In recent years there has been a huge gap in the tennis rankings. There was always one prominent figure going into every tournament who you were sure would win - but is it really still like that?

No, there are now three or four players challenging on all fronts for every title, making the whole experience of the sport more exhilarating for all.

Roger Federer, as all tennis pundits know, is off that pace. He isn’t as smooth and classy as he once was. As for Rafael Nadal, he doesn’t have the composure and all-round game to become more consistent in the hard-court season.

'The young Serb has ground strokes to die for, and a serve which no player likes to face. In my eyes, the only obstacle for this guy to overcome is himself'


Finally, there's Novak Djokovic - a guy who is as cool as you get and takes everything in his stride, something which most players don’t achieve until their later years. Could this be the perfect chance for the young Serbian genius? I think so, and hope so….

Watching this guy is like experiencing the wind blowing; so smooth and agile, yet can be powerful and erratic. So can he finally make the huge breakthrough that many of us have hoped for?

Tese are my in-depth assessments of the three and my predictions for the next year:

Federer: What can you say really - just superb on his good days. Nothing seems to scare him, everything seems to be so perfectly easy. He has everything required to stay at the top, no question at all, although his latest performances don’t match the success that he has had in the last five years. However, he seems to be gradually getting back towards his best after the virus he had earlier in the year.

Nadal: One of the most exciting players to watch, strong as an ox, with the speed to make people squeal. There is something, though, that holds the Spaniard back - his game style. It’s been perfectly set up for clay, something that has stopped him in the hard-court season and Wimbledon. Can Nadal finally get over all this rubbish and become the player that he could be?

And finally the most exciting of the lot...

Djokovic: He has everything to go all the way, but can he cope with the all the expectations - something that Andy Murray couldn’t do? He is as cool as you get, but can he show his dominance throughout the year?

The young Serb has ground strokes to die for, and a serve which no player likes to face. In my eyes, the only obstacle for this guy to overcome is himself. Mentally he has to be ready to overcome all the expectations when you become No.3 in the world (or maybe No.1 if his results continue to improve), so hopefully this is a year of surprises for us all!

Now for my predictions for 2008: I believe that Djokovic and Federer will be the main two all year, and in the end I think Novak will prevail. With the way he is playing and the confidence he has after winning the Australian Open, everything could end up in his hands.