As the 2009 season heads deeper into its final week with the world's top eight men's players battling for supremacy at the season-ending Championships in London, we take a look at what 2010 might hold in store for the game's big guns.

ROGER FEDERER

Few would bet against the awesome Federer extending his record of Grand Slam victories into 2010. The new generation may have clawed back the deficit to a degree but the Swiss superstar undisputably remains the man to beat in the new campaign.

RAFAEL NADAL

Is Nadal on the brink of burnout? Plenty of experts suggest the Spaniard will never be quite the same again following his injury-ravaged 2009. Most in the game pray he will recapture the form which swept him to the top of the world. It remains to be seen.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Djokovic showed signs at the tail end of 2009 that he may have the heart and desire to hang in with the big boys after all. Is bound to be a big contender for a second Australian Open title when the season resumes in February.

ANDY MURRAY

Murray remains on the cusp of a Grand Slam breakthrough, and although he will undoubtedly come close again in 2010, that first Major is far from a shoo-in. Needs to find that extra adaptability to fend off new contenders like the man below.

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO

In winning the US Open last year the lanky Argentinean did far more than break the increasing 'Big Four' stranglehold on the sport: he suggested he is capable of going all the way to the top. Expect another Major and a top two push in the year ahead.

ANDY RODDICK

Roddick flattered to deceive in 2009. His magnificent run at Wimbledon suggested he had finally found the form required to cut it with the big boys. Subsequent results proved painfully otherwise. Another frustrating season is in store.

NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO

To little fanfare, Davydenko just gets on with the job and his incredible tour consistency keeps his top eight place despite many outside his native Russia having never heard of him. With a new bunch pushing, he is finally set to fade from view.

FERNANDO VERDASCO

2009 was a good season for Verdasco, whose consistency, like Davydenko's, got him into the top eight without ever pulling up trees. The Spaniard's clay-court form will help, but repeating the feat in 2010 looks unlikely.

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SERENA AND VENUS WILLIAMS

We know the score with the sisters by now: half the year will be spent with premature suggestions of the sisters' demise. Stunning performances at Wimbledon and the US Open and the US hard-court season in between will prove otherwise.

DINARA SAFINA

Safina's increasingly tenuous hold on the world number one position was finally ended by Serena at the tail end of the season but the Russian ought to recover to be in the frame again for at least the French Open. But does she have the mental strength?

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA

Extremely talented and often overlooked, her 2008 French Open triumph may yet prove to have been a major breakthrough for two-time Major winner Kuznetsova. There will be few willing to back against her at Roland Garros.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

The comebacking Kim Clijsters apart, Wozniacki was the story of the 2009 season. Sustaining that momentum could prove to be the hardest part. Despite reaching the US Open final, she has yet to prove she is a Major winner waiting to happen.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA

Ironically, after years of fluffing golden chances on the biggest stage, Dementieva proved more in her agonising Wimbledon semi-final loss to Serena Williams than she probably ever has in victory. Still a genuine and immensely likeable contender.

VICTORIA AZARENKA

She produced few of the media-friendly exploits of Wozniacki, nor certainly the storyline of Clijsters, but Azarenka improved enormously through the season and can truly start 2010 as one of the few women capable of claiming a Grand Slam title.JELENA JANKOVIC

Jankovic may have scraped into the world's top eight but there is a sense of momentum lost about the Serb, whose early promise has faded into an also-ran status with very little sign of a reversal of fortunes ahead.

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