Ricky Dimon

• These will qualify for the 2008 Masters Cup in Shanghai

  2008-02-06 10:49:00
  

  An early prediction on the eight players - in order - who will qualify for the 2008 Masters Cup in Shanghai
  
  1. Roger Federer - Sure he might not be as dominant as he has been the past three or four years, but Federer is still the class of men's tennis, especially when he is 100 percent healthy (which he probably wasn't at the Australian Open). Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and several Masters Series titles should be expected for the world No. 1 heading into Shanghai.
  
  2. Novak Djokovic - He's already qualified thanks to his Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (barring some kind of disastrous injury). Djokovic is ranked third, but on all surfaces other than clay he appears to be the clear-cut number two.
  
  3. Rafael Nadal - The fact that the clay-court season is so long swill once again benefit Nadal and should give him a good chance of finishing the year No. 2, if not even No. 1. He looked good Down Under before running into the Tsonga steamroller, and the Spaniard will be heavily favored for the fourth consecutive year at Roland Garros.
  
  4. David Ferrer - I think Ferrer right now is without a doubt the fourth best player in the world. He enjoyed an incredible second half of the 2007 season and he picked up right where he left off in Australia with a quarterfinal appearance. The Spaniard is mastering both hard courts and clay courts, so that should allow him to consistently amass huge rankings points.
  
  5. Andy Murray - He missed both the French Open and Wimbledon last year with a wrist injury and still managed to finish just one spot short of qualifying for Shanghai. If Murray stays healthy in 2008, there's no reason to think he won't make it. The Scot got unlucky by drawing Tsonga in the first round at the Australian, but he should be able to bounce back.
  
  6. Mikhail Youzhny - The Russian looked absolutely unstoppable in Australia before meeting Tsonga in the semifinals. Youzhny is solid on hard, clay, and grass, and that means he has opportunities to pick up big points in every tournament he enters.
  
  7. Richard Gasquet - He qualified last year (as the eight and final qualifier) and Gasquet is only getting better, so why can't he make it again? If there's one player (other than Federer and Djokovic) who can really do some damage on all three surfaces, it's the Frenchman. I expect big things out of him at all three of the remaining Grand Slams in 2008.
  
  8. Andy Roddick - This pick probably won't be greeted too warmly, but I just don't see any better options. Roddick still has arguably the biggest serve in tennis and that alone should deliver him a few hardcourt titles and another strong showing at Wimbledon. And don't overreact about his loss to Kohlschreiber at the Australian; Roddick played amazing. Kohlschreiber simply put on a performance for the ages.
  
  Other possibilities:
  
  David Nalbandian - Will we get the Nalbandian we saw at the end of 2007 or the one we saw at the Australian Open?
  
  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Can he sustain the momentum from his incredible Aussie Open run?
  
  James Blake - Will he ever have a breakout performance at a Grand Slam?
  
  Nikolay Davydenko - Is this the beginning of the downside of his career?
  
  Tomas Berdych - Is he ever going to start beating the top players in the world?

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