1 Edberg on his team, a bigger racket and his body cooperative – until Sunday - the 17-time major winner played one of his most consistent seasons.

Ivan Lendl abruptly split with Andy Murray in 2014 after two successful seasons, and the coach-player relationship is notoriously fickle.īeset by back problems and ultimately confidence woes, Federer was a shadow of his normal self in 2013.īut with former No. With the novelty factor gone, how will these partnerships fare – or will they last – through 2015? Marin Cilic captured his maiden Grand Slam title with Goran Ivanisevic in his ear, while Kei Nishikori, who hired Chinese-American Michael Chang, broke into the top-5 and finished runner-up in New York. With boyhood idol Stefan Edberg at his side, Federer again challenged at majors and surged back to No. Under Boris Becker, Djokovic returned to No. 'In 2015, he's the player to beat for me,' said Henman, a six-time Grand Slam semifinalist.Ģ014's star coaching hires paid dividends. They are life changes that BBC TV commentator Tim Henman called 'positive additions.' Neither marriage nor fatherhood in 2014 derailed Djokovic's focus.

'The good news is that he's getting better, whereas I was already getting worse by this time,' said fellow seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, who won his last major at age 25. 1s the last four years and a tour-best six Grand Slam trophies during that period, Djokovic is wearing the crown for now. True, the margins remain thin with Rafael Nadal and Federer, but with three year-end No. That coup d'état was three years premature, but after 27-year-old Djokovic's dominating four-year run, beginning with his three-Slam 2011, it is no longer a stretch. What should we expect?Īfter his maiden Grand Slam win at the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic's mother, Dijana, declared 'the king is dead,' a reference to then-No.

The Australian Open starts in two months. LONDON – Roger Federer's injury withdrawal from Sunday's ATP World Tour Final handed Novak Djokovic a third consecutive championship - and capped a tournament that lacked compelling matches.įederer will hope his ailing back does not impact his effort to lead Switzerland against France in this weekend's Davis Cup final – one of the few trophies he has never lofted.īut most of the tour is looking ahead to 2015, which is isn't far off.

Tennis world tour final 2014