Now that the “tennis season” is officially over, except for Davis Cup, for the men, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the year-end ATP Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China.  What did each player accomplish and what did we learn about each player which could impact his 2009 season...

Roger Federer – His performance here mirrored his season in lots of ways, i.e. a little illness/injury, as well as up and down play and losses to players he hadn’t been losing too as much in previous years, i.e. an improving Andy Murray and “fast-rising” dark horse,  Gilles Simon.  Heads into 2009 with Djokovic on his heels, let alone Rafael Nadal ahead of him…

Novak Djokovic – Played well when it mattered and ended his year on a big high.  Needs to work hard in the off season to start the year strongly as he tries to defend his Australian Open title and challenge Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the rankings…

Andy Murray – Played one of the best matches of the tournament (and year) in beating Roger Federer (again).  Proves he is definitely in the mix for a Grand Slam title and top ranking in 2009…

Nikolay Davydenko – Had one of his strongest tournaments of the year, but his play faltered a little in the finals and so he still has yet to break through and win a major title.

Andy Roddick – (Another) injury, i.e. a sprained ankle, ended his tournament and long season.  He’ll recover during the off-season and the primary focus will be choosing a new coach and developing his “game plan” for 2009…

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – His brilliance was on display (again) and clearly he’s on the rise and challenging the players at the very top of the game.  It will be telling whether he can start off 2009 strongly at the Australian Open as he did in 2008… on verra (“we’ll see”)…

Juan Martin del Potro – He continued his strong play from the last several months and just missed out on reaching the semis.  Nonetheless, his season is not yet over as he joins David Nalbandian in leading Argentina against Spain in the Davis Cup Finals later this week.  If he can recharge well during the brief off-season, he will be a major threat again in 2009.

Gilles Simon – His play in defeating Roger Federer (again) proved he’s a dangerous player who continues to march up the rankings.  It will be important for him to maintain his form in his “sophomore big-time” season to establish himself as a true member of the top ten in the rankings.