 Welcome back to Tennis Talk, my name is Cam Williams and it's time to look at the predictions that I made this time last year for the ATP top 10. So I predicted who I thought might finish the year in the top 10 in 2021 and we're at that part now. So let's go have a look at who I thought might make it. So my prediction for who I think is going to end up as the number 10 player in the world in 12 months time at the end of 2021 is Andre Rublev as the 10th player. So he had a breakout season in 2020, won a bunch of tournaments, made it into the top eight, got to the London finals. I think he's going to have a bit of a backslide. I think that he had a great season. I think he's going to have a little bit of a back step and I think he's going to drop down a couple of rankings. But he has to defend six titles in 2021, including three ATP 500s and three ATP 250s. However, he can gain a lot of points at some tournaments. He can make some points up at Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Canada and Wimbledon and also the ATP Cup, which he didn't play last year for Team Russia. So I didn't get the right number because he actually finished the number five in the world and actually got to a career high and didn't do too badly. But he definitely did have a backward slide, especially towards the end of the year. Didn't play great over the whole season. Definitely didn't replicate what he did last year. Only won the one title this year. And the only difference was that he made points up at the tournaments that he didn't do well at last season. So the Canada Open, he did well there. He did well at the majors as well, making the quarterfinal of the Australian Open. Of course, the ATP Cup, winning that with Russia at the start of the year. That really set him up to continue staying in the top ten and making to the ATP Finals. Coming in at number nine in my predictions is David Goffin. So Goffin currently outside the top ten. He's been in the top ten before. He's been up at the top of the game the last few years. His points at the ATP Cup have been protected. Remember, he beat Rafa at the ATP Cup at the start of this year. Okay, so that's probably not remembering what I picked in the top eight, but that's definitely got to be my worst prediction. Actually started the season off okay. He made a semi-final or a final in his first tournament of the year. But then he just lost everything and he was, I think he got injured as well or didn't play for a certain time as well. But again, no excuse. I thought a lot more of him and I thought he'd do a lot better. He dropped down bad and that was probably my worst prediction. Not only for the men, but also for the women. No real excuse there. That was just a terrible pick. For my predictions towards the end of next season, who's going to be number eight? I'm predicting that it's going to be Dennis Shapovalov as the number eight player in the world this time next year. The points that he made at the ATP Cup, they have been protected because of the ranking system. And he also has a lot of points up for grabs at the Grand Slam, including Australia Open and Wimbledon. Also Cincinnati, Canada, Miami, Shanghai and even the French Open. He could, if he made the second week of that tournament, get a lot of points. So Shapo has a lot of upside. So Shapo ended up at number 14 in the world, but he did sneak into the top 10 throughout the season. Of course, did very well at Wimbledon, made the semi-finals there and pushed Djokovic pretty hard in that semi-final. Unfortunately, he didn't play the French Open. That's where he lost a lot of points and he couldn't replicate what he did in those tournaments I mentioned as well. Shapo definitely could have had a better season. I reckon he could have been in the top 10 by the end of the year, maybe even made the ATP Finals. But look, he just didn't play the tournaments that he needed to. French Open being one of them. He pulled out of the French Open in the last minute. Had a tough road at the Australian Open and things like that. So look, Shapo, definitely top 10 quality. If you look at some of the guys that actually finished in the top 10, he did briefly get into the top 10. But it just needs to be more consistent next year. Alright, let's move on to the number 7 spot now. So the number 7 at the moment is Stéphane Sitsipas. And this time next year, I think he's going to stay there. I think Stéphane Sitsipas is going to be the number 7 in the world. This time next year, lucky for him at the Majors. Apart from the semi-final of the French Open, he has a lot of points he can make up at the Australian Open, the US Open and Wimbledon from 2019 where he lost in the first round. The only downside is that he has to defend a lot of points at the Masters 1000 level. So he finished the number 4 in the world, mainly due to the start of the season. Played so well at the Australian Open, made the semi-finals there as I predicted or thought that he could do. And then he made the French Open final, which was one better than what he did last year. So he did okay, Stéph. He actually, you know, repeated what he did at some tournaments and had a great clay court season. One Monte Carlo, that was a big one as well, getting a thousand points there. Didn't have a great end of the season, which makes me think that maybe the start of next season is going to be very tough for him because he has a lot of points to defend in that first 6 months. Again, didn't do great at Wimbledon, lost in the first round. He just can't do anything at Wimbledon for some reason. But at the French Open throughout the clay court season, that's where he got his points and that's where he was able to keep his ranking and actually be a lot higher than number 7 in the world. So credit Stéph played very well this season. Let's go to the number 6 now. So the number 6 in the world this time next year is going to be Roger Federer. So this one's an interesting one. We didn't see much of Federer in 2020. We saw him at the Australian Open. Didn't play after that because of the knee injuries. But lucky for him, Indian Wells is not going to be played or it has been told that it's not going to be played. And also the Australian Open, he made the semifinals. So he protects both of those ranking points at those events. He can also make up points in Cincinnati, Canada and the Paris Masters at the end of the year if he plays all those events. But the big downside for Roger Federer is that he's supposedly not going to play the clay court season, which means the French Open semifinal points from last year, 2019 are gone. Also, he made the quarterfinals of Madrid and Rome last year. Those points will disappear as well. So what happened with Federer at Wimbledon got injured, re-injured the knee, pulled out of a lot of tournaments. Didn't replicate the Wimbledon finals, so he lost a lot of points there. He actually played the clay court season. So I said there that he wasn't going to play. He actually played it and did okay. You know, kind of saved a lot of his points there, but he lost a lot of points at the end of the season and he dropped down another 16 in the world. So if he had been healthy and played a whole season, maybe we would be talking about something a little different. If he had played better at Wimbledon and got to the semifinals or the final, which definitely could have happened. Maybe he could have done well at the US Open and got some points. But again, injury, cruel, you know, is cruel to Federer over the last couple of seasons. It's cruel again. He's not playing the Australian Open at the start of next year. So who knows what's going to happen there with his ranking. Probably going to drop down further. But unfortunately for Roger, I picked him to be number six if he was healthy, but just didn't, you know, you can't predict injuries. Can you? Number five now I predicted for the 2021 season and will be Daniel Medvedev. So he is currently at number four. I think he's going to drop down one to number five. He does have his ATP Cup protected points from 2020. And he also has some points up for grabs in Miami, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garrus and Wimbledon. Remember the Claycourt season. He doesn't really like playing it, but if he does well, he'll get a lot of points out of it. Unfortunately, Medvedev's downfall is going to be in the second half of the season where he has so many points to defend. So definitely not the prediction. I was close. I mean, I said a lot of the things that maybe if he hadn't done, he would have dropped down, but he replicated what he needed to. He played very well in the second half of the season. In fact, you could argue that he played better in the second half of the season than what those points predict, what those points say. Won the U.S. Open. That was a big deal. But it was really the start of the season. Making the Australian Open final, winning the ATP Cup. They were massive for Medvedev at the start of the season. Really set him up to stay at number two. And I did say that he doesn't play playing on clay. We all know that. And he didn't play well until the French open. Made it to the quarterfinals. And also Wimbledon made it to the quarterfinals. That made a big difference, which meant that he didn't have to win everything at the end of the year. He just had to play well. And he did, in fact, play a lot better than he did in the previous seasons. So, Medvedev at number two in the world at the end of this season. Could be number one next year at some point. Who knows? But he had a great season overall. And I put him at number five. But he did a lot of the things that I was a little bit skeptical about. Five. So let's go now to the number four player in the world this time next year. Alexander Zverev. So currently, Sasha Zverev is number seven in the world. So a big jump from seven to four. One of the reasons why I've backed Zverev to get into the number four spot this time next year. He's got the Australian Open of 2020, the semi-final protected points there. He could also make up a lot of points in Miami, Rome, Cincinnati, Wimbledon, and also the ATB Cup where he didn't get any points. So he plays the ATB Cup next year. He could get a lot of points. Also lost first round of Wimbledon. So remember that. But I'm still backing Zverev because he finished 2020 strong. He won a couple of titles after the French Open on the indoor hardcourt. It's got to the Paris Final as well. And played a decent ATB final. So I'm going to back him. And because of David Ferrer, he hired David Ferrer just around the break. And after the French Open, it really showed that Ferrer is making a difference. So I'm going to back the fact that Zverev has Ferrer in his corner and Zverev is going to be at number four. So Zverev finished at number three. So he did a little bit better than I had predicted. And of course, we all know that the relationship with David Ferrer didn't last very long into the season. So that really wasn't a factor. I actually played well without him, which was kind of weird. Played OK at the Australian Open. Got to the quarterfinals. Played OK at the ATB Cup as well. But it was overall, you know, on the clay courts, especially played well there. That's the real difference, I think, with Zverev compared to some of the other guys. Guys like Sidney Pass and Medvedev, they've got their surfaces where their favourites on. He's a favourite on every surface, including grass, which he hasn't proven yet. But over the clay court season, he played very well, beat Raffer on the clay. And he finished strong as well, making the semi-finals of the US Open, semi-finals of the French, and a couple of quarterfinals of the Australian. Of course, the fourth round at Wimbledon. So he had a very good overall season. And even though he won the gold medal at the Olympics, that didn't actually matter. And then he won the ATB finals as well. So that had a great end to the year. So Zverev finished a number, I thought number four, he finished a number three. And he's pushing pretty hard to get to number two as well, maybe at the start of next year. Let's go to the number three player in the world. This time next year, I predict is going to be Raphael Nadal. So Raffer is currently number two in the world. And I'm going to drop him down to number three by this time next year. The reason being, mainly he has to defend a lot of points. So many points, because every single tournament he played over the last two years, he made the quarterfinals or better. So his ranking points make up a lot from those quarterfinal or better results. He's got to defend the US Open title of 2019. He's got to defend the French Open title of 2020. He's also got to defend points from Canada 2019 and Rome of 2019. And he made the semifinals of Paris, Madrid and Monte Carlo all back in 2019. He can make up points in Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai though. So there is hope. Kind of similar to Medvedev. Raffer has to defend so many points. So I did think Raphael was going to drop down. He dropped down a lot further. He dropped down number six in the world, mainly due to the injury. He got injured just before the US Hardcore season. Lost a lot of points after that. Didn't come back. And of course, lost in the French Open. Lost in the semifinals there where he lost a lot of points as well. And his clay court season wasn't as good as previous years. So he dropped a lot of points because of losses and also because of injury. So I thought he would drop down. He dropped a lot further than I maybe gave him credit for. Maybe I should have been a little bit harsher on Raphael. But he dropped down number three. Sorry, he dropped down number six. I thought he dropped down number three. So semi-right, semi-okay with that. This time next year, my prediction for the number two player at the end of the 2021 season, I think it will be Dominic Teem. So Dominic Teem is the US Open champion now. And the big reason I've put him as number two is because the Australian Open final of 2020 and the Indian Wells title of 2019, they fall under the protected ranking points. So he won't lose any points if he loses in the first round of Australia, for example. He'll keep his ranking points. He also has potentially points to make up in Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Wimbledon, and the Paris Masters at the end of the year because he lost in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019 and he didn't do great in a couple of clay court events over the 2019 season. So he has some points that he can make up. The only downside is that he has to defend the US Open title and the French Open final of 2019. So Teem couldn't replicate much of that form, mainly because of injury. You know, he was injured for the second half of the season from the grass season just before Wimbledon. He didn't play another match. The US Open points up in smokes, but also he lost in the first round of the French Open, which was a huge upset. And he was sort of coming back from injury. Remember he got injured at the start of the year around the Australian Open. He was playing injured. Didn't play a lot of the clay court season. Played a couple of tournaments here and there. I think he made the semi-finals in Madrid, which was probably the highlight of his season. So struggled with injury, struggled with that expectation as well. Teem and of course not playing for six months. You can't be number two in the world if you're not playing for six months. And that leaves one more spot. There's only one name missing out of the top 10. And he is currently the world number one. And I think this time next year he's still going to be number one. It's Novak Djokovic. He is my predicted world number one. And these are the main reasons because he's protected ranking points from the Australian Open and the ATB Cup. He could lose in the first round of both of those and still keep all his points. He has points that he can gain in Shanghai, Carlo, Miami and even the US Open. The only downside is that he has to defend points at Wimbledon, the French Open, Paris Indors, Cincinnati, Rome and Madrid. But I feel like 2021 Djokovic, he's had a tough 2020. I think 2021 Djokovic, he's going for records. He wants to beat Federer and Nadal's records. And he's also going to be super motivated to win the Olympics as well, which will get him a lot of points. So I'm picking Novak Djokovic with new motivation going into 2021 that he is going to stay at the top of the game. And he's also going to break a lot of records next year. So Nolay at number one, no surprise there. But I did say that he was going to go after the records. And he did. He got to the 20 grand slants. He almost got to 21 as well, which would have been insane. Had he broken the records of Federer and Nadal, considering this time last year, he was already, he was still three behind. But he also, of course, had the best season out of anybody for such a long time. Didn't do great at the Olympics, but it doesn't matter because that wasn't worth ranking points. So there's a little correction there. I said, ranking points at the Olympics, that changed at the start of last year. But he played for history. He broke the world number one weeks at number one, got that record of Federer, got the Sampris record of most year and number ones as well. So he played for history and added motivation, clearly helped him. And he beat Raffer at the French Open, which was a huge deal as well. Won Wimbledon, of course he's straight open. Didn't play that many tournaments, considering where his ranking is. If you look at how many tournaments he played, didn't play as many as guys like Medvedeven Zverev. So there you have it. That is my prediction from last year. Some not so great ones. Look, I love to put some random players here and there, because you never know. Maybe one player breaks out and has a crazy season. But a lot of injuries, just like the women's side. You know, team getting injured. I didn't think that was going to happen. Obviously Federer didn't play that much either. Raffer getting injured. So those guys dropping down the rankings and out of the top 10, a couple of those guys, it's hard to predict that. You can't predict that. But you know, some players did better than I predicted. Guys like Medvedeven Zverev. Of course, Djokovic. Who could have predicted that he was going to be playing for that kind of history? Kalender Slam? Nobody would have picked that at the start of last year. So let me know down in the comments below. How close were you with your predictions last year? Did you have some random players in the top 10? Did you have Kasparud, Baratini, or Hercatch in the top 10? I didn't have any of those guys. I actually thought that Baratini was going to drop out of the top 10. So yeah, I gave no respect to him and he made a final of Wimbledon. So let me know down in the comments below how close were your rankings at the start of last year compared to now. And don't forget, of course, go check out the women's reaction video of my predictions from last year. There was a lot more random than this one. This one's a little bit more close, but those ones were random. There's a lot of players that I missed out on and a couple of players that I did predict though. So go check out that video as well.