Soon to-be-over season of 2017 has seen Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal bringing back the good-old-days of the last decade. Their rivalry saw an unbelievable twist as Roger Federer went on to score four wins in a row against his biggest rival. But, this season was not about their head to head stats entirely, as the world stage of tennis saw these two tennis greats imposing their will. Basically, they shared the spoils of war in half with some interference from other names. Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov or the latest Jack Sock they all walked away with decent crumbs in their pockets.
Now, there is one more stop on the 2017 schedule as Nitto Atp Finals at the O2 Arena in London is set to begin next week. Thus, it'll be just about time to start reflecting which player deserves the highest honor in 2017.
The numbers tell a complicated story
In most cases, numbers are the last resort when the margins are thin and there is no obvious gap between the items brought up for comparison. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dominated the ATP Tour in 2017 and despite Federer being the one with a 4-0 head to head lead, it'll be Rafael Nadal the one to seal off the year's end world No. 1 seat. A direct result of his great deal of consistency, Rafael Nadal's achievement is not enough to ensure him the best player of the year award.
Both Federer and Nadal have won two Grand Slam titles each in what was a beautifully staged alternation. Federer won three Masters 1000 titles and two ATP 500 while the Spaniard can brag about having clinched two Masters and two ATP 500 badges.
Overall, Nadal is 67-10 in win/ loss ratio this year which is the equivalent of a prime year for him.
On the other side, deciding to skip the entire clay court swing, Roger Federer heads into London with a 49-4 win/ loss record.
Nitto ATP Finals can shed some light on this dilemma. Federer and Nadal won't be sharing the same group and they are eligible for a clash in the final of the event. This type of scenario can provide us with the proper grounds to make the final assessment and to predict which way the balance will be tilted.
Federer and Nadal took the most out of the opportunity in front of them
With neither Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Nishikori or Raonic able to put in their best tennis, the ATP World Tour was simply doomed to endure a long-forgotten pair of iron hands. A 36-year-old Swiss tennis icon and a 31-year-old Spanish warrior returned to claim their lost seats.
At the time, 2017 Australian Open seemed a fortunate event but with few chances to replicate itself throughout the whole season. How things turned up will be part of a nostalgic tennis story of the years to come. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dominating the ATP circuit like in their prime is not a story that will fade away that fast.
