Starting on December 7—the 25th day left in 2010—TENNIS.com will countdown from the year-end No. 25 on both tours with "The Last Word," a look back at the year that was and a look ahead at the season to come. Here's who we've looked at so far.
Best of 2010
The best came very early and very late for Federer this year, at the Australian Open in January and at the World Tour Finals in November. The Aussie was the bigger title, but he played his best tennis of the season in dominating the other seven best players in the world in London.
Worst of 2010
Making the quarters at Wimbledon is tough to call a “worst.” Unless your name is Roger Federer, of course. He hadn’t gone out before the final at the Big W since 2002. This time he lost in a tepid four sets to Tomas Berdych. He also may have cost himself the ATP sportsmanship award by bringing up and complaining about his injuries afterward. Berdych later said that was why he voted for Nadal, the winner of the award, instead.
Year in Review
It was a tale of two, maybe even three, seasons for Federer. He was on top of his game and in cruise control in Australia, but for the next eight months we began to see a few signs of the decline that the rest of the men’s tour has been waiting to see from the 29-year-old. He had his streak of 23 straight Slam semis broken at Roland Garros, lost to Berdych at Wimbledon, and blew match points against Novak Djokovic in the semis at the U.S. Open. Then it all turned back around again. With new coach Paul Annacone in his corner, Federer went 20-2 to finish the year and beat rival Rafael Nadal to wrap it up in London. For the moment, the declinists have been silenced.
See for Yourself
Federer at his finest in London:
The Last Word
Federer goes into 2011 in the odd position of having had his worst season in six years, yet coming out of it looking as sharp as he ever has. Were his three pre-final Slam losses and multiple blown match points over the course of a season a telltale sign of age, or just a blip? Judging by the way 2010 ended, you have to lean toward the latter.
—Steve Tignor