Top 5 Stories of the 2016 Tennis Season So Far

Although this was not at all a surprise, I’ll put Djokovic winning the Australian Open on the list if only because it is part of a larger trend.  Novak Djokovic is in charge of the men’s game right now. Sure, he had to retire while playing Feliciano Lopez in Dubai in February.  But that’s merely an isolated incident.  Djokovic goes into every tournament as the heavy favorite to win it.  Right now in Miami, he’s the heavy favorite to take that title, having demolished Milos Raonic for the Indian Wells title.

In previous seasons there was somewhat of an equilibrium between the four main players.  You could expect Nadal to always be in contention and win the French Open.  Federer would usually be strong at Wimbledon.  Murray could usually be good for a run at one or two or even three of the tournaments.  Now, Djokovic has outdistanced them all.  His game has improved while Federer’s and Nadal’s have declined somewhat.  (More Nadal’s.  Federer can still seemingly beat almost everybody but Djokovic.)  Murray’s game seems about the same or a little better but Djokovic is in a class of his own currently.  The Australian Open simply reinforced that idea.

Next: 2. The Injury