Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
With the new year breathing down our necks, it's a great time to look at the year-end top 10 men and women, and comment on what 2008 might be all about for them.
Men
No. 1 Roger Federer: This could be the most critical year of his career, because both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are coming on and, sooner or later, everyone cracks.
No. 2 Rafael Nadal: It's all up-side and no stress for this guy, which I guess is his reward for having to play second fiddle to Federer for two years running.
No. 3 Novak Djokovic: He will have a lot to defend this year, but he won't really feel the pressure until he wins his first major and takes off the blinders that get him there.
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko: Dude has to make sure he doesn't get stoned in the marketplace by an angry mob. Look for a decline in his results.
No. 5 David Ferrer: He has to make sure he doesn't go into 2008 thinking, "Gee, I made the top five last year. Dang, I'm good!"
No. 6 Andy Roddick: He must focus on handling Nadal and Djokovic and let the Federer chips fall where they may.
No. 7 Fernando Gonazlez: The pressure is on; he must show he is contender rather than contender impersonator.
No. 8 Richard Gasquet: He desperately needs to show he can do it -- two days in a row.
No. 9 David Nalbandian: He talked a great game about being reborn as a player at the end of this year. Now walk the walk.
No. 10 Tommy Robredo: Just keep on keepin' on. This guy is a master at hanging in there, even if he will never contend for majors.
Women
No. 1 Justine Henin: The upcoming year gives her a chance to vault over her rivals into that uppermost tier of women players, a similar situation to the one Federer faces.
No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova: Who knows, who cares? This woman is as unreliable as she is charming. And how did she get to be No. 2, anyway?
No. 3 Jelena Jankovic: She needs to prove that she didn't get to be No. 3 by playing every event she could enter.
No. 4 Ana Ivanovic: Like Jankovic, she needs to show she wants more out of life than a cozy sinecure as a top-five player.
No. 5 Maria Sharapova: She must show that the game is not leaving her behind.
No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze: She must break through to where Jankovic and Ivanovic are today and worry about the rest later.
No. 7 Serena Williams: Simply put, she needs to show she still has it.
No. 8 Venus Williams: If she can translate her Wimbledon prowess to the other majors, we could be talking about a major resurgence.
No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova: She needs mostly to secure and consolidate her position with a consistency she has never shown. But it's never too late, right?
No. 10 Marion Bartoli: This girl is in deep doo-doo. Wish her well.
Peter Bodo
