#1 Nadal
#2 Djokovic
#3 Federer
atm
Ah well, glad Djokovic is not number 1 anymore. Can’t really stand the guy, but great tennis player nonetheless.
Sadly didn't see this thread before, happy to see some tennis players or fans here. Btw Djokovic back to World Number 1 after the Australian Open thriller win.
Gonna give some 2020 end of the year ranking prediction to keep this thread alive.
#1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia): For me the only player being able to take Masters and Grand Slam titles on every surface. I see him in the 2020s Wimbledon and US Open Final winning one of them. On clay I see him doing an okay season with the potential to win something but not going further than the Semifinal at Roland Garros. His biggest opponent for the year-end number #1 is probably his own greed to be the most successful player of all time.
#2 Rafael Nadal (Spain): The Clay Court King in my opinion still is the main favorite to win at least 2 big clay-court titles (500+) plus Roland Garros. But I don't see him getting to another Wimbledon or US Open final and predict him to not win more than 1 Masters 1000 title that is not played on clay.
#3 Dominic Thiem (Austria): Having played a strong year 2019 winning his first Masters 1000 title (Indian Wells) and now getting to the 2020 Australian Open Final losing it very close I see him dominating the clay-court season together with Nadal losing the Roland Garros final for a 3rd time in a row against him. But I also see him performing very well on hard court which is probably the biggest step he made throughout the last 9 months. Being the "oldest" of the "New Gen" he seems pretty matured.
#4 Alexander "Sascha" Zverev (Germany): I may wear my german glasses here but Sascha seems to have found his service again and going to his first Grand Slam Semi-Final at the AO2020 can be a big breakthrough for him. Although I don't see him going to his first Grand Slam Final I predict him to win at least 1 more Masters 1000 title and several 500 or 250 titles. The last point that makes him interesting is that he nearly performs even on every surface.
#5 Roger Federer (Switzerland): Hard for me to say but I think Roger isn't capable to perform a whole season anymore. First of all, we will see if he will play any clay tournament. If he does I don't expect him to get to any final. But for me, he is the main favorite to win his favorite tournaments in Halle and Basel. Also, I see a chance for him to win his 9th Wimbledon title. At the US Open, he looks like a solid player going to the semis or the quarters but not more.
#6 Daniil Medvedev (Russia): Even when many experts say he is the hottest candidate of the "New Gen" to get his big breakthrough I only see him winning one Masters 1000 title not necessarily going to a Grand Slam final.
#7 Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece): For me, the least matured "New Gen" star. I personally don't even see him going to a Grand Slam semi-final and not winning a Masters 1000 title.
#8 Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland): I picked him a bit due to missing other players I see at this high ranking positions but Stan showed us in 2019 that you have to have him on the list for at least a Semi-Final at every Tournament he plays. Especially on clay he could get a last big title (not Roland Garros). With his AO Quarter-Final winning against Medvedev on his way there I think he is the one to pick for the last ATP-Finals spot.
#9 Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain): He impressed me very much in 2019, for example in Halle against Federer which I saw live. I don't expect him to make a big run at a Grand Slam but I see him performing well on every surface and at least winning an ATP500 title.
#10 Andrey Rublev (Russia): He convinced me with the two ATP250 titles he already achieved before the Australian Open. I have to admit I haven't seen him playing for a while but his movement in the ranking from somewhere out of the Top 70 to 15 since the Hamburg Open in mid-2019 at the moment says everything.
Shortly missed out:
Milos Raonic (Canada): Would be my number 8 but I don't believe his body stays fine so he can perform a whole season.
David Goffing (Belgium): Still constant but nobody for big runs.
Matteo Berrettini (Italy): In the past, he showed us that he can perform big on one surface per season but not more (2018 clay, 2019 grass).
Karen Khachanov (Russia): Too much relies on his inconstant forehand.
Shapovalov / Auger-Aliassime / De Minaur: Need to mature for at least one more season till they go for their big breakthrough
Monfils / Fognini / Schwartzman: Experienced top guys but more for the Top 20.
Dimitrov / Nishikori: They both just lost their strength. I personally don't believe that they can make a big Top 8 comeback.
