2014 Numbers for 3 Players

Both Men are in Grass Court Finals Tomorrow

ATP 250 Level:

Player X – 2 Titles

Player Y – 1 Runner-up Finish, 1 Pending Final

Player Z – 1 Title, 1 Pending Final

ATP 500 Level:

Player X – N/A

Player Y – 1 Title

Player Z – 1 Title

ATP Masters 1000 Level:

Player X – 2 Quarterfinal Finishes

Player Y – 2 Runner-up Finishes, 1 Quarterfinal Finish

Player Z – 1 Semifinal Finish

Grand Slam Level:

Player X – 1 Semifinal Finish

Player Y – 1 Semifinal Finish, 1 Round of 16 Finish

Player Z – 1 Quarterfinal Finish

Player X is Ernests Gulbis, Player Y is Roger Federer and Player Z is Grigor Dimitrov

Gulbis is 25, and Dimitrov is 23.  Federer is 32 and closing in on his Larry Bird year.  Yet, Federer has been the most consistent of the 3.  Milos Raonic has been more consistent than Roger in 2014, but still lacks the high quality Masters 1000 and Grand Slam points Roger has accumulated.  Tennis typically produced top 10 contenders every 2-3 years.  The Era of the Big 4 has enforced such an oligopoly on Grand Slam and Masters 1000 successes that a player 10 years Roger’s junior putting up Federer 2014’s numbers would be looked upon as a future star.

If any player under the age of 25 had posted a 8-2 record in Grand Slam play, reached the final round of Indian Wells and Monte Carlo, won Dubai, posted 2 wins over Djokovic along with wins over Berdych, Tsonga, and Murray while reaching the final of Brisbane and Halle, tennis would be hailing this guy as new blood and a challenger for top crowns.  Instead, the usual suspects are reigning.  We can hope for the future of the sports that Raonic, Dimitrov, Dolgopolov, and others keep adding to solid showings they’ve had.

The ATP and Pepsi Should Consider Doing an Uncle Roger Commercial

PS – Consider Murray’s 9-2 Grand Slam Record

If one thinks I am just pushing Federer, consider Murray’s 2014.  In many ways it has not been a great year for Andy, but he has reached the quarterfinal round of the Australian Open, the semifinal round of the French Open along with quarterfinal finishes in Miami and Rome.