The 2020 tennis season concluded with Daniil Medvedev defeating Dominic Thiem in the finals of the Nitto ATP finals to end the year on a high. The 2020 season has been remarkable and exceptional in all circumstances. The coronavirus pandemic played a spoilsport, halting the tennis season from March to June. However, a few players have managed to continue doing well on the ATP tour, in spite of the unprecedented times, consistently performing throughout the year.
1. Andrey Rublev: 41 wins
Andrey Rublev has had an incredible 2020 season, winning 5 ATP titles, the most by any player in the year. The Russian reached the quarter finals of the US Open and the French Open and registered 41 wins on the tour in 2020. Rublev had a busy season on tour, playing 14 tournaments in spite of the shortened season. The Russian broke into the top 10 rankings for the first time in October.
The Russian won titles at Doha, Adelaide, Hamburg, Petersburg and the final one coming at Vienna. Unfortunately, he could not end his season on a high as he was knocked out in the second round robin stage of his maiden Nitto ATP finals after losing to Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, the Russian did manage to win a match against the eventual runner up, Dominic Thiem.
2. Novak Djokovic: 41 wins
Novak Djokovic is level with Andrey Rublev for most wins on ATP tour in 2020 with 41 wins to his name. The Service won 4 individual titles that year with wins at Cincinnati Masters, Italian Open, Dubai tennis championships and an eight Australian Open to begin the year with.
At one point of time, the Serbian looked as if he had a record of 26-0 until his default at the US Open in the 4th round. From then on , the Serb lost in the finals of the French Open to Rafael Nadal, quarter finals in Vienna to Lorenzo Sonego and suffered two losses at the Nitto ATP finals, which includes a nail biting semi final loss to Dominic Thiem.
Also Read | Top 5 women tennis players with most Grand Slams
3. Stefanos Tsitsipas: 29 wins
Stefanos Tsitsipas, has by no means played up to his potential in 2020. The Geek won only one title all year at the Open 13 earlier that year. Yet he has managed to pile on 29 wins in that year, which was still an impressive number. His best run of form came in the clay court season where he reached the Hamburg Open final and French Open semi final.
The Greek also played well in two consecutive tournaments at Open 13 and Dubai tennis championships, in which he won the former tournament and ended as a runner up in the latter to Novak Djokovic. He was knocked out in the second round robin stage of Nitto ATP finals and was unable to defend his crown in London.
4. Alexander Zverev: 28 wins
Alexander Zverev ended the year with 28 wins, which is an impressive number given how well he played in the second half of the season. The German ended as a runner up to Dominic Thiem at the US Open, losing in a 5 set thriller and won the titles at Cologne 1 and Cologne 2 in consecutive weeks.
The German also made a semi final appearance at the Australian Open earlier that year, again losing to Dominic Thiem in 4 sets. Zverev also suffered a final defeat at the hands of Medvedev in the finals of the Paris Masters. He could not end the year well as he was knocked out in the round robin stage of the Nitto ATP finals after losing his matches to Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic.
5. Daniil Medvedev: 28 wins
Nothing seemed to be going the Russian's way until the Paris Masters 2020. Medvedev lost in the early rounds at the French Open, Hamburg Open and the Petersburg Open. His form before the lockdown was also disastrous, as he was knocked out in the fourth round of the Australian Open and first round at Rotterdam.
Things took a turn for the better as the Russian won back to back titles in Paris and London. He started out defeating Alexander Zverev in the finals of the Paris Masters. The Russian did not look back from there on and went unbeaten at the Nitto ATP finals on his way to the title. He defeated the likes of Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic, all top 3 scalps in the same week.
