Ricky Dimon

• 2009 ATP Tour grades, from 1 to 100 (part 2)

  2009-12-11 16:04:10
  

  The dust has cleared. The smoke has settled. The players--finally--are resting. Now it's time to hand out grades for all Top 100 players on the ATP Tour based on their 2009 performances. Part 2 of 2 includes players 51-100.
  
  
  1) Roger Federer: A-plus – It was nearly one of the best seasons in ATP history (calendar Grand Slam). Still, four slam finals, two slam titles, and passing Pete Sampras for the all-time record in men’s singles Grand Slam titles is an automatic, slam-dunk, no-argument A-plus.

   

  2) Rafael Nadal: B-plus – Won his first hard-court Grand Slam title and led Spain to another Davis Cup crown. He also finished at No. 2 in the world despite missing two months (including Wimbledon). How that could be “worse” than a B-plus year is beyond me.

   

  3) Novak Djokovic: B-minus – Played a ridiculous amount of tennis and won a ridiculous amount of matches. But when you are a Top 3 player in the world, it is about Grand Slams. Djokovic appeared in no major finals and only reached one semifinal.

   

  4) Andy Murray: C-plus – Murray was on fire early and briefly made it to No. 2 world, but he was an immense disappointment at the Grand Slams.

   

  5) Juan Martin Del Potro: A – Arguments for an A-plus can be made, but getting served two bagels by Federer at the Aussie Open has to bump it down to “only” an A. Perhaps that humiliation woke up Del Potro, who was amazing (aside from being injured this fall) the rest of the way.

   

  6) Nikolay Davydenko: A – I wonder what odds Davydenko could have gotten on himself of winning the World Tour Finals after he missed almost the entire first three months season due to injury? Once he returned, he was on fire until the very end.

   

  7) Andy Roddick: B – Roddick appeared to be on the way to one of his best seasons ever and he probably came within a point (two break points in the fifth set of the Wimbledon final) of making it happen. Injuries, however, made sure that he did not recover from two devastating losses (to Federer at Wimbledon and to John Isner at the U.S. Open).

   

  8) Robin Soderling: A-plus – Previously thought of as a mentally-fragile indoor-court specialist, Soderling beat Nadal at the French, reached the WTF semifinals, and finished at a career-high ranking of No. 8 in the world.

   

  9) Fernando Verdasco: A-minus – Although even bigger things were expected of Verdasco when he captivated the tennis world in the Australian Open semifinals, this was still BY FAR his best season on the ATP Tour.

   

  10) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: B-minus – That Tsonga stayed healthy all season long is a two-way street. He did well to stay healthy for the first time in his career, it’s surprising he did not do more given his clean bill of health.

   

  11) Fernando Gonzalez: A-minus – Lost only 16 matches (compared with 39 wins), so it’s clear he could have been a World Tour Finals participant had he been healthy from start to finish. Gonzo highlights included a memorable Aussie Open victory over Richard Gasquet, a French Open semifinal appearance, and a fourth career title in his native Chile (Vina Del Mar).

   

  12) Radek Stepanek: A – He just won’t go away. Stepanek compiled an outstanding 47-21 record, won two titles, led the Czechs Republic to a Davis Cup runner-up finish, and finished with a year-end ranking seven places better than his previous year-end best.

   

  13) Gael Monfils: B-plus – Went 42-19 and could have been a serious World Tour Finals contender, but injuries continued to be a problem. Reached three finals (one title) and a Grand Slam quarter (French).

   

  14) Marin Cilic: A-minus – His consistent ascent up the rankings continued thanks to 48 victories against just 21 losses. Cilic reached four finals, won two titles, and appeared in his first Grand Slam quarter (U.S. Open).

   

  15) Gilles Simon: B-minus – Sure it was not like his 2008 assault on the tennis scene, but did anyone really expect that again? Simon did well to win 45 matches and remain in the Top 15 despite knee problems throughout the entire second half.

   

  16) Tommy Robredo: B – Another typical Robredo year: racked up win after win (46-25 record) without much fanfare. He won two small clay-court titles, but still never astounded at any slam.

   

  17) David Ferrer: C-plus – Quietly went 45-23, mainly thanks to clay-court success, but his ranking has suffered a steady decline since the start of 2007. Still, his five-set miracle comeback against Stepanek in the Davis Cup final is a positive sign heading into 2010.

   

  18) Tommy Haas: B-plus – Climbed from 84^th to 14^th and was a World Tour Finals contender until more injuries plagued him in the second half of the season. Enjoyed impressive showing at the French (fourth round) and Wimbledon (semis).

   

  19) Mikhail Youzhny: A – Written off after seeing his game fall apart late in 2008 and early in 2009, Youzhny stormed back into prominence. He went 42-28 and reached FOUR ATP finals (winning one in Moscow).

   

  20) Tomas Berdych: C-plus – It was clear when he failed to close out Federer at the Australian Open that this was going to be another typical Berdych year: a fair amount of wins, but nothing spectacular. Finished with the same year-end ranking that he held one season ago.

   

  21) Stanislas Wawrinka: C – Fell from 13^th to 21^st in the rankings mainly because he did nothing at the slams other than a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon.

   

  22) Lleyton Hewitt: A-minus – Returned from hip surgery to go 34-20 and—after briefly falling out of the Top 100 early in the season—rise to No. 22 in the world. Hewitt won a title in Houston and reached the Wimbledon quarters.

   

  23) Juan Carlos Ferrero: A-plus – A 29-year-old climbing from outside the Top 100 to No. 23 in the world? A quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam event on his least favorite surface? Ferrero’s resurgent 2009 campaign was almost too good to be true.

   

  24) Ivan Ljubicic: A-minus – Fell from 18^th to 45^th in 2008 and everyone assumed the 30-year-old was done. Instead, he made four Masters quarterfinal appearances and won a title in Lyon.

   

  25) Sam Querrey: A-minus – Those glass tables in Bangkok get you every time, right? Well…they at least got Querrey this time. Still, he continued his march up the rankings and reached FIVE ATP finals (but he only won one of them in Los Angeles).

   

  26) Nicolas Almagro: C-plus – Won a title in Acapulco, but was mostly a disappointment after that. Does anyone still consider Almagro one of the most dangerous clay-courters around?

   

  27) Philipp Kohlschreiber: B – Improved one spot from 2008 to finish with a career-high ranking. Stunning Djokovic at the French was the highlight, but Kohlschreiber faded down the stretch.

   

  28) Jurgen Melzer: B-plus – This guy might hover between 20 and 50 in the rankings until he is 40 years old. His typically solid year received an added boost when Melzer captured his second career ATP title (Vienna).

   

  29) Viktor Troicki: B-minus – A foot injury killed Troicki’s summer, which is usually his best part of the year. Still, he continued his swift and steady ascent up the ATP rankings.

   

  30) Juan Monaco: B-plus – After disappearing midway through 2008 due to a major ankle injury, Monaco resurfaced this year as a serious clay-court contender. His 2009 resurrection could have been even more impressive, but he lost all three of his ATP finals.

   

  31) Albert Montanes: A-minus – Went 24-21 and won two ATP titles, giving him three for his career. It’s hard to believe, but this clay-court specialist is going to be SEEDED for the Aussie Open.

   

  32) Jeremy Chardy: B – Cooled off following a torrid start to the season, but still went an impressive 35-28 having previously won only 12 ATP-level matches.

   

  33) Paul-Henri Mathieu: C – Mathieu even said himself that he has no idea how he is still No. 33 in the world.

   

  34) John Isner: A – After a “sophomore slump” in 2008, he soared from 145^th to a career-high ranking of 34^th. Highlighted by a five-set U.S. Open win over Roddick, Isner’s year would have certainly been A-plus material had he not missed both the French and Wimbledon due to mono. Then again, that bout with mono makes his rise all the more mind-boggling.

   

  35) Igor Andreev: D – His showing against Federer at last year’s U.S. Open suggested bigger and better things for Andreev. Instead, he digressed in 2010.

   

  36) Thomas Bellucci: A – A Challenger wonder heading into 2009, Bellucci decided to try his luck at the ATP level. It paid off to the tune of 21 victories (boosting his career total to 25). He should contend for SIGNIFICANT clay-court titles as early as next season.

   

  37) Ivo Karlovic: C – His first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal (Wimbledon) kept this from being a D (or even worse). Karlovic collapsed thereafter and was dismal on indoor hard courts, a surface on which he should excel.

   

  38) Janko Tipsarevic: B-minus – Tipsy did not have a breakout season, but he wrapped it up with the best year-end ranking of his career. He also reached his first ATP final (Moscow).

   

  39) Andreas Beck: A-minus – Soared from No. 110 to No. 39 this season by winning 22 ATP matches (he previously had seven victories in his entire ATP career). His two-handed backhand emerged as a major force.

   

  40) Benjamin Becker: C-plus – Shockingly, Becker finished just two spots off his career-high ranking of No. 38 in the world. But he has the Challenger level and the Challenger level only to thank for that.

   

  41) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: B-plus – GGL won 28 ATP-level matches, captured his first career ATP title (Kitzbuhel), and finished with a career-high ranking. Still needs to improve outside of clay, though.

   

  42) Marcos Baghdatis: B-minus – More injuries prevented him from returning to his status as a serious contender, but Baggy still climbed from 100^th to 42^nd and quietly went 23-16 at the ATP level. He even ended his year on a 10-match, two-title winning streak (one Challenger, one ATP).

   

  43) Dudi Sela: B – In fine form early in the season, Sela ended up reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon. He never recovered, however, from an ill-timed summer injury.

   

  44) James Blake: F – Injuries + brainless ball-bashing + splitting from long-time coach + loss after loss = F

   

  45) Horacio Zeballos: A-minus – Ranking-wise, Zeballos deserves an A+ for surging into the Top 50, but outside of St. Petersburg, he did it entirely on the Challenger circuit.

   

  46) Julien Benneteau: B-plus – Rock-solid year included good showings in Cincinnati (quarterfinals), at the U.S. Open (third round), and at the Paris Masters (upset Federer).

   

  47) Feliciano Lopez: C-plus – Struggling to win any matches at all and headed straight for a complete failure of a season, Lopez suddenly reached the Shanghai semis and then clinched the 2009 Davis Cup title.

   

  48) Victor Hanescu: C-minus – Actually improved on his 2008 year-end ranking (50^th to 48^th), but did so in uninspiring fashion. Hanescu was especially bad in the second half of the year.

   

  49) Andreas Seppi: C – Progressed steadily inside the Top 100 starting in 2006, be took a step backward this season by going just 24-31. In fairness to Seppi, however, he was dealt some BRUTAL draws.

   

  50) Pablo Cuevas: B-plus – Was a solid 19-15 at the ATP level in 2009 and reached the semifinals of a 500-point tournament (Hamburg). He should contend for minor clay-court titles next year.
  
  
  

  TOP 100 SUMMARY BY LETTER GRADE
  
  A-plus
  Federer, Soderling, Ferrero, Chiudinelli, Dent

  
  A
  Del Potro, Davydenko, Stepanek, Youzhny, Isner, Bellucci
  
  A-minus
  Verdasco, F. Gonzalez, Cilic, Hewitt, Ljubicic, Querrey, Montanes, Beck, Zeballos, Greul, Ram, De Bakker, Lapentti
  
  B-plus
  Nadal, Monfils, Haas, Melzer, Monaco, Garcia-Lopez, Benneteau, Cuevas, Fognini, Stakhovsky, Koellerer, L. Mayer, Lacko, Lorenzi
  
  B
  Roddick, Robredo, Kohlschreiber, Chardy, Sela, Korolev, O. Rochus, Gicquel, F. Mayer, M. Gonzalez, Llodra, Gimeno-Traver, Berrer, Luczak, Russell, Daniel
  
  B-minus
  Djokovic, Tsonga, Simon, Troicki, Tipsarevic, Baghdatis, Clement, Gil, Chela, Falla, Brands, Ginepri
  
  C-plus
  Murray, Ferrer, Berdych, Almagro, Becker, Lopez, Hernandez, C. Rochus
  
  C
  Wawrinka, Mathieu, Karlovic, Seppi, Starace, Serra, Santoro, Zverev, Vassallo Arguello

   

  C-minus
  Hanescu, Acasuso, Petzschner
  
  D-plus
  Lu
  
  D
  Andreev, Schuettler, Nieminen, Granollers
  
  D-minus
  Bolelli
  
  F
  Blake, Gasquet, Fish, Nalbandian, Tursunov, Gulbis, Malisse, Ancic

  
  Agree? Disagree? Comments are encouraged below.

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