of the year in Shenzhen defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the final and picked up a second title in Stockholm over Jack Sock.

Worst Results

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic is treated after an injury during against Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay in the Men's singles first round match on day five of the 2015 China Open. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

The horrible summer season was where the world number six saw his worst results. He bowed out to Young in the opening round of the Rogers Cup. He brought that poor form into the fall. At St. Petersburg, Simone Bolelli knocked him out in his first match and just a week after his title, Pablo Cuevas eliminated him from the China Open. Last but not least, Berdych failed to win a match at the ATP World Tour Finals, winning only one set in his three defeats.

Grade: B

A hot start to the year and quarterfinals or better in eight of nine Masters helped Berdych reach the World Tour Finals once again. It’s what we’re accustomed to seeing from the Czech throughout his career, going deep in tournaments but unable to win the big one. Barring a major collapse come 2016, look for Berdych to reach the top World Tour Finals again.

2015 Season Review: Andy Murray

Andy Murray of Great Britain poses with his trophy following victory on day three of the Davis Cup Final 2015 at Flanders Expo on November 29, 2015 in Ghent, Belgium. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Coming into the season, Andy Murray had two primary achievements for the season: Win a Grand Slam and win the Davis Cup. Murray has seen his other three Big Four rivals win the Davis Cup, most recently Roger Federer last year. The Brit would have to end a near 80-year drought to see his country lift up the title, but he knew the feat was possible. At the end of the day, team glory triumphed individual glory for the world number two, and that is exactly what he achieved in his biggest moment of the season.

Win/Loss

The 28-year-old hit a career-high 71 wins, going 71-14 on the year. In Murray’s best year, he picked up 49 of his 71 wins in Masters 1000 and Grand Slams. He was also quietly dominant on clay. The Scot won an astounding 17-1 on the dirt, his best mark in his career by far and won two of his four titles on clay.

High Points

Without a doubt, Murray’s high point would have to be leading his country to Davis Cup glory. In the first tie against the United States, he won two live singles rubbers with James Ward’s masterful comeback victory was much important in giving the Brits a 2-0 lead after the first day. Against France, Murray began his string of dominance. The French were a different animal compared to the states with star singles players and those singles players potentially thrown into doubles as well. With him and big brother Jamie, they halted a possible “French Revolution” on the Queen’s Club grass as they were onward to the semifinals.

Captain Leon Smith went with a bold call in the Davis Cup Semifinal tie against Australia putting in Dan Evans to face Bernard Tomic. Evans had previously beaten Tomic at the US Open not too long ago, but it was quite the call to open up a semifinal. The Aussie had no problem dealing with Evans, meaning that Andy knew he was set to play three straight rubbers once again. He knew that he needed to bring his A game against the doubles team of Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth, a duo that single-handedly brought Australia to the semifinals. Despite some off moments, the Murray brothers survived, and Andy handily dispatched Tomic to setup a finals showdown against Belgium.

Belgium chose clay for their surface knowing it was Murray’s “weakest surface”, but what they didn’t take into account was that it was the Scot’s best surface of the year, and that it was their best player’s, David Goffin, second best surface, with hard courts being his tops. The 28-year-old was nearly home free of having to win three rubbers once again with Kyle Edmund blasting his way to a two sets to love lead over Goffin, but the moment overwhelmed him too much as he faltered in the end.

There was a new fire lit in Murray’s eyes knowing he was just three rubbers away from potential history. He picked up the slack that Jamie was showing in the doubles as they won that match over Goffin and Steve Darcis to put themselves a match away from the title. You could literally call Murray’s final performance, the best for last as he was utterly flawless in sealing the title over Goffin in straight sets.

Low Points

With only one loss in his opening match all year, it’s tough to find a low point of Murray’s season. However, a number of heartbreaking losses to Novak Djokovic has to take the cake. The world number one and world number two met in the biggest tournaments throughout the world, but Murray wound up only winning one of those matches, the Rogers Cup final. These are Murray’s losses to Djokovic this year: Australian Open final (four sets), Indian Wells semifinals (straights), Miami Open final (three sets), French Open semifinal (five sets and came from two sets down), Shanghai Masters semifinal (straight sets), and Paris Masters final (straight sets).

Best Results

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 10: Andy Murray of Great Britain holds the winners trophy after his win over Rafael Nadal of Spain in the final during day nine of the Mutua Madrid Open. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Murray went 4-3 in finals this year with all three of his losses coming to Djokovic. However, he did pip him for one title at the Rogers Cup, his final title of the year. Murray’s first two titles came on clay with the first one involving a Monday final which delayed his trip to Madrid. He’d win back-to-back titles in Munich and Madrid, defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber and Rafael Nadal respectively in the finals en route to a dominant clay season.

The Scot won a grass title at the Aegon Championships after defeating Kevin Anderson and capped off his title haul with a hard court title in Canada in an physically taxing battle against Djokovic.

Worst Results

Andy Murray of Great Britain serves uses a towel after losing a set to Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Murray only found himself out early in a couple of tournaments this year. He exited in the quarterfinals in back-to-back tournaments in February in Rotterdam and Dubai, falling in the quarterfinals. His worst actual result though came at the Citi Open where he crashed out in his first match, a second round battle against Teymuraz Gabashvili, falling in a third set tiebreak.

Grade: A-

How important was a Davis Cup title and team success for Murray compared to individual glory? It was so important that he was willing to skip the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in order to train for it. Despite not winning a Slam, you could say that it was Murray’s finest year outside of 2012. He won four titles on three different surfaces, made semifinals or better in three Slams, won his first clay Masters title, and won the Davis Cup. All in all, a solid year’s work for the Brit. Maybe like Djokovic did in 2011, a Davis Cup title will propel Murray to new heights in the new year, but only time will tell to see if that will hold true.

2015 Season Review: Roger Federer

Roger Federer of Switzerland holds up the trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the mens singles final at the Western & Southern Open. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

In his second season with Stefan Edberg at the helm, Roger Federer was looking to do one better than most of 2014 by attempting to win an 18th career Grand Slam title. The Swiss maestro fell a bit short this year in those efforts, but you can’t take away his number of fantastic results thanks to deep runs in most tournaments this year.

Win/Loss

The world number three went a cool 63-11 this year. Federer was dominant against the top ten going 15-6. Despite that, his record in finals was a mere 6-5. The Swiss number one delivered during tennis’ biggest events. In Masters 1000s and Grand Slams, he went 34-10, meaning he picked up more than half of his wins against some of tennis’ best competition.

High Points

The summer has always been kind to Federer throughout his career. 12 of his 17 Grand Slam titles have come in the summer season, seven at The Championships and five at the US Open. It all began at Halle winning an eighth title on the grass courts in Germany. He would then take on London once again in hopes of equaling his Halle and Wimbledon marks at eight.

Many thought his semifinal match against Andy Murray would be the beginning of his potential slide, but the Swiss provided a vintage serving display winning nearly 90 percent of his first serve points. Federer picked up his play at the right moments towards the latter end of the set as he broke the Brit during the ends of the set en route to his straight sets win. After that fine serving display, many believed he was ready to capture number 18 and number 8 at Wimbledon. However, Novak Djokovic had other ideas as the two provided an epic four-setter in which the Serb won, marking his second Grand Slam title of the year.

Federer took that loss pretty hard knowing he blew many chances, especially since he had set points in the opening set. He skipped the Rogers Cup in Canada to focus on Cincinnati. Djokovic had his eyes targeted on Cincinnati knowing that a title there would give him a career Golden Masters. Federer had some other ideas though with a straight sets win, even whipping out the SABR (Sneak Attack By Roger) a few times in the process.

Djokovic and Federer would once again meet in a major final, this time the US Open. Once again, Federer would capture the second set but faltered on the important points as he witnessed the world number one kiss the winner’s trophy once again.

Low Points

There aren’t too many times in 2015 where Federer experienced low points. His one likely low points of the year were likely his Australian Open loss to Andreas Seppi in the third round. Plain and simple, Federer was outplayed throughout most of the match and some un-Federer like decisions cost him in the end. His other low point would have to be a loss in his first match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters to Albert Ramos-Viñolas. For some mysterious reason, Federer has had difficulties in his opening match in Shanghai. Last year, Leonardo Mayer had match points but was unable to shut the door, but this time around, the underdog delivered.

Best Results

Roger Federer of Switzerland holds the Roy Emerson trophy after winning his 1000 singles title after the Mens final match against Milos Raonic of Canada. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

2015 saw Federer win six titles. Two have been mentioned at Halle and Cincy, but his title in Brisbane witnessed him win his 1000th career match over Milos Raonic. In Dubai, he picked up his first win over the world number one, defeating him in the final. The Swiss number one won his first clay title in three years after picking up the title in the new event in Istanbul. His final title of the year came in his hometown of Basel where he defeated Big Four rival Rafael Nadal in the final.

Worst Results

Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts in his third round match against Andreas Seppi of Italy during day five of the 2015 Australian Open. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

In addition to his second round loss in Shanghai, Federer crashed out in the second round in Madrid. He faced Nick Kyrgios in an enthralling matchup of old school vs new school. The Aussie prevailed in three tiebreak sets, winning the final tiebreak 12-10.

Grade: B+

Six titles and eleven finals  on the year speaks volumes that Federer isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. However, with age, his mental edge has seriously dwindled. His ability to just hone in on the big points has cost him dearly, especially in his finals losses to Djokovic. Nonetheless, Federer should be in the hunt for every major title next year, especially Wimbledon after taking the clay season off and adding another grass tournament to his schedule.

2015 Season Review: David Ferrer

Spanish tennis player David Ferrer celebrates with the trophy after winning his ATP Rio Open tournament final match against Italian Fabio Fognini. (VANDERLEI ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Throughout his career, David Ferrer has played second fiddle to Rafael Nadal. However for much of this year, the Spaniard found himself as the best Spaniard on the courts thanks to the struggles of his compatriot. After finishing outside the top eight for automatic qualification to the ATP World Tour Finals last year, Ferrer was on a mission to ensure that he wouldn’t have to rely on someone’s misfortune to play at the O2 Arena. That he did by getting to London once again for a sixth consecutive year, as one of the final qualifiers.

Win/Loss

Ferrer picked up 55 wins this year, marking his sixth consecutive season with 50+ wins. The Spaniard has played. Against the top ten however, the world number seven went a woeful 3-11 against the world’s best. Despite the struggles against the top ten, Ferrer was able to get the job done in finals, going 5-0 in finals. In deciding set matches, he was near perfect with a 15-2 mark.

High Points

Though Ferrer won five titles this season, the Spaniard’s high point came at the beginning of the 2015 season. In the first two months of the season, Ferrer witnessed himself lift up three of his five titles on the year as well as making the second week of a major. It all began in Doha where he won the title over Tomas Berdych. The Spaniard didn’t have to go through either Novak Djokovic or Nadal with both men getting eliminated early.

His next event was the Australian Open which saw him make the round of 16 before crashing out to Kei Nishikori. After a couple of weeks off, the world number seven was off to Rio for the Rio Open. Once again, he avoided Rafael Nadal with Nadal’s 2015 nemesis Fabio Fognini defeating him in the semifinals. The following week, Ferrer transitioned from outdoor clay to the hard courts in the popular vacation city of Acapulco in Mexico. He exacted his revenge on Nishikori, absolutely outplaying him in the final to win his third title in only two months of play.

Low Points

Ferrer’s lowest point had to come during the summer season. An early exit in Nottingham was followed by a withdrawal from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury. The injury kept the 33-year-old out of action until the US Open, missing two Masters 1000 events in the process. Rust definitely showed at Flushing Meadows dropping a set against Radu Albot and getting pushed against Filip Krajinovic. His US Open run ended with a third round loss to Jeremy Chardy, his worst result at a Grand Slam this year.

Spanish tennis player David Ferrer wears a traditional Mexican mariachi hat while holding the winning trophy after defeating Japan's tennis player Kei Nishikori. (Photo credit Pedro PARDO/AFP/Getty Images)

Best Results

We’ve already discussed three of Ferrer’s five titles on the year which came at the beginning of the year. However, the Spaniard also peaked toward the end of the year as well. At the Malaysian Open, he captured his fourth title of the year, defeating fellow countryman Feliciano Lopez in the process. At the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, the Spaniard had to battle quite hard for his title. American Steve Johnson was playing like a man on fire the whole week, but Ferrer cooled him off in the final, escaping with the trophy after three tight sets.

Worst Results

Only twice this year Ferrer found himself on the losing end after only a match. The first time came in Nottingham where he received a bye but was duly defeated by Marcos Baghdatis. The second time came in Shanghai where Bernard Tomic played superb tennis throughout the week as he defeated the 33-year-old in the second round.

David Ferrer of Spain reacts in a match against Bernard Tomic of Australia during their men's singles second round match on day 4 of Shanghai Rolex Masters. (Photo by Kevin Lee/Getty Images)

Grade: B-

Ferrer has mastered the art of winning 250s and 500s, but it’s been awhile since we’ve seen him make the step up to winning a Masters event. His last Masters title came in 2013. For a player who is so accustomed to making it into the second week of Slams and Masters events, he saw a bit of a dip in those results this year. 

This year however, he managed to get back into the top eight and qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals without playing as an alternate. The Spaniard is one of the opposites in tennis terms by peaking after 30 rather than in his late 20s. Don’t be surprised to see Ferrer win multiple titles again next year.