Centre court’s new stars
Murray and Kerber stole thunder of top guns in a charismatic year
ANDY Murray and Angelique Kerber emerged the standout players of 2016, deposing world number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, while Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova were left with careers to rebuild.
Having lost the Australian and French Open finals to Djokovic, Murray thundered back in the second half of the year. The Briton, 29, won a second Wimbledon, became the first man to clinch two Olympic singles gold medals, and snatched Djokovic’s world number one spot, ending the year on a five-title, 24-match streak.
“To repeat that again next year is going to be extremely difficult. I’m not going to be able to play at this level into my mid-30s. The young guys are going to keep improving,” said Murray after dismantling lifetime rival Djokovic in the ATP World Tour Finals title match to confirm his endof-year top ranking.
It’s no coincidence that Murray’s domination in the second half of 2016 came in tandem with his rehiring of Ivan Lendl as part of his coaching team before Wimbledon.
In stark contrast, by the end of 2016, Djokovic had separated from Boris Becker. It was a messy finale for the Serb, 29, who finally completed his career Grand Slam in June with his maiden French Open crown.
His 12th major title gave him all four Grand Slam titles and he also became the first player to win $100million (R1.4-billion) in prize-money.
The talk was of Djokovic becoming just the third man in history to complete the calendar Grand Slam and the first since 1969.
But a third-round loss at Wimbledon sparked an alarming slide. The Rio Olympics saw a first-round exit to a rejuvenated Juan Martin del Potro and the US Open final, a lacklustre defeat to Stan Wawrinka.
Federer, the 17-time major winner, slumped to 16, his lowest ranking since 2001, and he failed to win a title for the first time since 2000.
The Swiss, who will be 36 in August, skipped the French Open before a five-set loss to Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semifinals preempted a withdrawal for the rest of the season to recover from a knee injury.
Nadal, the 14-time major winner, ended at nine in the world. He shut down his season in October to rest the wrist injury that forced him out of Roland Garros after two rounds, kept him sidelined from Wimbledon and almost torpedoed his Olympics hopes.
As it was, the Spaniard, 30, made it to Rio, carried his nation’s flag at the opening ceremony and won doubles gold with his childhood friend Marc Lopez. However, Nadal is aware that a change is coming.
His fears were illustrated by Alexander Zverev, 19, becoming the first teenager to finish in the top 25 since Djokovic and Murray in 2006 while the colourful Nick Kyrgios, another of the ATP’s much-vaunted #NextGen, ended at a career-high 13.
“It’s an era of transition, where two good generations combine,” said Nadal.
In the women’s game, German lefthander Kerber, 28, bookended the Grand Slam season with wins in Australia and the US and knocking Williams, 35, off her top spot after an 186week reign.
Williams won a seventh Wimbledon to equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Slams but her season finished with a semifinal loss to Karolina Pliskova at the US Open.
The great American, also beaten in the French Open final by Garbine Muguruza, called time on 2016 to nurse a shoulder injury.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka came off the tour in June after announcing she was pregnant while Sharapova failed a drugs test at the Australian Open.
Five-time major winner Sharapova’s two-year ban for testing positive for meldonium was cut to 15 months and she may return in April.
If Sharapova – as well as an early season betting uproar – rocked the tennis world, there were also some feelgood stories.
Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first-ever Olympic gold medal while the men’s game was boosted by the return to form of 2009 US Open champion Del Potro. The giant Argentine, who came close to retiring after a series of wrist surgeries, skyrocketed from 1 045 to finish the year at 38, having won a silver medal at the Olympics and led Argentina to a first Davis Cup title. — AFP