The Last Word returns, and each weekday, starting on Monday, December 5, we'll give you our year-end thoughts about tennis' best players—this time focusing on the ATP and WTA Top 10. We'll alternate tours each day; here's who we've looked at so far.
Best of 2011
Tipsarevic won two titles in 2011, and while that first one is always tough—and special—he backed up that breakthrough win in Kuala Lumpur (d. Marcos Baghdatis in final) with a terrific performance in Moscow, where he bowled over three Russians in a row (in order, Igor Kunitsyn, Dmitry Tursunov and Nikolay Davydenko) before topping countryman Viktor Troicki for his second career title.
Worst of 2011
We know how much the Serbs care about Davis Cup, so it was a low point for Tipsarevic when he failed to win the second singles rubber in Serbia’s first-round World Group clash with India way back in March. Tipsarevic lost to Somdev Devvarman—on Serbia’s court, no less—in straight sets; it was the only rubber Serbia lost that weekend.
Year in Review
Tipsarevic will be the first one to tell you that Novak Djokovic, his countryman and good friend, more or less shamed him into finding deeper motivations and greater ambitions. The end result was an outstanding year in which he reached five finals.
Although he started the year with a semi at Chennai, Tipsarevic lost his way and didn’t get back on track until he made the final of Delray Beach (l. to Juan Martin del Potro). It was Tipsarevic’s third unsuccessful ATP final of his career, and soon he added a fourth at Eastbourne (retiring against Seppi). But in lock-step with Djokovic, Tipsarevic continued to pick up the pace, and in late August he became a Grand Slam quarterfinalist for the first time in his career (U.S. Open, retiring against Djokovic).
Tipsarevic made his big move in the fall. He was 13-4 from Kuala Lumpur through the Paris Masters, adding another runner-up finish (St. Petersburg) to his two tournament wins.
See For Yourself
Share Janko’s long-deferred moment of glory—his first ATP tournament win—and note how he likes to take the ball on the rise and hit relatively flat with a lot of pace. And check out the role the off-speed sliced backhand played in his match game.