By Mike McIntyre
Even more intense than the previously examined Red Group should be the battle that ensues in the Gold Group at the Tennis Masters Cup beginning Sunday in Shanghai.
There is a limited history of matches between Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martin Del Potro, Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Most have only faced each other one or two times before. All of had seasons that have included incredible moments of brilliance with those of disappointment. It is the group that is most up for grabs.
Third ranked Novak Djokovic is the player who began 2008 with the most buzz by capturing his first Grand Slam title in Australia. While many wondered if this was the year he would dominate, he ended up getting overshadowed by both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Djokovic disappointed at the other three slams of the year, and despite receiving a Bronze medal at the Olympics he has struggled to assert himself since his early year triumph. The fact that Djokovic holds an 0-3 record at the Masters Cup also does not bold well for his chances. It seems by the end of the year, Djokovic often has little left in the tank.
For Nikolay Davydenko, the Masters Cup is a familiar location this time of year. This marks his fifth consecutive appearance at the season ending championship. While Davydenko is remarkably consistent, he is seldom exceptional in his results. His only result of significance in 2008 was winning the Masters Series event in Miami where he defeated Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal in straight sets in both the semi's and finals. Apart from that he did win a couple of smaller tournaments, but his Grand Slam results were less than impressive. Davydenko may have the toughest time of anyone in the Gold Group.
One of the great stories on tour this year has been the rise of Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He exploded onto the scene in January with a surprise final appearance at the Australian Open. While many then expected great results to follow, Tsonga was instead inflicted with a serious injury that kept him out of play for three months. Since returning to the tour in August, he has been on a major hot streak and despite missing so much of the season was able to gain entry to the Masters Cup due to his strong play in Paris last week. On top of winning his first Masters Series event in Paris, he also triumphed in September in Bangkok where he defeated Djokovic in the finals in straight sets.
The final member of the Gold Group is one of the few ATP players who can boast of a 23 match winning streak. Juan Martin Del Potro became the first ATP player ever to win four successive tournaments in a row after never having won at the ATP level before. His winning streak was halted by Andy Murray at the US Open, but his rise in the rankings was already assured at that point. He is the youngest of the eight participants in the Masters Cup and has the advantage that most of the other players probably know the least about his game and tendencies on court.
I think that predicting the finishing order of these four great players will be almost impossible for anyone to know ahead of time. Personally I believe Tsonga and Del Potro will surprise their higher ranked opponents and make it through. Regardless, it promises to be a great week of tennis in Shanghai and leave tennis fans with one last memorable tournament before closing the books on 2008.
Head to Head Stats:
Djokovic - 1 vs Del Potro - 0
Davydenko - 1 vs Djokovic - 0
Tsonga - 2 vs Djokovic - 1
Del Potro - 1 vs Tsonga - 0
Davydenko - 1 vs Tsonga - 0
Del Potro - 1 vs Davydenko - 1
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