BOOK REVIEW: After The Fire (Maeve Kerrigan, #6) by Jane Casey

After The Fire by Jane Casey is the sixth book in the British police procedural series featuring Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan. Kerrigan and her immediate supervisor Detective Inspector Josh Derwent are part of the Major Crimes Squad of the London Metropolitan Police. In After The Fire the major crime is a suspicious fire on the top two floors of a public housing, high-rise apartment complex (called an “estate”) which leads to the discovery of three corpses, two charred to a crisp and one battered from a fall from a great height.

As with most good mysteries, the question of whodunnit is just one of many questions posed to the reader. Some of the more compelling aspects of the story being told in After The Fire come from the continuation of the ongoing developments in Maeve Kerrigan’s life, whose significance is heightened by the fact this is the sixth book in the series. Due to events in the previous book (The Kill), Maeve’s love life is a bit rocky and she’s dealing with ongoing potential threats to her personal safety. Her relationship with DI Josh Derwent, her immediate superior officer and unorthodox investigation partner undergoes some surprising (but welcome) maturation in this edition of the series. Her boss is still problematic, and the tensions of being an attractive woman in a predominantly male profession is still an important part of the day-to-day activity of this police procedural series.

The structure of After The Fire is different from previous entries in the series, since it involves a deadly arson where there are numerous victims (in addition to the dead ones several other residents had their homes destroyed) some of whom become suspects as we learn more about the unsavory nature of their sources of income and why they were living in a run-down housing estate even though it’s clear they had other financial options. In most police procedurals the limited number of suspects is key and here the problem is the converse.

Overall, After The Fire is a satisfying genre book; I believe all of the central mysteries in the plot are resolved. One does find out who caused the fire and why, as well as what and whom were responsible for all the dead bodies discovered at the scene. We even get a surprising resolution of Maeve’s ongoing personal safety concern. The primary unsolved story thread involve her personal and professional lives, but by their very nature that’s not something that one would expect to remain static in a long-running series anyway. I look forward to reading more about Maeve and her attempt to obtain satisfaction in one or more of these areas in future books.

Title: After The Fire (Maeve Kerrigan, #6).
Author: Jane Casey.
Format: Hardcover.
Length: 317 pages.
Publisher: Minotaur Books.
Date Published: May 3, 2016.
Date Read: August 14, 2021.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★★  (5.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.67/4.0).

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A.

2019 ATP YEC: Tsitsipas Wins Biggest Title Of His Young Career

Surprising many, Stefanos Tsitsipas finished his breakout 2019 season by coming from behind to win his first ATP Tour Finals title over Dominic Thiem 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(4). The 21-year-old Greek player is the youngest player to win the  year-end tour championship since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001 and the seventh player to win it in his tournament debut (Grigor Dimitrov did that in 2017).

Tisitsipas finished the year with wins over every member of the top 10, including the big 3: Nadal, Djokovic and Federer.

2019 ATP YEC: Tsitsipas-Thiem Final

For the fourth consecutive year, the ATP Finals will be won by someone new, i.e. someone who is not a previous champion of the event. This sequence started in 2016 when Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to become World #1 for the first time, then in 2017 Grigor Dimitrov defeated David Goffin, last year Alexander Zverev beat Djokovic to win the biggest title of his career and tomorrow either 26-year-old Dominic Thiem or 21-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas will win their biggest title. On paper one has to give the edge to Thiem, who has played in two major finals but only won one Masters series shield (defeating Roger Federer in the 2019 Indian Wells final). Plus Thiem leads the head-to-head with Tsitsipas 4-2.

Despite my predictions of a Federer-Thiem final, Tsitsipas was able to blast past Federer in a thrilling 6-4 6-3 win while Thiem dispatched defending champion Zverev 7-5 6-3.

MadProfesah's prediction: Thiem d. Tsitsipas.

2019 ATP YEC: Federer-Tsitsipas, Thiem-Zverev Are Semis As Djokovic and Nadal Are Eliminated

The semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals are now set: Roger Federer will face Stefanos Tsitsipas while Dominic Thiem versus 2018 champion Alexander Zverev. Both the World #1 Rafael Nadal and World #2 Novak Djokovic were eliminated via different paths in the last two days.
In a blockbuster showdown between Federer and Djokovic (their 49th career meeting) for the semifinal slot, Federer shocked Djokovic by defeating his rival in straight sets 6-4 6-3 to bring their head to head of 23-26 in favor of Djokovic. Interestingly, the result of this match also decided the World #1 race for 2019. Nadal claimed his 5th yearly World #1 (2019, 2017, 2013, 2010, 2008), matching the other members of the trivalry: Djokovic (2018, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011) and Federer (2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004). The significance of the Federer-Djokovic match was set up after Dominic Thiem beat Djokovic in one of the best matches of the year: 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(5). Thiem's victory meant that Djokovic wouldn't gain undefeated ranking points in the ATP Finals, thus making his task to reach the #1 spot that much more difficult.

In fact this year's ATP Finals was one of the most thrilling in years. In addition to Thiem-Djokovic and Federer-Djokovic there was another notable match in Medvedev-Nadal. Medvedev was up in the third set 1-5 3-40 on Nadal's serve and the Russian twice served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 but eventually he lost in a third set tiebreak. Other important wins were Zverev's first win over Nadal and Tsitsipas's first win over Medvedev. In the end, despite winning two matches in the round robin round (both 3 set victories, against Medvedev and Tsitsipas) Nadal was eliminated when Zverev defeated Medvedev in straight sets, claiming the final semifinal slot to join Thiem, Federer and Tsitsipas.

MadProfessah's prediction: Federer d. Tsitsipas and Thiem d. Zverev.

Weekend Tennis: Grass Finals Set: Federer-Goffin, Lopez-Simon, Barty-Georges, Kenin-Bencic (Birmingham)

The grass court season (which is basically a month long) is in full swing. Wimbledon starts July 1 but nutil then there's a fair number of warm-up tournaments going on, generally in Europe. This weekend there are finals in London (Queen's Club), Birmingham, Halle and Mallorca.

HALLE: FEDERER FACES DAVID GOFFIN IN RECORD THIRTEENTH FINAL
Roger Federer is into his thirteenth final in Halle, Germany, where he has a 9-3 record, after defeating Pierre-Hughes Herbert in the semifinals. The person who will try to prevent the 20-time major champion from winning his 10th Halle crown is Belgian David Goffin, who stopped the amazing win streak of Matteo Berretini (who won Stuttgart last week) in his semifinal. Federer is 7-1 against Goffin and is the favorite in this match. My Pick: Federer.

LONDON: LOPEZ FACES SIMON IN SINGLES FINAL, IN DOUBLES FINAL WITH MURRAY
There are some great stories at the 2019 edition of the Queen's Club tournament, Andy Murray, with a brand-new metal hip is into the doubles final with partner Feliciano Lopez in his very first tournament after a 5 month layoff following hip replacement surgery. Murray has announced he will play Wimbledon doubles with Pierre-Hughes Herbert and that he is actively looking for a mixed doubles partner (Ash Barty turned him down). 37-year-old Lopez is an amazing story himself, having reached the final of Queen's Club for the 3rd time by defeating someone less than half his age, the 18-year-old Canadian phenom Felix Auger-Aliassime (who defeated Dimitrov, Kyrgios and Tsitsipas in 24 hours) in 3 sets 6-7(3) 6-3 6-3. There Lopez will face Gilles Simon, who has been wearing down his opponents with his metronomic style of play. Every match Simon played this week have gone the distance and some have been well over 3 hours. Lopez holds a 5-2 advantage and has won every meeting the two have had on grass. My Pick: Lopez.

BIRMINGHAM: BARTY FACES DOUBLES PARTNER GOERGES FOR TITLE AND WORLD #1 RANKING
2019 French Open champion Ash Barty is a handful of points behind World #1 Naomi Osaka in the rankings but if she wins her next match the Australian will be the new World #1 on Monday. To do that she has to continue playing well on her best surface, by beating her doubles partner Julia Georges (who is now slouch on grass herself, having reached the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals). The two have an even head-to-head but Goerges beat Barty at this very tournament last year. The two were scheduled to play their doubles final together but Barty pulled out with an "injury" presumably demonstrating hos important she's taking this match. My Pick: Barty.

MALLORCA: KENIN FACES BENCIC IN SURPRISE FINAL
This Bencic-Kenin final is not a final showdown anyone expected. Anastasija Sevastova had made the final in Mallorca 3 consecutive years (winning in 2017) but American Sonia Kenin ended that streak in the semifinals. Reigning Wimbledon champ Angelique Kerber has looked sharp on grass all week (starting with an imperious dismissal of Maria Sharapova) but lost to the always-dangerous Belinda Bencic. The two have never met before so I would give the edge to the 22-year-old Swiss over the 20-year-old American. My Pick: Bencic.

2018 ATP YEC: Zverev Stuns Djokovic To Win Biggest Title

Sascha Zverev defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-4 6-3 to win the Nitto ATP Finals in London, becoming the youngest player to win the ATP's year-end championship since Djokovic won the title in 2008.  21-year-old Zverev will end the year ranked at World #4, behind Djokovic at #1, Rafael Nadal at #2 and Roger Federer at #3. In the semifinals, Zverev defeated Federer 7-5 7-6(5). His win over Djokovic ended a 14-match winning streak the Serbian had against Top 10 players in 2018 and evened their career head to head at 2-all (his head-to-head with Federer is now 3-all).

Last year, Grigor Dimitrov beat David Goffin to win the 2017 ATP year-end championship. This win often presages  a quantum increase in success, but Dimitrov didn't have a great 2018 afterwards.

2018 World Chess Championship: Carlsen versus Caruana (London, November 9-28)

The 2018 World Chess championship is being held in London starting today and should last until November 28th or so. It is between the defending world champion 27-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and 26-year-old Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Carlsen has been the World #1 ranked chess player since 2010, and first won the World Championship by defeating Viswanathan Anand in 2013 at the age of 22.

However, Caruana is the first American player to challenge for the World Chess champion title since Bobby Fischer in 1972. This is a *big* deal and he is the real deal. I didn't know much about him but this article informed me of his bona fides.

Carlsen-Caruana is the matchup that the chess world was hoping for. It’s world No. 1 versus world No. 2—the first World Championship match between the top two since Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov went at it for the fifth and final time in 1990. Caruana only sits three Elo rating points behind Carlsen at 2832 to 2835, both the highest combined rating and the smallest ratings difference in World Championship history. If Caruana wins the match within the 12 classical games, he’ll not only take the title but also the world No. 1 spot that Carlsen has held continuously since July 2011—about which Magnus has said, “I would like to give you some boring, politically correct answer, but the truth is, yeah, it does bother me!”

This should be awesome!

BOOK REVIEW: Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham

Sleepyhead is the first book in the DI Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham. It is yet another British detective murder-mystery series, this time set in London, and has multiple similarities to many other British police procedurals by the likes of Ian Rankin (John Rebus), Stuart MacBride (Logan McRae), Robert Bryndza (Erica Foster), Adrian McKinty (Sean Duffy), Val McDermid (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan), Peter Robinson (Alan Banks) and Susie Steiner (Manon Bradshaw).

Of course the first thing these books have in common is the promotion system (Detective Constable, Detective Sergeant, Detective Inspector, Detective Chief Inspector, etc). Another aspect these books have in common is a protagonist who either has a colorful past or problematic character traits (and in many cases, they have both). A third common feature all of these British police procedural mystery books have is the frequent consumption of copious amounts of alcohol and tea.

Tom Thorne definitely falls into the category of a main character who has a colorful past and problematic personality. When we (the reader) meet Tom in Sleepyhead, there are cryptic references to the Calvert case, apparently an old case which clearly still haunts and troubles him. When we find out about his latest case, which involves the murder of multiple women by someone using a similar modus operandi (stalking a single woman, being invited in to their abode, injecting them with a very specialized anesthetic and then inducing a stroke, which in all but one case is fatal) we learn that Tom has a reputation for being somewhat of a lone wolf and a loose cannon. Even though Tom acts on his hunches a lot, he’s not always wrong. For example, he figures out that the victim who survived the latest attack is not a failure by the serial killer; the “locked-in” state is what the perpetrator wanted to happen. It was the losses of life that were unintentional.

The problematic aspects of Tom’s personality reveal themselves pretty extensively as the story precedes. He quickly latches on to a theory of the case and identifies a prime suspect for which there is almost no confirming evidence, a fact none of his superior officers will let him ignore. He enters into a romantic (and sexual) relationship with a very close friend and confidant of this suspect. When the perpetrator (and target of his investigation) starts directly interacting with Tom through notes and a physical attack Tom gets himself re-assigned to another unit but continues his investigation (focused on the suspect he is convinced is guilty despite the absence of evidence). 

One notable feature of Sleepyhead is that the writing is significantly more lyrical than what is typical in the British police procedural/murder mystery genre in my experience.

In some ways I think this attention to style over substance is a problem sometimes. For example, I felt that there were several key action scenes in Sleepyhead where instead of clearly stating what action was occurring, the text actually obscured what was going on and this forced me to read the passage more than once.

Another notable feature of Sleepyhead is the inclusion of a first person perspective from one of the early victims of the perpetrator (the one who survived but now is “locked-in” her body with no control over it except for the ability to blink).

Overall, I found Sleepyhead to be quite compelling, although I was somewhat repelled by Tom Thorne’s character and often annoyed by the ornate nature of the prose at times. However, the cleverness of the plot and the deployment of the suspense and mystery elements were impressive enough that I am looking forward to exploring the rest of the books in this popular series.

Title: Sleepyhead.
Author: Mark Billingham.
Paperback: 432 pages.
Publisher: Avon Books.
Date Published: May 1, 2003.
Date Read: March 15, 2018.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★☆  (4.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: A- (3.67/4.0).

PLOT: A-.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A.

EYE CANDY: Chris Jammer (#4)

Chris Jammer is a model who has been appearing here for years (November 11, 2013; April 1, 2013; January 18, 2016) as Eye Candy. His body has changed quite a bit over that time, but is always hot.

Nowadays he is keeping his hair long and clearly getting more built as he gets older. These recent pics were found at his Instagram account (@chrisjammer). Merry Christmas!

2017 ATP YEC: Dimitrov Beats Goffin To Win Biggest Career Title And End Year At World #3

Grigor Dimitrov has won the 2017 ATP Year-End Championship by defeating David Goffin 7-5 4-6 6-3. Dimitrov defeated Jack Sock in the semifinal 4-6 6-0 6-3 after emerging from his round-robin group containing Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Pablo Carreno Busta (who replaced Rafael Nadal).

Amazingly, Goffin reached the final by handing Roger Federer only his 5th defeat of 2017, upending his prior 0-6 record against the Swiss Maestro by coming back to win 2-6 6-3 6-4 and become only the 6th player in history to beat Nadal and Federer in the same tournament (and the first player to accomplish this feat without subsequently winning the tournament).

Goffin saved 4 match points i the final set before handing Dimitrov the win by missing a relatively easy drop volley into the net. Dimitrov will end the year rated #3, behind Rafael Nadal at #1 and Roger Federer at #2 (Goffin ends the year at #7). The 26-year-old Bulgarian wins $2.5 million and becomes the first person to win the year-end championship on his debut at the season-ending event since Alex Corretja did it in 1998.

2017 WIMBLEDON: Federer Wins Record 8th Wimbledon (19th Major!)

As I predicted, Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic in the Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles championship match. Federer  at age 35 won the match  6-3 6-1 6-4 to claim his 19th grand slam title and record-setting 8th Wimbledon title. Even more incredibly, Federer became the oldest Wimbledon champion in the modern era and the second man (after Bjorn Borg did it  1976) to win the title without dropping a set.

Federer has now won 2 majors in 2017 (2017 Australian Open and 2017 Wimbledon) and has an astonishing record of 31-2 for the year and added 5 ATP tour titles (Melbourne, Indian Wells, Miami, Halle, London)  to bring his career haul to 93 titles.
He is 9-0 against fellow Top 10 players and will rise to #3 in the ATP rankings on Monday. He is #2 in the year-long race to the year-end tour championships in London, a mere 500 points behind Rafael Nadal and has zero points to defend for the rest of the year, which means if he really wants it, he could very likely end the year at World #1. If he does so, he would become the oldest player to reach #1, eclipsing Andre Agassi who was 33 when he was #1, and he would tie Pete Sampras' record of six year-end #1's.

2016 ATP YEC: Murray Beats Djokovic To Win Title, Claim Year-End #1

Defying expectations and predictions, Andy Murray was able to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to win his very first ATP World Tour Finals in London on Sunday. The win cemented the British player's hold at #1 and insured that he will end the year ranked #1 for the very first time. It was Murray's 24th consecutive match win and he now improves to 11-24 against his chief rival.

Amazingly, Andy's brother Jamie Murray is ranked #1 in doubles (with partner Bruno Soares), so the two have become the first brothers to simultaneously top the tennis rankings in singles and doubles.

This is how their mother Judy Murray marked the occasion:

The way they were....... pic.twitter.com/oSJVs5fEC9

— judy murray (@JudyMurray) November 20, 2016

Congrats, Andy!

2016 ATP YEC Final: Djokovic-Murray XXXV To Decide Year-End #1 Ranking

The race for the year-end #1 comes down to a historic meeting between world #1 Andy Murray and World #2 Novak Djokovic in the very last  tour match of the year! After playing against each other in two major finals (2016 Australian Open and 2016 French Open) this year the two will play their 35 career ATP match in the final of the 2016 ATP year-end championship. Murray is playing in his very first ATP Tour Finals final while Djokovic is trying to win his 6th year-end championship and for the fifth consecutive year!

Murray has won his last 23 matches in a row, which has led him to a career-high #1 ranking but in the last six months where he has been ascendant (winning Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics singles gold medal and multiple Masters shields) he has not had to face any other members of the big Four (Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were injured and Djokovic was curiously  unproductive this fall). However, in his semifinal match, Murray played an intense 3-hour-38-minute match with Milos Raonic (who will end the year at World #3), saving 1 match point in the third-set tiebreaker and winning 5-7 7-6(5) 7-6(9) in what some are calling one of the best matches of the year. (It was the longest match ever at the year-ending championship, a record that Murray had set just a round before when he won another epic match in 3-hours-21 minutes against Nishikori. In contrast, Djokovic dismantled World #5 Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-1 in just over 66 minutes to get the right to retake the World #1 ranking and end the year at the top for the third consecutive year.

I'm glad that this is a 3-set match. Despite the fact that Djokovic has a 24-10 head-to-head record and appears to be playing some of his best tennis right now I still think this is Murray's best chance to beat him in a long time. It should be noted that 2 of the 3 major finals Murray has one he did it over Djokovic. But it will not be easy. I think the more likely result is a straight sets win by Djokovic. If Murray wins the first set, then I think he has a slightly better than 50% chance to win the match. But Djokovic has beaten Murray in all 4 indoor hard court matches they have played and leads him 3-1 in the four finals they played so far this year.

MadProfessah's pick: Djokovic.

2016 ATP YEC: Semifinals are Djokovic vs Nishikori, Murray vs Raonic

The semifinals of the ATP Tour Finals in London are now set with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori reaching the final four of the year's most prestigious tournament. Surprisingly, 2016 US Open champion Stan Wawrinka did not make the semifinal round for the first time in his five appearances in the year-end championships.

Both Murray and Djokovic won their respective groups by winning all three of their matches in the round-robin portion of the tournament. Murray beat Nishikori, Wawrinka and Marin Cilic while Djokovic beat Raonic, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin (who substituted for Gael Monfils). Murray is now on a 22nd match winning streak, and is now the #1 player in the world. He will face Raonic in the first semifinal (a reprise of the 2016 Wimbledon final won by Murray) and he has won their last 7 meetings and leads the head-to-head 8-3. Djokovic faces Nishikori, whom he has beaten 7 times in a row since losing the 2014 US Open semifinal match, and leads the head-to-head 10-2.

If they both win their semifinal matches the two will face each other for the 35th time, with the year-end #1 ranking going to the winner. Djokovic leads their rivalry 24-10 and has beaten Murray in most of their most crucial meetings (including in 4 major finals) but Murray is playing the best tennis of his life and if there's any time he can turn this rivalry around it is in London while riding a career-high win streak. An exciting end to the tennis year!

2016 WIMBLEDON: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Andy Murray (GBR) [2] vs. Milos Raonic (CAN) [6]

Here is my prediction for the men's final at the Wimbledon Championships for 2016. Last year I incorrectly predicted Roger Federer would beat Novak Djokovic in the final.  This year I have correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals, and 2 of 2 women's semifinals and 1 of 2 men's semifinals. I also correctly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Angelique Kerber this year.

MEN'S SEMIFINALS REVIEW

Milos Raonic (CAN) [6] d. Roger Federer (SUI) [3] vs. 6-3 6-7 (3) 4-6 7-5 6-3. The 17-time major champion was so close to his 11th Wimbledon final, he could taste it. After losing concentration and double-faulting on break point in the first set, Federer did well to come back and win the second set tiebreaker. After sneaking out the 3rd set, Federer was up 40-0 serving at 5-6 to reach a 4th set tiebreaker when the unthinkable happened. Federer lost his serving rhythm and hit two consecutive double faults, and another missed first serve and ended up blowing his game points and when faced with break point (set point) he made a tactical error and Raonic hit a winner  to force a fifth and final set. In the fifth set, some people thought that maybe Federer would be able to sneak out a win due to his experience, but as a huge Federer fan I was distraught because I knew that he actually has a rather pedestrian record in 5th sets (probably because he so rarely meets a player that provides enough resistance to take him to a 5th set) and would probably lose. I was correct; basically Raonic got a service break and continued his excellent serving to win the match and reach his first career major final.

Andy Murray (GBR) [2] d. Tomas Berdych (CZE) [10] 6-3 6-3 6-3. Ever since, the #1 seed (and 2-time defending champion) Novak Djokovic was removed from the draw by Sam Querrey in the third round, Murray has, for the first time at a major tournament has become the favorite. As I expected, he was never in danger in losing this match, despite their relatively close career head-to-head record. There's nothing that Berdych does better than Murray, and there's plenty that Murray does better than Berdych (movement, service return and mental toughness). 

MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

This is Murray's 11th major final and he has a rather disappointing 2-8 record, and every single one of his 10 previous finals has been played against Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. For the first time, he will be playing a major final against someone he should be expected to beat, since they are lower ranked. How will he handle the pressure? Raonic is playing in his very first major, but as a student of the game, and with John McEnroe in his corner, I believe he will be prepared and will be able to play his best tennis.

However, there's a reason that Murray has a 6-3 head-to-head record against the Canadian player. He simply has too much game (primarily defensive resources) for Raonic to handle. Just a few weeks ago, the two met on grass at the Queen's Club final and Raonic was up a set and a break but ended up losing that match 6-7(3) 6-4 6-3. Murray is simply in better shape than Raonic and can outlast him. However, this does not mean Raonic has no chance. Anyone who can serve 140 mph first serves and 120 mph second serves is definitely in with a chance. But Raonic would have to have the service day of his life, against one of the best service returners of all time in order to win this match. Unless, something equally unlikely happens, I expect Murray to win his 3rd major title. 

MadProfessah's pick: Murray

TENNIS TUESDAY: Djokovic's Amazing 2015: $21.6M, 11 Titles, 82W-6L

Novak Djokovic, 28, ended his amazing 2015 season by surprisingly defeating Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 in the finals of the ATP World Tour Finals in London, cementing his domination over the rest of the field. It was Djokovic's 11th tournament win of 2015 and he reached the final of 15 of the 16 tournaments he played in 2015. The win, along with bonuses for remaining World #1 for the entire calendar year means that he earned $21,646,145 in prize money in 2015, the most ever. (In fact, it is more prize money than Andy Roddick earned in his entire career!)

Djokovic has been at the top of men's tennis since 2011, and this is demonstrated by the fact that he has won the season-ending championship for the fourth consecutive year. In this year's tournament he finally lost a match, but it was in the round-robin format so he was still able to qualify for the semifinals an d get revenge in the final. During this tournament Djokovic evened out his rivalry with both Rafael Nadal (23-apiece) and Federer (22-apiece). It seems more likely than not that the Serb will end his career with leads against both these champions since both Federer's and Nadal's peaks are definitely behind them but Djokovic's may still be yet to come.

Djokovic won 27 of 28 grand slam matches in 2015 and went 82-6 overall, winning 93.2% of all matches he played. This chart puts his remarkable 2015in the context of some of the best years of all time:

It is very possible if Djokovic has another 2-3 years at the level he is currently playing at and no one else emerges to challenge his dominance that he will be in the conversation for greatest player of all time, especially if his current major haul of 10 titles gets into the mid-teens. His number of Masters Shields titles is already impressive (he won 6 of 9 in 2015) and now is just 1 behind Nadal's record total of 27.

Of course, I still think Federer has the edge in any conversation about the Greatest of all Time because he not only has 17 major titles (the most ever) but also has been at or near the top of men's tennis for well over a decade (2003). Djokovic won his first major title in 2008 so he has until about 2018 to see how many more majors he can get, but I would not be surprised if it was in the 14-16 range. He currently is 10-8 in major finals (but he has won 3 of 4 he played in 2015, including 2 consecutive Wimbledon finals against Federer) while Federer is 17-10 and Nadal is 14-6. Ultimately, it will be his final record in these historic matches that will determine his place in the pantheon of tennis greats.

2015 ATP FINALS: Federer-Djokovic XLIV Is The Last Regular ATP Match Of The Year

The semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals are complete and Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets while Roger Federer beat Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. Therefore, for the   eighth time this year (and forty-fourth time in their careers) the two will meet on the ATP tour. In fact, the two met earlier in the week during the round-robin stage and Federer won that meeting in straight sets (7-5 6-2).

The two have met in 2 major finals and four other tour finals in 2015 and Djokovic won both major finals while they split the regular tour final meetings 2-all. Federer currently leads their overall head-to-head 22-21 and indoor hard courts is widely considered his best surface. However, Djokovic has won the ATP Tour Finals for the last three consecutive years. Last year Federer could not compete in the final due to a bad back and Djokovic won in a walkover. Despite that result, Federer went on to join with his compatriot Wawrinka and Switzerland won the Davis Cup in 2014.

If Djokovic wins tomorrow he will have evened up his rivalry between both Federer and Nadal and his 4th consecutive year-end championship. If Federer wins he will have won an unprecedented seventh year-end tour championship.

MadProfessah's Prediction: Federer.

2014 ATP YEC: Djokovic Wins 3rd Consecutive World Tour Finals Title

A sad end to the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals in London. Roger Federer announced that he has withdrawn from the tournament with a back injury and will be unable to take the court to face Novak Djokovic in the last ATP final of the year. Apparently Stan Wawrinka took more out of Federer than we though in their hard-fought match despite losing after blowing 4 match points. Federer made the announcement on court:

"Unfortunately, I'm not match fit to play the match tonight. Clearly I wish it wasn't so. I tried all year to be ready for the [Barclays] ATP World Tour Finals, and I didn't want it to end this way. I tried everything I could last night, also today – painkillers, treatment, rest, so forth, warm-up, until the very end – but I just can't compete at this level with Novak. It would be too risky at my age to do this right now and I hope you understand."

With Federer's default Djokovic wins his 3rd consecutive year-end championship and 4th in his career (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014). It's his 7th title of 2014 and it means that he narrows his head-to-head rivalry with Federer to 18-19. He ends with a 62-8 while Federer ended the year with most match wins on tour (72-11). Federer also becomes the oldest player to end the year ranked #2.

The back injury is especially ominous for Federer because it was a back injury which hampered his play and led to his sub-par performances for most of 2013. Hopefully, this injury is not too major, but the fact that it forced him to withdraw from a match for only the 4th time in more than 1200 professional matches demonstrates how rare an event it is. Federer and Wawrinka are trying to win the Davis Cup for Switzerland in France this weekend so a quick recovery of Federer's back and a mending of fences between the two compatriots after a testy semifinal is imperative.

2014 WIMBLEDON: Djokovic Outlasts Federer To Win 7th Major

Much to my surprise, Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(2) 5-7 6-4 to win the 2014 Wimbledon championship and his 7th major championship in his 14th major final. By winning their 35th meeting, Djokovic has now won 17 (and lost 18) of their matches and is 6-all in majors and 1-all in major finals. Djokovic will become World #1 since he improved on his result of losing the Wimbledon final to Andy Murray last year. Federer will rise to World #3.

The match was just shy of four hours long, with many, many changes of momentum throughout. Djokovic got the first set point in the tiebreaker but ended up losing it and the first set. However he earned breakpoints early in the second set and eventually broke and nursed his lead to grab the second set and even the match at 1-set all. The third set was very tight with Federer delivering an incredible serving performance (13 aces) but errors on his usually deadly forehand win cost him the third set tiebreak. In the fourth set Djokovic earned an early break again and nursed his lead to 5-2 when it looked like the match would soon be over. But Federer held serve in the 8th game and when Djokovic served for the match he got down doublebreak point and Federer broke hi for the first time in the match well into its third hour. However, the twists and turns were not done yet. Serving 4-5, Djokovic earned a breakpoint which was championship point and Federer hit a serve very close to the line that was called out. The challenge showed that Federer's serve was shown to be in and ruled an ace. Match point saved. The 7-time Wimbledon champion used this momentum to break Djokovic in the next game and served out the 4th set to force a 5th set in the Wimbledon final for the fourth time since 2007 (all of which featured Federer). In the fifth set, Djokovic served first and saved a break point in the 5th game and finally earned double breakpoint in the 10th game which was also championship point and this time Federer cracked with a backhand error to lose the game, set and match.

Overall it was probably the best match of the year, with Federer hitting 29 aces (5 double faults) and 29 unforced errors overall to his opponent's 27. Djokovic hit 68 winners (only 13 aces) while Federer hit 75 winners (including aces) which indicates Djokovic's better play from the back of the court.

Interestingly, this is the second Wimbledon title for Djokovic and the last time he won it, so did Petra Kvitova, who also won her second Wimbledon title this weekend.

2014 WIMBLEDON: Men's Final Preview

Roger Federer (SUI) [4] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1]

The players in the men's final of the 2014 Wimbledon championships are set. For the 35th time, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet in a professional tennis match. Federer leads their rivalry 18-16 and won the one only major final the two contested (2007 US Open) as well as their one grass court meeting (2012 Wimbledon semifinals). Last year I correctly predicted Andy Murray would beat Djokovic in the men's final. This year I correctly predicted Petra Kvitova would win the women's title over Genie Bouchard. On the men's side I correctly predicted 2 of 2 men's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. Here are my reviews of this year's men's semifinals and my preview of the men's final.

WHAT HAPPENED: Men's Semifinals Review

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] d. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [11] 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) 7-6(7). This was one of the best matches on the men's side of the draw. The 23-year-old Bulgarian was playing in his first major semifinal while Djokovic has reached the semifinals of every major except one of the last 16 played. The #1 seed has reached 5 consecutive Wimbledon semifinals in the last five years. This match looked like it was going to be routine when Djokovic was a set and 3-1 up. However, after Dimitrov was able to escape out of a tricky service game he was able to break back in the very next game and finally earned a lead by holding serve and breaking again. The third and fourth sets were decided by tiebreaks but there were very different tiebreaks. In the 3rd set tiebreak the result was never in doubt while in the 4th set tiebreak, Dimitrov had multiple set points but the 2011 Wimbledon champion was able to close out the match and reach his 14th major final.

Roger Federer (SUI) [4] d. Milos Raonic (CAN) [8] 6-4 6-4 6-4. This should have been a tricky match for Federer to win because the Canadian youngster has one of the biggest serves in the men's game and thus one would expect plenty of tiebreakers, which one would often expect to go to the bigger server (c.f. John Isner). But as I said in my semifinals preview, Federer is quite experienced in blocking back huge serves, and because he had been serving so well in the tournament (broken just once, in the first set against Stan Wawrinka) he knew that all he had to do was take advantage of any opportunities he had on the Raonic serve and he would have a good day. Federer ended up having 7 breakpoints and converting on 3 of them. He had only one breakpoint against his own serve and saved it. That basically was the match in a nutshell. If rallies went longer than 4 or 5 strokes then Federer was completely in control of the point. If Raonic missed a first serve then you felt he was automatically in trouble, and because his return game is not strong Federer was able to hold his serve at love repeatedly. Federer is now 9-0 in Wimbledon semifinals.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Men's Final Preview
Roger Federer (SUI) [4] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1]. This is Federer-Djokovic XXXV, the thirty-fifth meeting between the 17-time major champion from Switzerland and the 5-time major champion from Serbia. Of the big four Federer's match-up with Djokovic has always been the most in The Maestro's favor. Obviously, his match-up with Nadal is disastrous and his match-up with Murray is very close (currently 10-11 in the Scot's favor). The fact that Nick Kyrgios eliminated Nadal and that Dimitrov eliminated Murray is great news for Federer's chances. 

Although I think many people think that Djokovic is going to win this match, I agree with Nick Bolleteri that Federer has an excellent chance at the "upset." In fact I don't even think it is that much of an upset if Federer wins another grass court title. The number of times he has lost on grass in his career is miniscule. He has only ever lost once in a Wimbledon final once, in 2008's "Greatest Match Ever Played." Federer has already beaten Djokovic twice this year (Dubai and Monte Carlo, both places where the Serb was the defending champion). He also beat Djokovic on grass in 2012 in the Wimbledon semifinals when Djokovic was playing some of his best tennis, having just reached the 2012 Roland Garros final just weeks before. Federer has won 99% of his service games in the tournament to date, and even though he has not had to face  a great returner like Djokovic, I still feel like he is delivering enough variety and power with his new racquet that this will make this aspect of his game even stronger. The area where Djokovic has improved is in his serve. He currently has 73 aces to Federer's 69 (but he has also lost 3 more sets than Federer) so far. With both players serving well I suspect this match will resemble a 1990s-2000s era grass court match of the Sampras era, which would suit Federer perfectly. If it becomes a match with long drawn out points, then that is advantage Djokovic. If it rains and the roof is closed, that is advantage Federer.
I definitely expect it to be a close match, not a mismatch like this year's women's final.

To me the best thing about this match is that I will be happy with whomever wins. If Djokovic wins, he will improve to 7-7 in major finals, surpassing the career major total of his coach, Boris Becker, and reclaiming the World #1 ranking from Nadal, most likely cementing the top ranking for the year. If Federer wins, he will win his record 18th major, improving to 18-7 in major finals, increase his lead to 19-16 over Djokovic, rise to World #3 in the rankings and break his tie with Pete Sampras for the most Wimbledon titles (7) won in the modern era. He will also become the oldest player (at age 32) to win Wimbledon, and (presumably?) the first married father of four to do so. By the time next year's Wimbledon comes around Djokovic will also be a husband and a father and statistics have shown this decreases your likelihood of winning major titles. That being said, I am still confident that even though I expect it to be close (probably 4 sets) Federer will prevail.

MadProfessah's pick: Federer.