What will 2013 Bring? Part 3 - ATP #21-30

With 2012 over and 2013 rushing towards us, I'm reviewing the season of the top 50 ATP and WTA players, and notable others, and making an informed guess (quiet at the back) at what 2013 is likely to bring.

Next stop: ATP #21-30

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#30 - Martin Klizan (SVK)

A breakthrough year for the talented Slovakian.  Still young at 23, he made huge strides into the ATP tour's upper echelons, starting the year at 117 and finishing at 30, with a first career title in St Petersburg en route, and a very useful run to the fourth round at the US Open.  It's quite a turnaround from losing fairly ignominiously in the fifth rubber of a Davis Cup tie to an unfancied Brit.  Watching Klizan in 2013 should prove interesting, to see how he handles the sophomore pressures, and whether he can kick on towards the top 20.  For me, he might be top 20 material, but top 10?  I have my doubts at this point, but 2013 should provide some more useful evidence as he plays a full schedule of Slams and Masters 1000 events.  He knocked over Tsonga at the US Open but can he pull off these kinds of upsets more regularly - and how will he cope with becoming the hunted?  Time will tell.

#29 - Jurgen Melzer (AUT)

Being over 30 in tennis doesn't necessarily seem to be the barrier it once was,  but when you have 13 years of pro tennis in the experience bank, it's likely that making improvements and climbing the rankings gets harder and harder.  For Melzer, 2012 was fairly static, climbing from 33 in January to 29 by the end of the season.  A somewhat unspectacular year overall, with the exception being the stellar run to the Memphis 500 title in February, where he was at his formidable best on the slick indoor surface, using great play and clever court smarts to engineer wins over Isner, Stepanek and Raonic en route to the trophy.  A run to the SF in Valencia remains the only other decent high point.  A year where Melzer won a match, lost a match, won a match, lost a match most of the time.  This helps maintain the ranking but is not good for social climbing.  The now-married Mr Melzer, who took the hand of his paramour Ms Benesova a few months back, is likely to have another fairly solid year in 2013 in both singles and doubles, but I forecast his ranking slips back some.

#28 - Florian Mayer (GER)

Funky Flo plied his trade with a less success than in 2012 than in 2011, but it was hardly a terrible year - he started at 23 and ended at 28, and enjoyed a Wimbledon QF appearance, falling comfortably to Novak Djokovic.  He made a SF in Beijing too, where he also took a beating by Djokovic.  Other than that, he consistently won a round or 2 throughout the year before falling to someone he probably should.  Few great upsets to his credit, but few to his debit too.  At 29, this seems to be Mayer's modus operandi - solid, occasionally dangerous, but rarely a big threat to the very best.  Expect more of the same in 2013 and enjoy that funky forehand every chance you get.

#27 - Mardy Fish (USA)

For Mardy Fish, 2012 was worrying - in more than tennis terms.  His ranking slid from 8 to 27 over the course of the year, which was punctuated by 2 prolonged absences from the game due a troubling heart condition, one between Houston and Wimbledon and the other post-US Open.  When he could play, Fish has been playing some of the best tennis of his career, continuing where he left off in 2011.  Unfortunately, he hasn't played since pulling out of the US Open with a recurrence of the health concerns, and these are set to disrupt his 2013 too, with a withdrawal from Australia already confirmed.  No predictions, then, just best wishes to Mardy and the hope he is able to overcome these health worries and return to tennis in full health and fitness.

#26 - Jerzy Janowicz (POL)

Jerzy Janowicz was 2012's thunderbolt - a late late Raonic-style emergence at the Paris Indoors.  Janowicz started the year ranked 221 and playing futures in Great Britain.  By November he was beating the US Open champion, playing a Masters 1000 final and winding up the year ranked 26.  Meteoric has nothing on this lanky Lodz-ite.  He's tall, he has a massive serve, he moves surprisingly well, his dropshot is astonishingly dangerous, and he seems to have calmed down his high-strung emotions - at least during matches.  That may be the key to his sudden emergence - the ability to cope better with match situations and keep his weapons firing.  As a tennis fan, it was humbling and moving to see how much his success meant to him, as he starkly explained how much the money would help, having missed Australia in 2012 because he simply couldn't afford the trip.  So what next?  Well, he's earned a pass into all the major events of 2013, Australia included, he can afford the ticket this time.  Question is, can he handle the pressure, put on him by himself and from external sources?  People will expect big things now, and he may expect them himself.  Is he a one-hit wonder?  I doubt it - but I forecast a somewhat bumpy ride in 2013.  There may be some highs, but expect some "inexplicable" losses too.  He's got to find his feet, and he's now got a big target on his back - an emergence like this is often just a signal to the tour that there's fresh meat on the field of battle.  Watching him deal with this is going to be fascinating, tennis fans should stayed tuned closely to this story.

#25 - Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

Mischa modestly improved his ranking in 2012, from 35 to 25, but the highlights were sparse.  A Wimbledon QF, losing to Roger Federer, and winning the Zagreb 250 in February catch the eye among a season of win one, lose one - he posted a 33-21 overall.  Indeed, his most memorable moment might have been using his racquet to write "Sorri" on the clay during the drubbing David Ferrer was dishing out to him at Roland Garros.  Famous for trying to trepan his own skull with his racquet, Youzhny is not lacking in entertainment value, at least.  Youzhny cracked the top 10 a couple of years back, but I fear the best is behind him and there's a slight going through the motions now.  I'm not sure what it is he's still trying to achieve, but I predict his ranking will slip back to the 40 region by the end of next year.  He'll have moments of danger, but whether they'll be to himself or his opponents is debatable.

#24 - Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Off the top of my head, I can't remember a single notable thing Fernando Verdasco did on the tennis court in 2012, beyond beating Nadal on the infamous smurfturf of Madrid.  Why so blue, Rafa?  I do remember Fer experimenting with various configurations of hair and facial hair, with no more success than he experienced on the tennis court.  Verdasco ended 2012 exactly where he started it, at 24, and this serves as a useful summary of his year - no strides forward, but at least he stopped the backward slide that comprised 2011.  Hard to believe he was in the top 10, Aussie Open SF and giving Nadal all sorts of trouble a couple of years back.  He showed what talent he did have back then, when paired with hard work, but in 2012 the application and focus just did not seem to be there much at all.  Off season evidence suggests he's training hard, but we'll see if that means 2013 sees a march back up the rankings.  He's a solid top 20 player, he doesn't have too many years left in his career, and he needs to stop wasting time and make more of what he's got.  Let's see if he can in 2013.  I'm not convinced.

#23 - Andreas Seppi (ITA)

It's been another career year for Seppi, building on the title in 2011 with 2 titles out of 4 finals in 2012, on hard, grass and clay - he's versatile.  He's moved up from 38 to 23 in the rankings over the year, hitting a best-ever 22.  A good, unspectacular player, who doesn't tend to beat himself, Seppi nevertheless tends to lose to who he should lose to - he rarely threatens the very best players for long, and often loses to them comfortably - a 5 set epic loss to Djokovic at RG this year is a notable exception to this trend.  Looking into my crystal ball, I predict a fairly solid but less successful year for Seppi in 2013, and he'll probably slide back in the rankings a tad.  Not too far if he stays free of injury - the opponent that stalks all players - but I can't see him making so many finals in 2013 so the points will be tough to defend.

#22 - Sam Querrey (USA)

For Querrey, 2012 was about rebuilding his ranking from the injury layoff caused by falling through a glass table in 2011 and slashing open his arm.  From 93 to 22, not far from his career high of 27.  He had a decent summer, making 3 SFs and winning a title in Los Angeles (unfortunately, the last edition of this event), and he made the QFs of the Paris Indoors.  So he's pretty much back to his best.  The big question is, can his best get better or is this it?  He's at his physical peak.  He has a great base to build from in 2013.  His game has improved in some areas over the last few years.  Is a solid spot in the top 20 or 15 possible?  I think it is, but I do worry about his temperament.  At times he has got tired of the demands of the tour and his focus has not been what it needs to be.  Unless he has resolved that, there's no way he can cope with the rigours of holding on to a top 20 ranking.  It will be interesting to watch.

#21 - Tommy Haas (GER) 

What a legend this guy is.  Like him or loath him, but respect how he keeps coming back for more, no matter what time or injury throws at him.  Now 34, and a career injury list longer than the credits of a Lord of the Rings film, he converted a 205 ranking in January 2012 to a 22 by year end, when many of his peers would have taken it as a sign that it's time to pack the racquets away.  Highlights?  Many, though perhaps the biggest was beating Roger Federer to win Halle.  Not bad.  So what does 2013 bring?  More success, I think, and no reason he can't get back into the top 20 - he has the game - if - and it's a big IF - he can stay healthy.  And that is the great question.  Will his body even let him continue to perform the way he did in 2012?  We should all hope so.  Haas brings a certain Ich weiß nicht to the tour, we should enjoy him while we still can.