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Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Murray Schedule Differently

By Nate Slaymaker

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Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Murray Schedule Differently Heading to Indian Wells, Miami

After Novak Djokovic hoisted the trophy at the Australian Open, players turn their attention to the next big swing of tennis tournaments. Those big Masters 1000 tournaments will happen at Indian Wells and Miami beginning on March 9. The members of the ‘Big Four’ (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray) are using different strategies when it comes to scheduling heading into those big tourneys.

With Andy Murray’s final showing in Melbourne, the Big Four have been restored to the top of the ATP Rankings. The two big tournaments in the United States could alter the positioning in the ATP Rankings heading into the clay court season.

RankNamePoints
1Djokovic, Novak (SRB)13,045
2Federer, Roger (SUI)9,205
3Nadal, Rafael (ESP)5,745
4Murray, Andy (GBR)5,460

Each of the Big Four took a week off after the Australian Open, choosing not to enter 250-level events in Quito, Montpellier, or Zagreb. Murray is the only member of the quartet to play this week. He has chosen to enter the field at Rotterdam this week, while the others take more time off. Even as the one seed, Murray will face a tough draw in Rotterdam. The field includes Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka, and Grigor Dimitrov, among others. Murray reached the quarterfinals last year. If he wins the tournament this year, he will surpass Nadal in the rankings.

Last year Nadal used the South American swing to successfully re-launch his campaign

Nadal will return to the court the next week in the friendly confines of the clay court tournament in Rio. Last year Nadal used the South American swing to successfully re-launch his campaign after coming off an injury. He will be the top seed in this contest, with Ferrer as the only other top 10 player in the draw. He will need to win the title to keep his 500 points and try to keep Murray below him.

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Djokovic and Federer will return from their three week hiatus to join Murray at the Dubai Duty Free Championships. Djokovic earned 180 points by reaching the semifinal last year. Federer won the tournament and will be defending the whole 500 points. Whatever Murray earns will be added to his total. Nadal will forgo the 500-level hard court tournament in Acapulco to stay on the clay in Buenos Aires. It is only a 250-level tournament and his points earned there will be minimal. It is a bold decision for Nadal who will return to the hard courts at the high stakes tournament in the deserts of Southern California.

February Tournaments and Top Players Entered

February 2: Quito, Ecuador: 250 outdoor-clay
No.14 Feliciano Lopez
No.32 Santiago Giraldo
No.33 Fernando Verdasco

February 2: Montpellier, France: 250 indoor-hard
No.19 Gael Monfils
No.20 Gilles Simon
No.24 Philipp Kohlschreiber
No.28 Richard Gasquet

February 2: Zagreb, Croatia: 250 indoor-hard
No.27 Ivo Karlovic
No.36 Adrian Mannarino
No.37 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Sep 3, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Andy Murray (GBR) returns a shot to Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day ten of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

February 9: Rotterdam, Netherlands: 500 indoor-hard
No.4 Andy Murray
No.6 Milos Raonic
No.7 Tomas Berdych
No.9 Stan Wawrinka
No.11 Grigor Dimitrov
No.13 Ernests Gulbis
No.16 Roberto Bautista Agut
No.19 Gilles Simon

February 9: Sao Paulo, Brazil: 250 indoor-clay
No.14 Feliciano Lopez
No.17 Tommy Robredo,
No.22 Fabio Fognini
No.26 Leonardo Mayer
No.30 Pablo Cuevas

February 9: Memphis, USA: 250 indoor-hard
No.5 Kei Nishikori
No.15 Kevin Anderson
No.18 John Isner
No.24 Alex Dolgopolov

Jun 8, 2014; Paris, France; Rafael Nadal (ESP) in action during his match against Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day 15 at the 2014 French Open at Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

February 16: Marseille, France: 250 indoor-hard
No.6 Milos Raonic
No.9 Stan Wawrinka
No.13 Ernests Gulbis
No.16 Roberto Bautista Agut

February 16: Delray Beach, USA: 250 outdoor-hard
No.15 Kevin Anderson
No.18 John Isner
No.24 Alexandr Dolgopolov
No.25 Ivo Karlovic

February 16: Rio, Brazil: 500 outdoor-clay
No.3 Rafael Nadal
No.10 David Ferrer
No.17 Tommy Robredo
No.22 Fabio Fognini
No.26 Leonardo Mayer
No.30 Pablo Cuevas

February 23: Dubai, UAE: 500 outdoor-hard
No.1 Novak Djokovic
No.2 Roger Federer
No.4 Andy Murray
No.7 Tomas Berdych
No.13 Ernests Gulbis
No.14 Feliciano Lopez
No.16 RobertoBautista Agut
No.21 David Goffin

February 23: Acapulco, Mexico: 500 outdoor-hard
No.5 Kei Nishikori
No.10, David Ferrer
No.11, Grigor Dimitrov
No.24 Alexandr Dolgopolov
No.25 Ivo Karlovic

February 23: Buenos Aires, Argentina: 250 outdoor-clay
No.3 Rafael Nadal
No.17 Tommy Robredo
No.22, Fabio Fognini
No.26 Leonardo Mayer

March 9: Indian Wells Masters

March 23: Miami Masters

Next: Are Roger Federer's Days Numbered?

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