2017 has been one of the most interesting years in men’s tennis in recent memory. It both had continued, yet unexpected, dominance from arguable the two greatest ever, but many players excelled who were not expected to do so. This section of players is full of some very different paths to end the year here. There is young talent, top players who battled injuries, resurgent old players, and young guns beginning to break through such as Diego Schwartzman.
#30: Damir Dzumhur
Damir Dzumhur is a player who earned every point to catapult his ranking into the top-30. The 25-year-old had been a journeyman on the ATP tour, always winning enough matches to stay competitive, but not making enough of a splash to pose a significant threat; finishing the last two seasons ranked 82 and 77. This all changed in 2017 as Dzumhur broke through in the second half of the season. His first few months of 2017 seemed to follow his career trend, with a couple of wins in Masters 1000 events and a quarter-final appearance in Memphis, but nothing significant. He struggled on the mid-season clay court swing and his ranking dropped to 96 at the end of May. He was able to notch a first round win at Wimbledon, but spent most of his summer fighting for points in Challenger events.
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He began to turn his season around in August as the tour shifted back to hard courts. He reached his second ever ATP tour level semi-final in Los Cabos, followed by his first ever final appearance, falling to Roberto Bautista Agut in Winston-Salem. A week later, he posted a career best result by reaching the third round of the US Open. He continued his impressive streak across the Atlantic, becoming the first player in history from Bosnia and Herzegovina to capture an ATP title with his win in St. Petersburg. He then defeated young sensation Alexander Zverev the next week in straight sets, helping him break into the top-40 for the first time. Dzumhur was able to capture the singles title in Moscow over Ricardas Berankis, a tournament where he also reached the doubles final. Dzumhur seemed to be on par for another mediocre season, but an impressive three month stretch from August to October saw him win two tournaments and reach an additional final, bringing his ranking into the top 30 and proving his is a viable threat for next season.
#29: Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber seems like he has been in this exact spot for the last ten years. Always seeded, often in the round of 16 in majors, but nothing much more than that. What has made this season and his career impressive, is that he is still doing it at age 34. Since 2007, Kohlschreiber has finished the year no higher than 20 and no lower than 43. This season was more of the same for the German, putting together a respectable 32-19 record this season. He also achieved a career milestone with his 400th ATP victory when he defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov in Indian Wells.
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2017 was another strong year for Kohlschreiber, and although he is no longer a dominant force, he has far from disappeared from the late rounds in tournaments. He reached two finals, both on clay courts which is his strongest surface. He was able to split the result in both of these finals, taking home the trophy in Kitzbuhel. He additionally made three quarterfinals as well as two semifinals to add to a consistent season. His downfall in 2017 was his major performance in the middle of the season. He had first round exists at both the French Open and Wimbledon, albeit both to difficult opponents. In addition, Kohlschreiber ended the year on a very high note when he reached the round of 16 at the US Open, his best result at any major since 2014. Kohlschreiber struggled partially due to challenging draws, but his ranking should allow him to be seeded at Grand Slams and continue to win matches throughout the season.
#28: Adrian Mannarino
Widely considered the best active player without a tournament title, Mannarino put a strong season together, and came close to removing that title but did not succeed. He has had a great career; over $4.5 million in prize money, 13 Challenger Tour titles, and currently sitting inside the top-30 at age 29. However, he has come close several times but has never been able to string that perfect week together to end with a title. Although this is a label Mannarino may be stuck with, it should not take away from a strong season he had in 2017, one of the best of his career.
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He began the campaign ranked 60th, focusing partially on challengers as well as some smaller tour-level events. He picked up two titles in both Challenger Tour events he played in, but lost 6 of his first 7 ATP matches. He kept fighting and began to turn his season around by reaching the round of 16 in both Masters events in Miami and Monte Carlo, the latter including a win over his countryman and world no.10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In the inaugural Antalya Open, he reached his third ATP final. He faced Yuichi Sugita, a player ranked lower than him, but fell in straight sets. He continued the momentum into Wimbledon, winning back-to-back 5 set battles against Sugita and world no.14 Gael Monfils, before falling in the round of 16. He reached his second final of the year in Tokyo, securing a career-best win over world number five Marin Cilic. However, he found red-hot David Goffin opposite him in the final and was unable to capture the trophy. Although he ends the season without a title, Mannarino has very little to hang his head about, and will come into 2018 as a player to watch, and few would be surprised if he wins one or even two tournaments.
#27: Fabio Fognini
Like multiple players above, Fabio Fognini had a season similar to his career as a whole. The 30-year-old showed promise with wins over top players and a tournament title, but did not do quite enough to be an elite player. Once again, his fiery temper held him back from a higher ranking. His racket smashes and anger has caused him to lose winnable matches this year and throughout his career. 2017 brought direct punishment as well for his actions. At the US Open, he was fined $96,000 for slurs directed toward a female chair umpire. Additionally, he has the potential to be suspended for two majors unless he shows “good behavior” during the 2018 season. This was far from a perfect season for Fognini, but it should not be discounted that he was able to win many matches and succeed all season on all surfaces.
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After early season struggles, Fognini beat world number eight Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Indian Wells, then followed it up with a semifinal appearance in a loaded Miami field. In Miami he topped world no.4 at the time, Kei Nishikori, in straight sets. This is indicative of Fognini’s game, beating top ten players in consecutive tournaments, then a month later losing back-to-back matches against players outside the top 80. His difficulties continued on clay. After losing four of five matches, he topped world number one Andy Murray in Rome to reach the round of 16. He reached the third round at both the French Open and Wimbledon, helping his rank to stay in the mid 20s but not improve. He returned to the clay, winning the title in Gstaad, his 5th career ATP world tour trophy. He gritted out matches the entire tournament, dropping a set in every match he played aside from the final. The return to hard courts was unkind at first, losing in the second round in Cincinnati and the first round of the US Open. He did excel in indoor tournaments as the season drew to a close. He made his second final of the season in St. Petersburg, and reached the semifinal in Stockholm.
#26: Diego Schwartzman
Diego Schwartzman is the most exciting player of these five. He is listed at 5’7”, 141 lbs at a young age of 25. Schwartzman’s season as a whole is representative of his playing style. He’s a scrappy, consistent player that wears down opponents while grinding out matches. 2017 was somewhat of a breakthrough season for the young Argentine. Although he did not win any titles, he seemed to win a couple of matches in every tournament he entered. This season was also a major step forward for Diego Schwartzman, as he improved greatly on hard courts, moving away from the primarily clay court specialist he had been earlier in his career.
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Diego Schwartzman began the season outside of the top-50, and that ranking dropped as he couldn’t get much momentum going in the early hard court swing. He then transitioned to his best surface clay, and the results followed. He reached three quarterfinals, including at the Masters event in Monte Carlo, and one semifinal in Istanbul. He came into the French Open with momentum, and jumped out to a two sets to one lead against world number two Novak Djokovic before losing a tough five setter. After a short and unremarkable grass court season, Diego Schwartzman picked up more points with consecutive quarterfinals on clay. His season was highlighted by his performance at the end of the year on hard courts. He saved four match points on the way to victory over world number seven Dominic Thiem in Montreal, en route to another Masters 1000 quarterfinal. He entered the US Open having won two career matches in both hard court majors combined. He put together an incredible run, beating former champion Marin Cilic on the way to the quarterfinals, becoming the shortest US Open quarterfinalist since 1994. He then added to his achievements this season with his first final of the year in Antwerp, where he fell short. Diego Schwartzman did not have many final or semifinal appearances this season, but his consistent play week after week helped him reach this rank that will only rise should this continue.
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