Andy Schooler's full article about the best matches of the year is published below. Join the debate by emailing us at tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
MATCHES OF THE YEAR - MEN - posted November 25
I suspect you knew where I was heading before you even started reading this article.
It's no surprise. This year's Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and eventual champion Rafael Nadal is destined to go down as an all-time classic.
Personally it was the best match I've ever seen.
It had everything.
Consistently brilliant shot-making; never-say-die attitude from both men; one player (Federer) fighting back from two sets down, saving match points in the process; five thrilling sets; a dramatic late finish; and, to add to the already-gripping tension, plenty of those SW19 rain delays.
Nadal dominated early on and when he led by two sets to love, there were few signs of the drama to follow. The quality of tennis had been high, but as Federer found his real 'A' game, it simply rose and rose.
Federer has won plenty of plaudits over the years for some of his displays, many of which have resulted in blistering straight-sets wins. However, his fightback on July 6 proved he has the heart of a true champion.
After taking the third set on a tie-break, Federer's fight finally looked up in the fourth-set breaker when Nadal stepped up to serve at 5-2 knowing two holds would give him the title.
He would have to wait a few hours longer for the trophy though.
Federer levelled and, after saving two championship points, eventually forced a deciding set.
How good that tie-break was is summed up by the fact that afterwards people spoke of how it would be shown in empty TV slots in years to come, in preference to that Borg-McEnroe tie-break of 1980.
I'm convinced I'll never see two better shots than those that occurred on the 15th and 16th points - a sensational forehand pass from Nadal to bring up match point and arguably an even better backhand return winner from Federer. Given the circumstances, how he threaded that shot down the line was truly remarkable, as the late Dan Maskell might have said.
Nadal deserves high praise for the way he steeled himself in the fifth set. Plenty of players, even those renowned for their mental toughness, would have been affected by the fact that the biggest prize in their sport had been just one point away and was now an enitre set. Not Nadal.
The Spaniard just slipped back into the groove and didn't allow Federer a single break-point chance in the decider, which was halted midway through by a rain delay.
It meant the light was fading when the players returned but Nadal finally struck the decisive blow by breaking in the 15th game. As the camera flashlights flickered around Centre Court, he duly served out to end the longest final in Wimbledon history.
Put simply, four hours and 48 minutes of brilliant sport.
The Federer-Nadal classic shone so brightly it put most of the other fare on offer in 2008 in the shade.
However, it would be wrong not to mention other contests, some of which would have been named 'match of the year' in other times.
Andy Murray was involved in several.
His last-16 clash with Richard Gasquet looked set to be Wimbledon's best match this year until Federer and Nadal intervened.
Like the final itself, the Murray-Gasquet clash had five sets, late-night drama - they really shouldn't have been playing in the 9.29pm gloom - and a comeback from two sets down.
But compared to Federer, Murray made things even harder for himself - Gasquet served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. I was lucky enough to be on Centre Court that evening and, I kid you not, the people in front of me left as the Frenchman stepped up to serve!
Murray's play after that was as electric as the atmosphere. For me, it was a vital match in his development and laid the foundations for his latter-season surge.
That, of course, included a run to the final of the US Open where Wimbledon defeat to Nadal was avenged in the semi-finals in another match of top quality.
Murray's play in the first two sets left Nadal floundering before the rain intervened. With the Briton's 'golden spell' interrupted, many felt Nadal would regroup the following day but although he got one set back, Murray knuckled down to see things through.
Murray was also involved in a memorable encounter with Federer at the Masters Cup.
Their matches have tended to be close and this one was no exception, Murray winning a three-hour epic 7-5 in the third after Federer had staved off seven match points.
Let's hope we get such entertainment when the season-ending event comes to London's O2 Arena in 2009.
Grasscourt rarely provide such quality as Nadal v Novak Djokovic at Queen's Club - at least that's what we thought until three weeks' later.
The match was, however, a fitting end to the Artois-sponsored event which will look markedly different in 2009 with the unique red stands and backboards set to disappear.
Finally, they may not have been up to the standard of those listed above, but two pretty darn good matches took place within hours of each other at the Australian Open on January 19, which has to go down as 'day of the year'.
Federer, clearly still feeling the effects of his off-season glandular fever, had to fight off a splendid effort from Janko Tipsarevic to win 10-8 in the fifth by which time the night session was already well behind schedule.
It meant Marcos Baghdatis and Lleyton Hewitt did not get on court until just before midnight. Five sets later and at 0433 local time, the day's play was over.
Not bad value for money - if you could stay awake that long.
Do you agree with Andy's selections? And which were your favourite men's matches of 2008? Let us know by emailing: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
READY FOR FINAL FLOURISH - posted November 20
The 2008 season comes to an end this weekend with the Davis Cup final.
With home advantage, Argentina start hot favourites but it's interesting to note that five of the last 10 finals have been won by the visiting team.
That will give Spain heart and I feel they will put up a decent fight on the indoor hardcourt in Mar del Plata.
Check out my thoughts on the final by reading my betting preview of the event.
BETTER SERVICE AND ANDY CAN CLIMB HIGHER - posted November 18
So Andy Murray's season ended in a disappointing defeat at the Masters Cup at the weekend, but what a year it's been.
Five ATP titles, including two in the prestigious Masters Series, and a first Grand Slam final prove Murray has truly turned potential into success. At least to me it does.
However, the wider British public will, rightly or wrongly, decide whether his career is a success or not on two factors - whether he wins a Grand Slam title or not and whether he ever climbs to the top of the world rankings.
Such success may not be far away. One leading bookmaker thinks Murray is as likely to win a Grand Slam in 2009 as he is to miss out - more evidence that the Briton is the real deal.
So what of Murray's chances of being a Grand Slam winner this time next year and, for that matter, world number one?
Well, looking positively a case can easily be made for both.
Roger Federer lost 15 matches (as well as his number-one ranking) in 2008, more than in the previous two seasons put together, and clearly is no longer feared as much as he was. Murray's record against him is also impressive.
This particular tennis follower remains concerned about Rafael Nadal's long-term viability. History shows many of the claycourt greats have suffered from burnout and the style of the Spaniard's game leaves him just as susceptible. As I write he's laid up with more knee problems.
The other player currently ranked higher than Murray is Novak Djokovic. Admittedly, he's been good in the majors - one title and two semi-final appearances in 2008 - but less so at the tour's run-of-the-mill events which contribute plenty to the ranking system.
So what needs to be improved as far as Murray is concerned?
Coach Miles Maclagan's assessment post-Shanghai suggested not a great deal.
"Obviously every good player would like to make more first serves and do a bit more on return. But I don't see any problem areas in his game. It's just a question of taking everything to maybe half a level or a level better."
I largely agree butpersonally feel the area of Murray's game with most room for improvement is his serve.
Murray's first serve is a powerful weapon when it's on song - speed goes well into the 130mph-plus range - but the delivery doesn't find the service box quite as much as he'd like - 57 per cent of the time to be exact.
While Nadal's percentage is particularly high (and nowhere near as fast) at 69, Murray really needs to be lifting his up to around the 64-65 mark where Federer and Djokovic currently are.
Perhaps an even more important factor is to improve the second delivery.
If there is a real weakness in the Murray game, this is it - and again the statistics back this up.
Look at second-serve points won on the ATP Tour this season and Nadal, Federer and Djokovic led the way in 2008 with 60, 58 and 57 per cent respectively. Murray is a lowly 33rd on that list with 51 per cent.
The other clear, and more general, area that will need to be improved has already been identified by Murray - transferring his success on his favoured hardcourts to the grass and, most importantly, the clay.
Murray's grasscourt form is hardly cause for great concern - quarter-finals at Queen's Club (where injury cost him) and Wimbledon (losing to eventual champion Nadal) this summer.
The 21-year-old is less at home on the red dirt (7-5 on it this season) and unfortunately for him the claycourt season lasts twice as long as the grass one.
However, one of Murray's many strengths is his shot-making ability from the back of the court and he is certainly much better equipped than either Tim Henman (who it should be remembered once made the semi-finals of the French Open) or Greg Rusedski were to succeed on this surface.
Patience will be a big factor for Murray when he returns to the 'terre battue' in April.
It's something some of his critics have said he hasn't enough of, but then Murray has proved many of them wrong over the last 12 months.
In a few days' time the new star of British tennis will turn his attention to ironing out what faults he has at his off-season training camp.
If he does as good a job as he did this time last year, then 2009 really could be the year of Andy Murray.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts on Andy Murray and his progress this year and how you think he will perform in 2009. The email address is: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
VENUS RISING TO THE TOP? - posted November 10
"Next year the ranking system is going to be a little bit different and it might help quality over quantity."
The words of Venus Williams after she completed the WTA Tour's season with victory at the Sony Ericsson Championships on Sunday.
It's a good point and the change may help Williams who, on the evidence of the past week, has as good a chance as anyone of taking a firm grip on a world number one spot which has looked up for grabs for some time.
In an attempt to cut down injuries and burn-out to their star players, the WTA wants those at the top to play less in 2009 but also ensure they do turn at the top-level events.
Heavier fines and even suspensions have been threatened for those who don't fall in line when the Tour's 'Roadmap' plan comes into effect in January.
The fact that the top-10 players must now play four mandatory events (Indian Wells and Miami, plus new events in Madrid and Beijing), plus at least six more from the 'Premier' tier looks likely to increase Williams' chances of climbing the rankings. Overall, commitments are down from 13 tournaments to 10.
A maximum of 16 events can now count towards the ranking - a reduction of two - and that will hinder the likes of Jelena Jankovic who has played a hectic schedule over the past two seasons.
So looking ahead, who does look well primed to take control of the women's game in 2009?
This year's retirement of Justine Henin - the undisputed number one at the time of her shock announcement - has left a power vacuum at the top and since then Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams and now Jankovic have all had brief spells at the summit.
Given her displays in Doha, Venus will fancy her chances.
Significantly it was a win achieved on a hardcourt - the most popular surface on the year-long tour - but one on which Williams has not performed at her best in recent years.
You have to go back to the 2001 US Open to find her last Grand Slam success on this surface, while it's now almost six years since she was last in a major final away from Wimbledon.
January's Australian Open will be big for Venus, the older of the sisters but the one who has suffered less with injuries.
A perceived lack of motivation has appeared to be her problem but if she is serious about her tennis, she has shown what she can achieve both in Doha and at Wimbledon over the past two summers.
For a player who has won seven Grand Slam titles, the fact that she's spent just 11 weeks of her career as world number one - the last of those in July 2002 - helps prove how little tennis she's actually played.
Her commitment will therefore be a key to her chances, whereas sister Serena's hopes of returning to the top will largely hinge on her body's ability to hold itself together.
Like her sibling, Serena has proved that when she's fully fit and in the zone, she's better than anyone. This year's US Open being a case in point.
With her powerful shot-making ability and dogged determination, she'd be the player I want fighting in my corner if my life depended on it, but that doesn't mean she'll be number one in 12 months' time.
Her New York win briefly took her to the top of the rankings but if she is to dominate the game as she did in 2002-03, then staying fit - something she was unable to do in Doha - is crucial.
The current incumbent, Jankovic, looks like a bit of a stop-gap.
She has a very solid, but not spectacular, game which has produced consistent results so crucial to the rankings.
However, with more emphasis now being placed on the biggest events, she could slip a little.
She's one of a rare breed who have hit top spot before winning a Grand Slam and history shows such players have rarely gone on to dominate. Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo would be two good but not great players who spring to mind.
Of the other contenders, Maria Sharapova is, like Serena, another who is beginning to look like she will constantly struggle to stay 100 per cent fit, while a longer list can be made of those for whom mental doubts appear the biggest hurdle.
Ivanovic seemed to make a big breakthrough when winning this year's French Open but ever since seems to have suffered a hangover - perhaps due to the fact that she is now the hunted rather than the hunter.
The experienced Elena Dementieva has improved her infamous serve this year but it's still a weakness, while Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva's volatility - the latter showing her's against Venus on Sunday - remains a serious problem for any athlete wanting to reign at the top of their sport.
With so many doubts, it just goes to show that the women's game really is wide open right now, so perhaps 2009 will be the year of a new brigade arriving on thescene.
It will be hard for anyone aside from those already mentioned to make the leap to the top in the next 12 months but those looking most likely to make a sustained challenge are teenagers Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.
Former Junior Wimbledon champions both, the pair won six titles between them in 2008 and will now look to make the move into the true elite.
Radwanska in particular looks to have an excellent game off the ground and if she can beef up her serve, she'll be a threat to those currently ranked above her.
However, she's one for the future.
In the meantime, I wouldn't be surprised to be sitting her next year with the Williams sisters still prominent and a true successor to Henin still absent.
Who do you think will be the star of 2009? And can anyone dominate the tour like Henin did last season? Send your feedback to: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com and we'll publish some of your views.
YOUR FEEDBACK: DOHA - posted November 10
I and several friends travelled from Europe to New York City every November from 1985 to 1994 to attend the Women's Masters at Madison Square Garden for the whole week. There were people from all over the world, not just USA and not just NY city. The atmosphere was tremendous. It did not mattter what nationality the players were. Moving it away from MSG was, I think, one of the worst decisions those in tennis power ever made.
Pat Cove
Andy Schooler's full article on moving the tournament is published below.
WITHER AWAY FROM THE GARDEN - posted November 6
It's easy to pine for the past, especially so in the world of sport.
But few things can have had tennis fans thinking about halcyon days than the scenes in Doha so far this week.
The Qatari city is staging the star-studded, season-ending WTA Tour event, the Sony Ericsson Championships, for the first time but it has been greeted with apathy by the locals so far it seems.
Disappointingly small crowds - estimated at less than 1,000 at one stage by the Eurosport commentators - left me wondering just why the WTA ever decided to take this tournament, which attracts the best eight players of the season, away from New York's famous Madison Square Garden.
For 22 years, fans flocked to the Garden to see the likes of Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf slug it out.
Now I'm not naive enough to think that every match of every tournament during that run saw capacity crowds, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the games were better attended than those in Doha, where even those who have turned up have hardly covered themselves in glory. I've already lost count of the number of times the umpire has attempted to quieten noisy schoolchildren - presumably given free tickets to bolster numbers - while watching Svetlana Kuznetsova sarcastically applaud some latecomers today told its own story.
Speak to the WTA and they would doubtless tell you that times have changed and that spreading the word of tennis is important in these days when sports are competing fiercely with each other. In the 70s and 80s, American players dominated the tour. A look at this year's field shows European domination with two Serbs and four Russians. The Williams sisters represent the US, but once they decide to hang up their racquets - and that time can't be too far away now - you wonder where the next American star is coming from.
With this in mind itwould appear to make sense to move the event around, but the fact is it hasn't worked.
It's almost 10 years since the tournament left its 'spiritual home' and Doha is its fourth venue since that departure.
One ill-fated year in Munich was followed by four in Los Angeles, where once again the crowds were largely disappointing despite the Williams sisters being hometown favourites there.
A move to Madrid seemed to help regain some kudos for the event with the Spanish fans happy to attend despite not having a local to cheer on.
But that two-year contract didn't do much for the WTA finances so the decision was taken to take more of the oil money so freely on offer in the Middle East these days.
WTA chief Larry Scott said prior to this week's tournament getting under way: "I think it's going to be a great success." I wonder if he has a different view now.
The past few days can't have been much fun for the players and more importantly those fans who did attend will hardly have gone away thinking 'that was great' or 'I'd love to be a tennis player'.
I was lucky enough to be on Centre Court at Wimbledon this year for Andy Murray's five-set classic with Richard Gasquet and it wasn't simply the great play on court that made the experience - it was about the crowd's involvement and an atmosphere that truly left the hairs on the back of your neck standing.
I'd be staggered if anyone felt that way in Doha.
With two more years on the contract left to run, Doha will undoubtedly start talking of new marketing tools and the like as they look to improve things next year and to be fair to those in LA, things did improve after the disastrous first year there.
However, the tournament is due to move on to Istanbul in 2011 and the problems could easily re-emerge, especially in another country hardly renowned for its tennis stars.
One can only hope the same issues won't be raised when the season-ending ATP event comes to London's O2 Arena in 12 months' time.
Do you agree with Andy? Do you think the tournament should have a permanent, popular home or should it be moved around for all to see? The email address for feedback is: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
PETROVA HEADING FOR THE TOP? - posted November 4
My fellow tennis writer Mark Staniforth's latest piece focuses on Nadia Petrova and her chances of continuing her rise back up the rankings.
Petrova won in Quebec City at the weekend and Mark feels she is well placed to fill what he describes as a "vacuum" at the top of the women's game which has existed since Justine Henin's retirement earlier this season.
Click here to check out Mark's latest column.
ALL SET FOR FINAL FLING - posted November 3
The lack of a true number one in the women's game is likely to be highlighted this week in Doha where the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships take place.
This time last year Justine Henin headed to the tournament, then held in Madrid, as head and shoulders the best player on the WTA Tour.
She had lost just four matches all season and ended the season with the best year-long record for almost 20 years.
Twelve months on and the contrast is staggering.
Jelena Jankovic arrives here as the world number one - and she is guaranteed to end the season intop spot whatever happens in Qatar - but she has lost 17 matches this year.
On top of that she hasn't won any of the Grand Slam titles on offer.
While that leaves some question about the standard of tennis on offer this year as a whole, one thing it does mean is that should be some highly competitive matches coming up over the next six days.
It's pretty hard to pick a winner, but that's part of my job so you can click here to see my betting preview of the event wich starts tomorrow.
And if you don't agree, feel free to send me your predictions via email.
We've had a few problems with our Tennis Feedback address, so for now send your comments to andy.schooler@sportinglife.com.
Click here for October's Net Talk
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