George's 2010 Predictions

It only seems like a few days since London, but the 2010 tennis season is now upon us with the Aussie Open a little over two weeks away.

I always like to make some predictions about which players I think are likely to make an impact, and this year is no exception. I have been closely following some of the players working their way up at Challenger level, and I am sure one or two or these are gonna make a big splash on the ATP tour this season.

Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr.

Good luck pronouncing this one guys. A real tongue twister of a name, but by all accounts, a very talented player. I noticed his steady rise of last year as he started to play a number of clay challenger events (winning 3), beating established top 100 players like Massu, Hernandez and Gabashvilli - players all very adept on clay. He is also improving on hard courts, and beat Yen-Hsun Lu in Tashkent, before qualifying for his first ATP of event of the season in St. Petersburg, reaching the second round. This year he is already hoping to go one better after qualifying for Brisbane, and beating promising youngster Bernard Tomic in the first round. He has a good temperament, moves well around the court and has a strong serve. I'm sure he will use his momentum to push himself firmly into the top 100 and become a consistent performer on the ATP tour by the end of the year.

Thiemo De Bakker

Was tipped for big things after winning the Wimbledon boys chamtionship in 2006, but has since struggled to fulfill his potential and live up to all the hype. 2009 however, showed some real signs of promise, and the young Dutchman clinched 3 Challenger titles on the bounce, leading to many believing that he was beginning to make the step up. Although in comparison to Dolgopolov his wins came against lesser opponents, he was actually the more consistent performer throughout the season, and went on a massive winning streak, taking many of his matches in straight sets. Perhaps his most notable scalp was Gael Monfils, who he beat in 4 sets in a Davis Cup rubber. He then lost to Tsonga in a tight 5 setter. Watching him, he is clearly a very talented player with a number of shots in his arsenal, and he can play on all surfaces very well, despite plying his trade mostly on the clay last year. He's now broken into the top 100. Don't be surprised to see him break the top 50 and push quite far in a couple of ATP events. He is already in the second round of Chennai! Here's Thiemo's Twitter by the way! Good way of keeping up to date with his progress. Anyone speak Dutch?! :-)

Higher up the rankings, spotting the next superstar is a tough ask. I keep coming back to Gael Monfils. His progress each year has been steadily improving. His closely fought MS final in Paris at the end of last season appears to show how far he has come. Only a few elite players really threaten to take MS tounaments because you need to beat the very best to win. Monfils is very very close to being part of this elite few. The Frenchman is a joy to watch as well as being hugely talented. Last year he played much more aggressively than usual and it began to pay dividends. Monfils knows better than anyone that this is his route to success. You only have to take a look at his booming serve and his flat powerful forehand to know that. On his day, Monfils is irresistibly good. If he stays free of injury (big if), then I fancy him to firmly break into the top 10 and stay there for a very long time. Some players peak later in their careers, like Lendl to name just one, and I think Monfils might be one of these rare gems who does exactly the same.

Other guys to watch are Sergiy Stakhovsky, who has hauled himself back into the top 100 (currently 60) and has the game to make some serious inroads this season. He already has good experience at ATP level, and I expect him to have more consistency this year. A great shotmaker with a good temperament. I tipped Jeremy Chardy to make progress last season and he did exactly that by winning his first ATP title in Stuttgart, after reaching his first final in Jonannesburg earlier in the year. He is very strong of both sides (forehand especially which can cause all sorts of damage) and has the talent to break firmly into the top 20. My outside bet is Evgeny Korolev who has taken a while to find his form but again, is now back in the top 100 and could have a real surge in 2010.