2011 Tennis ATP Tour Year in Review Quiz

Answers

1. Novak Djokovic claimed his second Australian Open title in 2011, defeating Andy Murray in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. In winning the second major title of his career, Djokovic dropped only one set in the entire tournament.

2. Spain had three players in the top ten at the end of 2011: Rafael Nadal at #2, David Ferrer at #5, and Nicolas Almagro at #10. Serbia had two: Novak Djokovic at #1 and Janko Tipsarevic at #9.

3. Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 in the 2011 Roland Garros final, tying Bjorn Borg's record of six Roland Garros singles titles. Roger played better against Rafa than he had in their past four meetings at Roland Garros, especially hitting his backhand with more depth, thus giving Rafa fewer balls to attack. Roger had a set point at 5-2 in the first set and hit a backhand drop shot that landed a fraction of an inch wide. Had he won that point, the match might have gone differently, but Rafa is as tough to beat at Roland Garros as could be, and he was in fine form for the 2011 final, producing 39 winners with only 27 unforced errors.

4. Ranked #9 at year's end, Janko Tipsarevic played 28 ATP tournaments, the most of anyone in the top ten. Just behind him, with 27 tournaments, was Nicolas Almagro, ranked #10.

5. Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the 2011 men's singles final to claim his first Wimbledon title. Djokovic had beaten Nadal in four previous finals in 2011, and they gave Novak the psychological advantage; he had genuine belief that he should win, and Rafa had doubt. Novak lacks the weakness on high backhands that Rafa counts on exploiting against Roger Federer, Rafa's usual opponent in big finals, and Novak defended better than Roger, running down more balls and returning them deeper, thus keeping Rafa from stepping in to hit winners.

6. Two singles wins from Rafael Nadal and one from David Ferrer carried Spain to a 3-1 win over Argentina for its fifth Davis Cup.

7. Novak Djokovic won his first US Open in 2011, defeating Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1. Novak showed proficiency in every aspect of the game, from exceptional defense to increased aggressiveness at the net. Particularly effective were Novak's returns of serve; he held Rafa to winning only 52% of his first-serve points.

8. With a 41-0 match winning streak to start 2011 and three Grand Slam titles before the year was done, Novak Djokovic easily racked up enough ranking points to finish the year at #1. Novak's 13,630 ranking points put him more than 4000 ahead of Rafael Nadal, who finished at #2.

9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga served 825 aces in his 79 matches of 2011, followed by John Isner, who served 811 in 57 matches, and Feliciano Lopez, with 734 in 62 matches.

10. Roger Federer took a record sixth Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title in 2011, winning all five of his matches for the week and defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, in the final.