It’s been quite a year for tennis – both men and women. I’ve been looking back at 2007, and these for me were the big stories. First the men’s game ...

Novak Djokovic bursts on the scene: The 20-year-old Serbian storms the tennis world and takes the No.3 spot in the rankings. A bit of a disappointment in Shenhai but he’s still the fans’ favourite – a great character with a good sense of humour and a big game of tennis to match.

Tennis under a gambling cloud: A sport renowned for its great public relations, fair play and sportsmanship, receives a blow when Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko is accused of throwing a match against little known Martin Vassallo Arguello. The case, which is still been investigated, opens up a ‘Pandora’s Box’ when other players step up to claim they were the subject of illegal gambling approaches. The issue will inevitably be a topic for much speculation and discussion in 2008.

Player to watch: The man to keep your eye on in 2008 is in my opinion David Nalbandian. If the Argentinian can play for six months like he did in the two weeks before the Masters Cup, God help all players – including Roger Federer! Watch out for ‘The Fat One‘!

Goodbyes: To Britain’s Tim Henman and American Justin Gimelstob, both of whom have retired.
Now on to the women's circuit...

‘The man to keep your eye on in 2008 is David Nalbandian. If he can play for six months like he did in the two weeks before the Masters Cup, God help everyone – including Roger Federer!’

Russia not alone – Serbia serves up some aces: Jelena Jankovic and especially Ana Ivanovic put Serbia on the tennis map with great performances in 2007.

Justine Henin, watch out: It seems that women's tennis never stops producing new young  stars to watch. 2007 saw players like Tatiana Golovin, Agnes Szavay, Agnieszka Radwanska, Shahar Peer, Anna Chakvetadze and Ivanovic take a step up in the rankings and competition is hotter than ever. On the other hand, after giving birth to her first child, Lindsay Davenport is back and playing better then ever.

Hingis retires ... again: Martina Hingis quits in a surprising press conference, saying she doesn't have the energy to fight allegations of cocaine use during 2007 Wimbledon. Her case is still under inquiry but the damage was done. After an impressive comeback, Hingis was forced to retire again – this time under a huge cloud.