RECAP: Tennis Country 2008 New Year's Predictions
• There will be a first-time Grand Slam singles winner
o Serbian tennis stars, Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic each won their first Grand Slam titles – Djokovic captured the 2008 Australian Open and Ivanovic the 2008 French Open
• Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will win the same number of Grand Slam titles
o Rafael Nadal surprised many by winning Wimbledon in addition to capturing the Roland Garros title again while Federer saved his year by winning the 2008 U.S. Open title
• Between them, Venus and Serena Williams will win a Grand Slam title
o Venus Williams and Serena Williams had one of their best combined years on the Tour with Venus winning her fifth Wimbledon title and the year-end Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championship while Serena Williams won the 2008 U.S. Open crown and the Williams sisters teamed to win the Gold Medal in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics…
• There will not be an American in a Grand Slam singles final
o Venus and Serena Williams both won Grand Slam titles in 2008, but the American men, i.e. Andy Roddick and James Blake were never really in contention…
• A major scandal will rock the very top of the tennis game
o The multi-million dollar lawsuit against the ATP Tour by the ATP Masters Hamburg tennis tournament was finally settled in favor of the ATP Tour after a trial in a Delaware court-room…
• Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras will renew their rivalry…
o Not yet… although Sampras did play a memorable match against Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden…
• The Number One ranked male player will lose more matches than the Number One ranked female player
o Well… new Number One, Rafael Nadal, played the kind of year that will be talked about for centuries – Nadal won 82 matches and only lost 11 while year-end female Number One, Jelena Jankovic, won 65 matches and lost 19…
• The winner of the Olympic Gold Medal will NOT win the U.S. Open title
o Rafael Nadal amazingly won the Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing after winning the French Open and Wimbledon, but was clearly fatigued at the 2008 U.S. Open while Elena Dementieva “made” her career by winning the Gold Medal in Beijing, but could not continue her fine form at the U.S. Open…
• After an extended break, a former Grand Slam champion will return to the Tour and return to the Top Ten by the end of the year…
o Lindsay Davenport had a promising return to the Tour after giving birth to her first child in June, 2007, but didn’t make it all the way back to the Top Ten…
• A team from Europe will win the Davis Cup and the United States will win the Federation Cup
o The Spanish men pulled off an incredible upset by winning the Davis Cup without Rafael Nadal “away” in Argentina… The Russian women showcased their depth and dominance by winning the Federation Cup again...
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