Just what do you need to be a Top 10 player?

General / Editor / 02 October 2007 / Leave a Comment

Sky Sports' Barry Milns tells us why Federer, Djokovic and Ferrer are all up there but the likes of Rochus and Karlovic aren't

Just look at the current top 10 players in men's tennis to see how much variety there is in the game. They all bring something different to the court but at the same time they all possess a sufficient combination of the key elements required to join the elite.

One could simply concentrate on Roger Federer as the perfect role model of how to do it because he more than anyone seems to have all the necessary characteristics. Which of the following does he not possess - talent, timing, touch, fitness, power, speed, movement, big weapons, mental strength, desire, competitiveness, consistency, confidence and experience?

It is an awesome package and evidence as to why the Swiss master is so tough to beat whenever he plays and will enter the next Grand Slam in Australia as the outstanding favourite again, currently backable at just 1.56 to claim his 13th major title.

Being able to deliver and adapt that package on all surfaces is also fundamental to Federer's outstanding success. If you look at the rest of the top 10, none of them are as good as he is at doing that. Novak Djokovic might be one day and six years younger than the world No.1 but the 20 year-old Serb now looks the man most likely to succeed him at the top of the rankings.

It is no surprise, after his runners-up finish in New York, ( and in a season which has already landed him three hard court titles) that Djokovic will go to Melbourne currently priced up as the second favourite at 7.2. The main thing he lacks compared to Federer is experience - but he will have learnt much from their US Open final encounter and future meetings should be even closer the more they play.

Rafael Nadal on the other hand, although still ranked between them and the man most likely to thwart Federer's bid to win that elusive French Open title, is clearly suffering from the wear and tear of his punishing baseline game. The Spaniard (available at 8.2 for the Australian Open) has proved himself to be far more than a great clay court player and mentally as tough as they come. But whereas Federer floats around the court, Nadal charges round it like a bull and the effort required to do that year after year can only take its toll.

Below the top three Nikolay Davydenko (36) does a good impression of Nadal from the back of the court but without as much punch or belief. The Russian's Achilles heel is his lack of ability at the net.

The rest of the top 10 divide up pretty much into two categories - the power players Andy Roddick (34), Fernando Gonzalez (50), James Blake (100) and Thomas Berdych (100) or the counter-punchers David Ferrer (100) and Tommy Robredo (100) - all with strengths and weaknesses.

Ferrer, by far the shortest man in the top 10, was the latest to break into it with his stunning run to the semi-finals of the US Open. What he lacks in terms of stature and serve he makes up for with his aggressive return game, the Spaniard currently leading the tour in the percentage categories of break points converted and return games won.

So height isn't everything. Just look at the giant Ivo Karlovic who has never broken into the top 20 despite having the toughest serve in tennis. Then again, if the hugely talented but tiny Olivier Rochus had a bigger build who knows how much higher he would have climbed than a career-high 24th place in the rankings?

In between there are numerous other players who are great shot makers, such as Paul Henri Mathieu, Dmitry Tursunov and Fernando Verdasco, but who struggle for consistency. And of course it is one thing to break into the top 10, quite another to stay there.

You only have to look at the likes of Gaston Gaudio and Rainer Schuettler (who both reached the top 5) to see how fast things can fade when you lose the hunger and burn out. Once that happens it is very hard to come back.