Predictions for 2020 season

So how do we think 2020 is going to pan out? Who, among us, has the best 2020 vision? Looking back to predictions made this time last year about 2019, no one foresaw the Medvedev surge, although some of the other forecasts were pretty much spot on.

I think the Big Three will still have a major part to play in the Grand Slams in 2020. I'll even go so far as to say that they will win as many as three GS in the next 12 months.

For me, Djoko is always a good bet for the AO, while only injury is likely to derail Rafa at the French. Can't see anyone outside the Big Three taking the Wimbledon title, which only leaves the USO as a possible slam for an "outsider".

As for the shape of the top 10, I expect Djoko and Rafa to be in the top three, maybe numbers one and two again. Federer should be top 10 again as he is still capable of sparkling tennis.Will this be his last season? Doubt if the player himself even knows. May be a case of seeing how things go.

Zverev, Thiem and Tsitsipas should be top 10ers again. I'm reserving judgement on Medvedev due to his temperament. He'll have a lot of points to defend in the last part of the season. Let's all hope that Murray can make a good comeback. The signs were good at the end of 2019 and you can see him getting high up the rankings again.

Longish post, this, so I'll talk about the women later.

I'll have a go:

AO: Medvedev or Thiem
FO: Thiem
W: Federer
USO: Nadal

As a Murray fan, I predict the following for him:

AO: R3
FO: R3
W: SF
USO: QF

Forgot the Olympics. For that, I'll go for:

Gold: Tsitsipas
Silver: Djokovic
Bronze: Nadal
4th place: Murray

Oioi - You're brave indeed to bet against Rafa for the French, although if anyone is likely to dethrone the King of Clay it's Thiem.

As for the women, it will be interesting to see if Andreescu can keep up her stellar 2019. We've had three successive years in which each of the Slams has gone to a different woman. So close is it at the top that we could get a fourth year.

I think Barty, Halep and Osaka will be top five again. Coco Gauff's progress will be watched with some interest. She already has a big game and can only get stronger and more experienced.

Don't think I'm being particularly brave picking Thiem for RG; he gave Nadal a fantastic match this year and is still improving while I anticipate the physical effort required to win RG will get more and more difficult for Rafa as he racks up more years on tour. That said, there is always the possibility of him destroying all his opponents until the semi or even final, thus conserving his energy levels for the big matches.

One person who won't be featuring in 2020 (at least not after the AO) is Caroline W, who has announced that the Melbourne Slam will be her last tournament.

She's been suffering a bit and has recently married and probably wants to start a family. She can look back at many weeks at number one and, finally, a GS.

Some early indications as to who might do well in 2020 have come in the ATP Cup results today. GB suffered an agonising loss where Murray/Salisbury squandered two MPs to go down, overall, 2-1 to Bulgaria.

Shapovalov bt Tsitsipas and De Minaur upset Zverev.

Let's have some more predictions for the year, please.

AO: Novak Djokovic
FO: Rafael Nadal
Wim: Novak Djokovic
USO: Novak Djokovic
End of Year No. One = Novak Djokovic; No. 2 = Rafael Nadal; No. 3 = Daniil Medvedev
Olympic Games: Roger Federer

Of course this assumes no significant injuries to the geriatrics at the top of the sport.

2019 Masters winners: Medvedev, Thiem, Shapovalev, Nadal, Djokovic, Federer

End of Year ATP tournament: Tsitsipas

Three slams for Djoko, NNB? The one I think he'll definitely get is the AO.

As we look ahead, the results have fallen so well that GB have qualified for the quarters in the ATP cup. The big win was Dan Evans over Goffin in the Belgian tie.

sirfredperry wrote:Three slams for Djoko, NNB? The one I think he'll definitely get is the AO.

As we look ahead, the results have fallen so well that GB have qualified for the quarters in the ATP cup. The big win was Dan Evans over Goffin in the Belgian tie.

Djoko is currently the undefeated 'champion' of AO (2019), Wimbledon (2019) and the USO (2018) - given a shoulder injury forced him to retire in the 4R of USO (2019).  Hence I think my predictions are sort of "safe" given I added the caveate about injuries.

Always good to see the GB "Davis Cup" team doing well.

Current all time single slam tallies
Federer: 20
Nadal: 19
Djokovic: 16

If my predictions come true then by the end of the year Nadal will be matching Federer's tally and Djokovic will be one win behind.
At some stage a next generation player will win a grand slam - by default very likely: Thiem or Medvedev.  Tsitsipas has to get to a final first.

We have a bit of form to go by from the ATP Cup currently ongoing, so more predictions would be welcome.

GB agonisingly out of the ATP Cup (see Evans-de Minaur thread below).

Meanwhile, number one Ash Barty beaten in first match of year. Aussies do notoriously badly in their own slam so this does not augur well for her for Melbourne.

After a shock Goffin win over Rafa in the AT Cup, Spain managed to edge into the semis by winning the doubles.

Today, Djoko has beaten Medvedev in a high-quality three-setter to seal Serbia's place in the final at the expense of Russia.

Medvedev, though, has earned enough points to take over the fourth-ranking spot from Thiem which means he can't meet any of the top three in Melbourne before the semis.

If this match is anything to go by - and I've only read reports - then Medvedev is going to be a force to reckon with in 2020.

This ATP cup seems to have been a really good tournament. High quality field and players really getting into it. Deserving finalists in Spain and Serbia. Could go down to the doubles to decide it. Bautista Agut (under rated player in my opinion) beat Lajovic but Djokovic has taken the 1st set against Nadal. You can never write off Nadal though. I would think on paper that Spain would be favourite in the doubles but would be a tight call

It's now all on the doubles after Djoko beat Rafa in straight sets. The key may have been the BPs that Rafa couldn't take in the second set.

This lays down a marker for the AO which I'm convinced Djoko will win.

Meanwhile, Serena has won her first title since 2017 and could be a threat at the AO. Her main trouble over the last two years has been getting over the final hurdle in Slams - having lost four title matches.

Serbia take the doubles and win the ATP Cup. Djokovic is such a phenomenal player

Just 515 points between Rafa and Djoko at the top after that Serb victory in the ATP Cup. But Djoko will have to win the AO again to have a chance to get back to number one.

Dan Evans got 200 pts for his cup exploits and moves up to a career-high 33rd in the rankings. He's won again today - in Adelaide.

LATER: Nishi won't be playing in Melbourne so that means Evans will be seeded. De Minaur also struggling with injury and may not make it.

The ATP cup is just a variant of the new Davis Cup with a name change and a further ATP takeover.

Strange how new tournaments are added as soon as the Davis Cup went through a reformat to lessen the number of games the top players have to play.

It will be interesting how tennis sport will grow (or not) when Federer, Nadal and Djokovic retire.  I suspect it will be further globalised with calls for new or alternative grand slam tournaments in Asia or elsewhere - wherever the market is in need of expanding - with arguments for the need to diversify away from its "racist" white European or European colonial origins.  But it depends on the market.

I would say the higher powers of tennis are absolutely dreading Federer, Djokovic and Nadal retiring. We may never see the likes again in the same generation. Those three players are from another planet. As a tennis fan it’s going to leave a huge hole in men’s tennis

Yes, the Big Three's departure will be fairly devastating. But hopefully we'll have Nole and Rafa around for a while longer.

No doubt new heroes will emerge but whether we get anything like this current trio is doubtful.

Good wins today for Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund, although Edmund was helped by the fact that his opponent was playing his second match of the day.

As soon as the draw for the AO is made I shall start an AO 2020 topic.

For sure nobody predicted what would happen in 2020

At least nobody got the 2020 Wimbledon champion wrong...

Dont get me wrong, I wasnt just talking about slam champions predictions... when I look back at january, it amazes me how we didnt imagine all this crisis coming

naxroy wrote:Dont get me wrong, I wasnt just talking about slam champions predictions... when I look back at january, it amazes me how we didnt imagine all this crisis coming

I know. I was trying to make a joke (and clearly failing!) You're quite right, of course. It's quite astonishing that no-one thought there would be a huge chunk out of the season, that the players would emerge with masks and that there would be no spectators at the USO.

Big question now is - what's 2021 going to be like?

sirfredperry wrote:

I know. I was trying to make a joke (and clearly failing!)

I understood and actually it made me smile

sirfredperry wrote:

Big question now is - what's 2021 going to be like?

Australian Open is in question at the moment

No name Bertie wrote:AO: Novak Djokovic
FO: Rafael Nadal
Wim: Novak Djokovic
USO: Novak Djokovic
End of Year No. One = Novak Djokovic; No. 2 = Rafael Nadal; No. 3 = Daniil Medvedev
Olympic Games: Roger Federer

Of course this assumes no significant injuries to the geriatrics at the top of the sport ...

It seems to me that my predictions were fairly close: Novak Djokovic is still the reigning champion of Wimbledon and a special set of circumstances conspired at the US Open.