The Top 10 Questions for 2010

2010 is upon us and with it brings so many questions as what is to come for the year ahead. Here are the ATP Tour's top ten questions for 2010:

10) Does "The Streak" continue? That is, does Roger Federer's streak of 22 consecutive grand slam finals continue? Despite his phenomenal 2009 season, several tennis analysts are doubting the streak will continue through 2010 as Roger's dominance begins to wane.

9) The U.S. of A.-Rod? Are all the hopes of the United States this year on Andy Roddick? For the past few years, the U.S. has relied on the 1-2 punch of A-Rod (no. 7) and James Blake (no. 44), but with James' precipitous drop-off in 2009 we are left wondering if A-Rod is our only hope for grand slam success. Two long shots for the U.S. are upshots Sam Querrey (no. 25) and John Isner (no. 34).

8) Comeback! So many top names have dropped out of the top rankings, so we are left wondering who will make a comeback this year. Some names we're looking for are Marcos Baghdatis (no. 42), James Blake (no. 44), Richard Gasquet (no. 52), and Mario Ancic (no. 95).

7) Who breaks through? Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have had a strangled hold on grand slam titles for most of the last five years. Juan Martin Del Potro (no. 5) unexpectedly broke through and won the U.S. Open this past september. But who will do it in 2010? Certainly, Andy Murray (no. 3) has to be a favorite given his 2009 performance and consistent performance on all surfaces. But there's a lot of guys out there that have the talent to do it - add these dark horses to your grand slam draw sheets this year: Davydenko, Soderling, Verdasco, Tsonga, and Gonzalez.

6) Does Bollettieri get into the ITF Hall of Fame? Nick is on the ballot this year for the Hall of Fame and we hope that this long overdue recognition final happens.

5) Who pops? Is this the year that Monfils breaks into the top 10? Or can Sam Querrey? Does Isner's booming serve get him into week two at Wimbledon? With this much talent on the tour, there's so many guys who can make huge waves in the rankings.

4) Who drops? The flip side of having so much talent on the tour is that nothing can be taken for granted. Nobody is protected on the tour and it's either feast or famine for rankings, pay, and endorsements - just ask James Blake who fell from being a top ten player to an unseeded underdog.

3) Reign in Spain? Could Spain pull off a three-peat - win the Davis Cup three years in a row? Their deep roster of talent makes the argument that Spain's dominance is here to stay for years to come.

2) And the winner of the Coup des Mousquetaires goes to...? Who the heck is going to win the French Open? Do Rafa's knees heel enough for him to reclaim his clay court dominance? Can Roger repeat? Or will a new name don the champion's trophy when it's all said and done?

1) Who's number 1? When the year wraps up in 2010, who will take home the year-end number one ranking? Can Roger Federer possibly do it again? He dominated the points race this year with two grand slam championships and two finals, but the competition is on his heels. Certainly, this year is going to be a horse race - grab onto your seat.