Players to Look Out For in 2009

It is beginning of the year and tennis fans have much to look forward to. The Nadal-Federer rivalry may start to be dieing down as Nadal just looks to be too much for Federer to handle. However, that may just open up the tour for new rivalries to form, maybe a Roddick-Federer rivalry. Whether or not that proves to be true there are many new and old faces to keep a look out for.

Andy Roddick:

American hopeful, Andy Roddick has started the year off well with a 9-2 record. His only losses have come to Roger Federer who is number two in the world and Andy Murray who is number four. His great start has moved him up three spots in the rankings awarding him with the number six ranking.

I believe Roddick is someone to look out for this year. He has changed his coach as well as his game. He no longer relies on his powerful serve but instead he has started to mix things up by coming up to net. He still uses his serve as a weapon but now when opponents figure out how to time it he will have something to fall back on, an actual game. Roddick also looked quite knowledgeable down in Melbourne, something that people often criticize him for. Maybe he has actually grown up, he does have a fiance. Or maybe it's the new body image or even the new coach; whatever Roddick has done it is working, he actually looks like a tennis player out there.

Gilles Simon:

He's young, he's fresh, he's french. What is it about Gilles Simon that seems so promising? Is it the fact that he is a Frenchman who was able to compete on a hard court surface, or was it the fact that he never seemed to give up when playing Rafael Nadal in the Quarterfinals in Melbourne. He was in every point, he tried to out hustle the king of hustling. He never gave up, which allowed him to stay in every point. He is currently ranked eighth in the world but I don't think we have seen the last of him.

I think Roland Garros could be an interesting tournament for Simon. He will have the home court advantage and the fact that surface is red clay could be an advantage. His speed could make him a dangerous threat in the tournament.

Fernando Verdasco:

Probably one of my favorite players to watch right now, Fernando Gonzalez has developed into quite a contender. His match against Nadal was one of the longest matches in Australian Open history, proving that his conditioning will allow him to compete with some of the best.

His semi-final lost to Nadal moved him up six spots in the rankings awarding him with the number nine ranking in the world. Although he and Nadal have similar games, I think that the Open will be Verdasco's most promising tournament. Although he lost to Nadal on a hard court I think mentally Verdasco won. At the Open if the two are on the same side of the draw Verdasco will walk into the showdown knowing he has a good chance to win, while Nadal will walk in remembering how much time and effort he put in to beat him. All in all I am excited for the tennis to come from Verdasco, he is older, wiser and fitter and will push any competitor to their brink.

Tommy Haas:

I have always enjoyed watching Tommy play and although we have not heard much from him lately, especially down in Melbourne I still believe he is a guy you do not want to have on your side of the draw. He lacks consistency; he is either on or off, but when he is on watch out. Every time he plays an opponent he gives it his all.

His old age of 30 could pose a problem when he has to face those young fellows like Simon, Nadal and Verdasco but it may also prove to be just what he needs to win. Having been on the tour for over a decade Haas knows what it takes to win. I think if given a good draw we could see some huge upsets on Haas' side of the court. He may start to receive some better draws having moved up in the rankings 14 spots to claim the number 65 ranking. Although that number seems awfully low, I think that if he is able to catch a break (not playing Nadal in the third round would be nice) he will continuously climb his way up the rankings.

Jo- Wilfried Tsonga:

Although his early exit in Melbourne cost him to fall in the rankings seven spots to the number fourteen ranking I still think that Tsonga is someone to watch out for. He has nothing to be ashamed of, pushing Verdasco to four sets in the quarterfinals. Although he lost the match I still like the energy and heart that he brings to the game.

The U.S Open will definitely be the most promising tournament because he hits a hard deep ball and on a hard surface that is not something you want to see on the other end of the court. Another thing that impresses me about Tsonga is how hard he has worked over the last year. Before the Australian open the name Jo-Wilifried Tsonga would have received a response such as, "Will got fried?" However, for tennis fans the name has become widely known, mostly because of his final debut last year at Melbourne. However, Tsonga did not want to be remembered as that guy who almost Novak Djkovic. Instead he has trained hard in the past year and it has really paid off.

Fernando Gonzalez

To many Americans this name brings with it a sour taste to one's mouth. He is mostly known as that guy who cheated James Blake in the Olympics, but although his character can be questioned his tennis most certainly should not. Although he too, has moved down in the rankings as well; he dropped four spots and now claims the number 18 ranking, he is not someone you should shrug off. He has been on the tour for a decade and has started the year off nicely with some big wins down under. In Australia he pulled out some big wins against Lleyton Hewitt and Richard Gasquet. Unfortunately for Gonzalez, his run ended in the fourth round when he faced Nadal, no shame in that. If he is able to get some breaks in tournaments and get his ranking up things may really start to heat up on the tour.