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The past year has been a topsy-turvy, rollercoaster of an undulating ride on the international tennis circuit. From Melbourne in January, North America in March, winding through Europe in the summer, crossing the Atlantic once again, a short Oriental tour in the fall before heading back to tennis' spiritual home, London, for the season finale. It's been a year of emotional upheaval. We've had a tearful Federer next to a content Nadal. We've seen the fury of the coolest racquet slammed down in a livid arc into the Miami surface. We saw a philosophical Nadal & a beaming Federer at Roland Garros and then at Wimbledon where we were witness to history on a day that Andy Roddick laid bare his soul on the hallowed turf. As if all this wasn't enough we witnessed a new grand slam winner in the form of Juan Martin Del Potro. In the end, we saw relief etched large on Nikolay Davydenko's face and finally, redemption for the greatest player of his era, Roger Federer after ending the year as World Number One. Phew!

Tennis this year has truly come to a crossroads, a changing of the guard as it were. A year in which we saw the waxing and waning of tennis' best two players in recent history. The first third was truly a Nadal show before Federer took over for a summer that will remain etched in history for years to come. But if we thought that tennis had resumed normalcy with the Federer-Nadal duopoly at the top then we were to be proved utterly wrong. We saw the rise of a literal giant, Del Potro, take his first large step towards becoming a figurative one in the future. The end of the tennis calender saw enough madness to leave one speculating and salivating on future prospects.

But the crystal ball gazing we shall do in another article. For now let's examine the fortunes of the top story makers this year: (In order of ranking)

Roger Federer: Points - 10550

Slams: AO-F; FO-W; WIM-W; USO-F
Masters Series: W - Madrid & Cincinnati; ATP WTF - SF

The Maestro touched what undoubtedly was the zenith of accomplishment in his incandescent career so far but that was preluded by a time that was the darkest since he first ascended to the top echelons back in mid 2003. The sight of a bawling Roger in Melbourne & the rarely seen frustration of the flung racquet could hardly have been a portent for the sweetest of summers that was to follow. It all came back for the man at the Madrid Masters which he won by beating nemesis Nadal for only the second time on clay. What followed was literally history in the making as he captured the French Open to complete his personal box set of slams & a month later wrapped up his sixth Wimbledon crown to move atop Mount Slam. He also managed to find time to get married & have twins either side of these triumphs to make the year an unforgettable one. Regaining the year end top ranking, joining Ivan Lendl as the only other man to do so, was the icing on the Federer cake.

Rafael Nadal: Points - 9205

Slams: AO-W; FO-4R; WIM-DNP; USO-SF
Masters Series: W - Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Rome; ATP WTF - RR

The story of Nadal's year should have been of his first hard court major and potentially so much more. Instead it was a tale of an astonishing loss in the French Open, of afflicted knees that ended his Wimbledon defence before it started and of a series of agonising losses that first chipped and then destroyed the aura of the bull that hitherto surrounded Nadal. Right now, far from a raging bull it is a serene cow, chewing its cud in the meadows that comes to mind when thinking of Nadal. Despite all this, an objective examination of his year, splits it into two halves. He had a phenomenal first half taking the Australian open, the Masters series crown at Indian Wells & dominating the clay court season as he always does. Then came Madrid and Federer. Worse, then came Roland Garros & Soderling. From there it was all downhill. He lost his No.1 ranking less than a year after he claimed it and even though he is No.2, he hasn't beaten a top ten player since beating Djokovic in that epic battle in Madrid. Players like Del Potro, Djokovic & even Davydenko routinely destroyed him in the hard court season leaving him beleaguered and licking his wounds as he prepares for new battles afresh next year.

Novak Djokovic: Points - 8310

Slams: AO-QF; FO-3R; WIM-QF; USO-SF
Masters Series: W - Paris; ATP WTF - RR

Novak Djokovic started the year breaking in a new racquet and then spent most of the rest of the time putting together solid but unspectacular results. He routinely made the last rounds of the big events but failed to win a single Masters until the fag end of the season. But his end of season form was tremendous. He beat Federer in his backyard to win in Basel & then knocked out Nadal enroute to claiming his first Masters of the year in Paris. He went into the Year End Championships full of confidence but a poor outing against Soderling ultimately cost him a place in the knockout stages. This late run on the back of a 76-18 W/L (highest match wins on ATP Tour) won him back his No.3 ranking that he had surrendered to Murray earlier in the year.

Andy Murray: Points - 7030

Slams: AO-4R; FO-QF; WIM-SF; USO-4R
Masters Series: W - Miami, Montreal; ATP WTF - RR

Roger Federer spends every year putting together insane runs at the slams. These fetch him the big points and prize money which (especially this year) is why he keeps retaining the top ranking. Andy Murray spent this year doing the exact opposite. He won 6 titles this year but none at the slams. He beat everyone everywhere except at the slams and that is why he languishes in 4th place despite briefly climbing up to a career high No.2 (post Montreal). His losses at the slams came against hard hitting opponents that weren't afraid to attack; and against the passive Murray mentality over five sets, proved to be the winning formula. Barring his loss to Gonzalez which came on his least favourite surface, the others were all matches that Murray entered as favourite. A year that Murray almost certainly will look back on as one that got away.

Juan Martin del Potro: Points - 6785

Slams: AO-QF; FO-SF; WIM-2R; USO-W
Masters Series: F - Montreal; ATP WTF - F

Del Potro's progress through the year is reflected quite clearly in his tussles with Federer. At Melbourne, Federer destroyed his weak serve knocking him out 6-3, 6-0, 6-0. At the French open, a much improve Juan Martin harried the great man for three sets before his movement and stamina were exposed in a five set defeat. Then came the big Argentine's finest hour as he showed magnificent mental toughness and brutal power in fighting back to take his first ever slam in New York. In the YEC, Del Potro proved too much for Federer to handle as he took a second consecutive victory against the champ. The Tardil native's improvement through the year has been gradual but steep and other than a struggle on grass, proved to be a handful for all the top players. His demolition of Nadal in the US Open semi-final was almost scary in its execution, and his sheer power proved to be a hurdle for everyone in the top ten.

Nikolay Davydenko: Points - 4930

Slams: AO-DNP; FO-QF; WIM-3R; USO-4R
Masters Series: W - Shanghai ; ATP WTF - W

Nikolay Davydenko's game is ideally suited to the indoor courts. With his predilection for hitting the ball flat & early, ability to change direction and create angles as well as his excellent scampering skills, the perfect indoor conditions are tailor-made for him. The moniker "Iron Man" also fits easily on his slight shoulders as at the fag end of the year when most wilt he keeps going tirelessly. This year, he made all this count taking the biggest indoor tourney of all - the ATP World Tour Finals. Prior to this he cashed in at the Shanghai Masters, winning there too. The start of this year was a painful one as a heel injury at the Indian Open in Chennai meant he missed out on the first 4 months of the year. Of course, all those thoughts will certainly fade as memories of victories over the winners of the slams, Federer, Nadal & Del Potro enroute to his career's greatest triumph will surely be a sweet & soothing antidote.

Andy Roddick: Points - 4410

Slams: AO-SF; FO-4R; WIM-F; USO-3R
Masters Series: SF - Indian Wells & Toronto ; ATP WTF - DNP

Andy Roddick mounted his greatest ever assault on Wimbledon but heartbreakingly was once again denied by a smiling Swiss assassin. 37 consecutive holds weren't enough but Andy Roddick earned the undying respect & love of the centre court crowd for his performance there and his sportsmanship in its aftermath. For the rest of the year, Andy would look back and treat as one where he did what he could but one where things didn't quite click. Solid performances in Australia & France underlined his year. Marriage to SI swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker probably proves to be a very soothing balm to any troubles. The last third of the year he would write off and look to save his energies for another attempt at an elusive second slam next year.

Robin Soderling: Points - 3410

Slams: AO-; FO-F ; WIM-QF; USO-QF
Masters Series: QF - Shanghai, Paris; ATP WTF - SF

Robin Soderling burst onto the scene in Paris by performing what till then, was for perfectly obvious reasons, assumed to be the impossible. The Swede with the big serve, windmill groundstrokes and an axe to grind played an absolute cracker of a match to oust the 4 time defending champion. When you upset the balance of the natural order of things in this manner, the tennis gods punish you and Robin's penalty was 3 consecutive meetings at the slams against Roger Federer. He lost each time. But the confidence he gained from the victory and the subsequent run to the French Open finals was enough to propel him into the year end top 10 for the first time. An opportunity at the YEC as a result of Roddick's withdrawal was grabbed with both hands and punishing victories against Nadal (again) and Djokovic knocked both out and took him through to the semis. He lost there to Del Potro in a match that went the distance. His efforts at the ATP WTF were enough to propel him into the top 8 in the year end rankings - undoubtedly a breakthrough year for the Swede.

Fernando Verdasco: Points - 3300

Slams: AO-SF; FO-4R ; WIM-4R; USO-QF
Masters Series: 5 QF; ATP WTF - RR

Fernando Verdasco came into the new-year like a breath of fresh air. Fresh from leading Spain to Davis Cup victory he was confident, pumped up and ready to go. And go he did. After pummelling Murray, he gave Nadal the fright of his life in the semis at the Australian Open, playing an absolute epic against his fellow Spaniard. The rest of his year was positive without being as successful. But finishing in the top 10 and playing in his first ATP WTF was just reward for a breakthrough year.

Among the others, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga rounded off the top 10 without ever putting in the levels of performance he showed during his Australian Open run last year. Consistency seems to be the problem for his powerful, all-court entertaining game and till then all we will have is cameos and moments of brilliance. These will make the highlight reels and stay in our heads, but will not win him slams, which at the end of the day is what history judges you by. Tommy Haas rolled back the years during a surging run to the Wimbledon semis stopped by Roger Federer (who else?). It prompted Fedex to remark that he was glad to play people of his era, reminding us just how long Tommy has been around and equally of how much he perhaps could have achieved if not for his regular tussles with injury.

Spain's men put their solidity, consistency & all-round strength on display for the second year in succession wrapping up their 4th Davis Cup of the decade rather appropriately on the red Barcelona clay. When Fernando Verdasco is not your second choice singles player on clay, you know that you have depth in your squad and Spain clearly demonstrated that in their victory this year.

That about wraps up one hell of a year for the ATP, a year that packed a lot into it giving us what arguably is the most competitive era of tennis since the late 80's. Back then we had Edberg, Lendl, Becker, Wilander - all multiple slam winners fighting at the top without any single one claiming a clear distinction. With Federer, Nadal following on from their respective peaks, Del Potro, Djokovic & Murray on the incline of theirs, this era promises to be one to rival even that golden age of men's tennis.

File Photograph: Madrid Masters