Roger Federer has had an outstanding career – so far! What more can he achieve? Will anyone stop him? I think so.

The Swiss ace has headed the ATP weekly ranking tables for the past FOUR years. Each week players try to accumulate enough points to de-throne the gentle giant from Basel – everyone unsuccessful so far. There are now at least a few contenders to analyse as possible future holders of the No.1 crown.

Rafael Nadal is an obvious choice for a future world No.1, possibly even this year some time. The Spaniard has been a revelation in his short career. Already a triple French Open Champion, Nadal shows a great deal of maturity on the court for a 21-year-old. He is able to play on all surfaces, as shown by his runner-up spot at Wimbledon for the past two years. Unfortunately, Federer was too good for him on both occasions. The young Mallorcan has already amassed $14,000,000 in prize money and landed a brilliant 23 titles in his short but successful career.

‘Andy Murray is still only 20 and has shown already he can defeat the best players, having a 2-1 winning record over Federer.’


In the current world rankings Nadal is only 400 points behind his Swiss opponent, the closest he's been since he started playing on the professional tour and it would only need Federer to slip up in one or two big tournaments and Nadal could topple him sooner rather than later. However, with the European clay court season lurking, Nadal will have a lot of ATP points to defend due to his brilliant success in 2007 on the red surface. The nine-times Masters series winner has the willpower and ambition to be a future world No.1 and will not let Federer rest until he has toppled his great rival. Nadal also has an 8-6 winning record against Federer.

Novak Djokovic is the current No.1 based only on the results from 2008 rather than a 52-week rolling ranking. At the age of 20, Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in Melbourne, beating Federer in the semi-finals of the Australian Open and showing his abilities against the world's top ranked player. 

The young Serb also reached the US Open final in 2007 and has risen up the rankings dramatically, reaching a peak of No.3, winning eight titles. He has already earned $6,000,000 in prize money and now lives in Monte Carlo, home of many tennis champions. Is he getting ready to establish himself as the world's best player? He is only 1,240 points behind Federer but has a large amount of points to defend in the next two weeks after doing so well in Indian Wells and Miami last year.

If Djokovic has a super clay court season then he could be closer to his rivals by the time the grass court season approaches. Like Nadal, Djokovic has the ability to play on all surfaces and can adapt his game well. He is sure to be a No.1 player in the near future, and achieving it in 2008 is not out of the question. 

There are a number of other candidates for big success throughout their careers. Andy Murray is still only 20 and has shown already he can defeat the best players, having a 2-1 winning record over Federer. He has still to defeat Nadal and Djokovic in five attempts and needs to start being more consistent in tournaments. But he has hardly any points to defend during the clay court season and so could leap up the rankings if he stays injury free.

It will be interesting to see how youngsters such as Ernest Gulbis, Marin Cilic and Donald Young develop over the next couple of years to see if they have what it takes to mix it with the best in the business.

Roger Federer has achieved most things in his career and could stay No.1 until he decides to retire. The question remains about much tennis he plays in his season to see if he can retain his position. The likes of Djokovic and Nadal are hungry to topple the Swiss ace and may play more tournaments than their older opponent to try to gain the extra points needed for pole position. The men’s game is healthy, with these new stars developing their games – after all, variety is the spice of life!