The New ATP Tour

If the year end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals proved one thing, it's that tennis no longer has a sheriff. Gone are the days of Roger and Rafa's absolute dominance of this sport. Gone are the days of the oligarchy that was tennis for so many years. Gone are tournaments whose outcomes were foregone conclusions.

In are the days of parity. In are the days of balance. In are the days of the New ATP Tour.

What is the New ATP Tour? The New ATP Tour was on display this past week at the O2 arena where the top eight players in the world squared off in the year end tournament. The New ATP Tour showed us that the current rankings don't mean anything. #8 can beat #1, #6 can beat #4, #4 can beat #3, and so on. Anyone in the top 8 can beat anyone else in the world. When was the last time we could say that?

Nikolay Davydenko is a testament of the New ATP Tour. Coming into the tournament Davydenko was ranked #8 in the world, but wasn't given much of a chance at winning the best-of-the-best tournament. But Nikolay had other things in mind. Big hitting from both sides and consistent shot-making proved too much for the field as he vanquished the competition.

On the other side of the coin, but also testaments of the New ATP Tour, are Federer and Nadal. Roger, who was champion of this event 4 of the past 6 years and finished year end #1, struggled in every match and lost to the eventual champion in the semifinals. Roger looked very pedestrian - and again, I'm left asking when was the last time we could say that? Rafa was the worst of the eight...unquestionably. He lost all three of his matches and worse yet, he didn't win a set. Rafa is not the same. I'm not saying he won't return to his prior form, but I can say for certain that he is nowhere near it at this time.

What we are left with in the New ATP Tour is the O.K. Corral - there's no sheriff, there's only gun-slinging - every match as perilous as a ten-pace duel. Rankings or seedings won't help you, only shot-making and nerves of steel, and whatever you do, don't run out of bullets.