Following my popular article last year, I will once again be giving my ATP predictions for the upcoming 2020 season. I shall be giving my predictions on the biggest tournaments of the year (Grand Slams, ATP Finals and Summer Olympics) as well as the year-end rankings. So without further a do, here are my predictions…
Australian Open
2019 Final: (1) Novak Djoković d. (2) Rafael Nadal 6–3, 6–2, 6–3
Thoughts on the 2019 finalists…
I do not believe Rafael Nadal has a chance of winning the Australian Open. No man in the Open Era has won every Grand Slam at least twice and I highly doubt the Tennis Gods would allow this to change. On the other hand, I think Novak Djoković will retain his title. He has won the tournament seven times, which is more than anyone in the Open Era. Therefore, he seems like a safe bet to be victorious once again in Melbourne.
Predicted Champion: Novak Djoković
2019 Final: (2) Rafael Nadal d. (4) Dominic Thiem 6−3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
Thoughts on the 2019 finalists…
In the last four years of the French Open, Dominic Thiem has lost to the eventual champion. Each year he gets closer to winning the title but I unfortunately I think he shall suffer the same fate in 2020. This is because Rafael Nadal is in the tournament. The Spaniard has a 93-2 record at the tournament with an astounding 12 titles in Paris. With these statistics, it would be crazy to bet against him winning yet another French Open.
My Predicted Champion: Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon
2019 Final: (1) Novak Djoković d. (2) Roger Federer 7–6(7–5), 1–6, 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 13–12(7–3)
Thoughts on the 2019 finalists…
In last year’s final, Roger Federer put on a display on how you lose a match when your opponent only turns up with their C-game and gives you countless opportunities. I believe this match has broken him and do not expect him to win a Grand Slam ever again. On the other hand, Novak Djoković showed us how you win an important match whilst performing at such a mediocre level. If he managed to win this year’s final playing as negatively as he did, I am confident he will be able to win the tournament next year.
My Predicted Champion: Novak Djoković
Summer Olympic Games
Rio 2016 Gold Medal Match: (2) Andy Murray d. Juan Martín del Potro 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5
Rio 2016 Bronze Medal Match: (4) Kei Nishikori d. (3) Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6–7(1–7), 6–3
Thoughts on the 2016 medallists…
Andy Murray and Juan Martín del Potro are both ranked outside the Top 100 and have injury concerns surrounding them. With the Olympics being a 64-player field, the chance of either of them winning medals in Tokyo does not seem likely. On the other hand, Kei Nishikori has a chance to win another medal next year as he is playing in his home country where he will have the whole crowd on his side.
My Predicted Champion: Rafael Nadal
Nadal always performs well when playing for his country and has already won a Singles Gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. This is the one big title that rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djoković are missing. Therefore they are likely to falter under the pressure, allowing Nadal to capitalise and become Olympic champion once again.
US Open
2019 Final: (2) Rafael Nadal d. (5) Daniil Medvedev 7–5, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4
Thoughts on the 2019 finalists…
Rafael Nadal has never won more than one Grand Slam in consecutive seasons and so I do not expect him to retain his US Open title as a result. Daniil Medvedev‘s performance in last year’s final was arguably the best maiden Grand Slam performance by a player who still came up short. He pushed Nadal all the way last year and after his stellar 2019 season, I expect him to win his first Grand Slam in 2020.
My Predicted Champion: Daniil Medvedev
ATP Finals
2019 Final: (6) Stefanos Tsitsipas d. (5) Dominic Thiem 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Thoughts on the 2019 finalists…
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem played a very entertaining final in what was a great edition of the year-end championships. Both performed beyond my expectations and as a result I believe they will qualify for the ATP Finals again next year. Whilst it will be difficult for them to replicate the same results next year, I would not put it past them.
My Predicted Champion: Novak Djoković
Djoković knows he has the ability to win this event but it is just a matter of whether he is willing to give 100% concentration and fight for it. Those things were lacking for him this year because he had already lost the chance to end the year as the No.1 player. However, 2020 will be the last year where the ATP Finals will be held in London which I believe will motivate him to win the tournament.
Year-End Rankings
At the end of 2020, I expect the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings to look like the following…
Rank. Player Name (Country) (Change)
- Novak Djoković (SRB) (+1)
- Rafael Nadal (ESP) (-1)
- Daniil Medvedev (RUS) (+2)
- Roger Federer (SUI) (-1)
- Dominic Thiem (AUT) (-1)
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) (-)
- Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) (+2)
- Alexander Zverev (GER) (-1)
- Matteo Berrettini (ITA) (-1)
- Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) (+10)
So there you have it – these are my predictions for ATP Tour in 2020. I am very excited to see how men’s tennis evolves in this new decade – hopefully some new stars emerge forming rivalries surrounding a changing of the guard. Let me know your thoughts on my predictions in the comments!
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
