Wonderful World of Tennis / Scott Ferguson / 20 December 2007 /

Scott's Spot - Scott looks back at 2007 and how his pre-season fancies fared

Early in 2007, on the old Betfair Tennis home page, I named a series of players as Players to Watch for the year. Let's see how I went and who else earned the spotlight....

ATP

Gael Monfils - Rank on Jan 1, 46. Rank in December, 38.

A 21-21 record shows underachievement for a player so talented. Eight consecutive losses in the spring and a series of injuries (groin, hamstring and leg) made 2007 a grind for Monfils who has huge potential, but is perceived as being weak between the ears. At 6'4" and just 21, there is still plenty of improvement left in Monfils, but he's not one I can continue having faith in.

Sam Querrey - 130, 63.
A big improver, but all of his decent results came in North America. SF in Indianapolis, QF in Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Memphis, and a finalist in the Vancouver Challenger. Abroad, his record was a dismal 3-12. Limited improvement left in him, he'll pop up in the hardcourt events in the States, but lay him 'til the cows come home when he's travelling.

Joachim Johansson - 193, 350.

A punt on the health of his shoulder which continues to fail him. 4-4 record. Very talented if he could ever stay fit.

Ernests Gulbis - 140, 61.

Big mover during the year, got down as low as 46 in October. Beat T.Johansson, Robredo and Henman during the year, plenty of improvement left in this 19yo.

Guillermo Canas - 142, 15.

Canas was always going to return to the tour with an axe to grind after a questionable drugs suspension. Two wins over Federer, a win in Costa Do Sauipe and a final appearance in Miami brought him back into the top 20. This is the right level for him.

Coming from nowhere is much harder on the men's tour than with the women but I've picked out a few who have made big moves this year. We all know about Djokovic and Ferrer. Marvellous performances, and hopefully more to come from them, but I wish to concentrate on the lesser-known names.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 212, 43.

Virtually unheard of before the grass season when he won the Surbiton challenger, beat Hewitt at Queen's and then reached R4 at Wimbledon. Won four challengers amongst a record of 46-15 but interestingly, avoided clay for the last two seasons. He knows where his bread is buttered. Difficult to see him moving much higher with such a one-dimensional game plan.

Juan Martin del Potro - 92, 44.

I have been following this guy for two years now and he is still progressing. He made the effort to play more events on grass and hardcourt during the season, so he seems committed to becoming an all-round player rather than just a dirtballer. Expect to see him continue on.

Dudi Sela - 201, 64.

Finished the season with three challenger wins, the level where he spent most of his season, but he did start the year in the spotlight, taking Marat Safin to five sets in Melbourne. Will now be able to concentrate on playing in the main draw at ATP level, a far higher test.

Marin Cilic - 170, 71.

Defeated Henman and Tsonga at Queen's to gain the UK spotlight, beat Davydenko twice and ended the season with a semi-final appearance in St. Petersburg. At 19 and 6'5", there is plenty left in his tank. Keep watching him this year.

Donald Young - 495, 100.

After several years being touted as the next big thing from the US, this 18yo started winning matches in the main draw. Reaching the third round at Flushing Meadow, compiling a 34-14 challenger record, and winning junior Wimbledon shows he is now ready for the step up to play against the men. Not yet convinced he will be a top 10 player, but certainly plenty more improvement left in him.

WTA

Ursula Radwanska - 310, 250.

A year too early for Ursula, who played a limited schedule of events. Sister Agnieszka moved from 57 into 25 during the year. Both of them are very talented, stick with both of them.

Tamira Paszek - 181, 41.

Big move this year for this very talented Austrian, reaching R4 at both Wimbledon and the US Open, defeating three players in the top 20. Ended the year with back and knee injuries, but still plenty of improvement left in this one.

Michaella Krajicek - 35, 33.

Defeated Chakvetadze and Vaidisova during the year, but no move in rankings. Perhaps spending too much time in Dutch fashion magazines where she was named one of the most powerful females in Holland by Heleen magazine.

Timea Bacsinszky - 121, 122

Dogged by a wrist injury after Wimbledon but simply went nowhere. Young enough to progress forward, but she's on the sack list.

Shuai Zhang - 200, 149.

This girl was thrown in as a complete longshot and while she has dropped her ranking significantly, it's unlikely you even noticed. Five ITF event wins and two runners-up cheques, but all in either China or Japan. At only 18, she may be allowed to travel a bit more in future years and win more matches.

Other big movers on the WTA Tour in 2007:

The Williams sisters - Serena - 95 into 7 and Venus - 48 into 8. Winning a Grand Slam title tends to gain you a lot of ranking points. Joint comeback of the year award for mine, we thought they were gone...

Agnes Szavay - a breath of fresh air in the latter half of the season, moving from 207 into 20. Former junior no.1 who took time to mature when she did, wow!

Victoria Azarenka - reached two finals and also defeated Bartoli, Hingis, Petrova and Sharapova. Ranking dropped from 92 into 30. Goes for everything, a little maturity will see her threaten in better events.

Julie Vakulenko - this year she had to qualify for the Australian Open. Next year, she will be seeded. 120 into 32, a great year of results with a match record of 42-25.

Olga Govortsova - in her first full season on the tour, she jumped from 334 up to 48. A very busy 68-26 record, mostly at ITF level. Watch out for her now that she can reach most main draws without qualifying.

Pauline Parmentier - little-known before she won the Tashkent event, defeating Azarenka in the final. Also won three ITF level events, crushing her ranking from 197 into 57.

Ioana Raluca Olaru - huge mover through the lower rankings, jumping from 311 down to 59. Only finished high school in July, a record of 41-16 mostly at ITF level shows a lot of promise to be realised once she hits the main stage. Watch out for her in 2008, particularly on clay.

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