Predicting the winners of the ATP Awards
With this year's tour coming to an end, it's time to shift our focus towards the year-end awards that will be announced later this month.
The nominees for the ATP Awards have some very good players who richly deserve to be on the list.
On that note, let's take a look at who could win in each category:
Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award of the Year
Rafael Nadal has won this award in the last three years and has a very good chance of winning it in 2021 as well. The Spaniard is among the greatest players of all time but his humble demeanor has made him one of the most respected individuals among his peers.
However, the likes of Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Frances Tiafoe could give the King of Clay some fight but the chances of either of them winning the award look slim.
Predicted winner - Rafael Nadal
Comeback Player of the Year
Now, this is quite a tricky one as Andy Murray, Jack Sock and Mackenzie McDonald all have a chance of winning it. Thanasi Kokkinakis has also been nominated but he probably has the least chance of triumphing.
Murray had some good performances towards the end of the year that helped his ranking rise from 172nd to 134th. Jack Sock impressed on the ATP Challenger circuit and reached the third round of the US Open, which saw his ranking improve from 273rd to 146th.
McDonald, meanwhile, reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He also made it to his first-ever ATP final at the Citi Open, defeating the likes of Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios. Overall, his ranking rose from 194th to 55th.
Anyone out of Murray, Sock and McDonald would be a deserved winner but there is a slight chance the latter might edge them out to win the award.
Predicted winner - Mackenzie McDonald
Newcomer of the Year
Jenson Brooksby is the heavy favorite to win this award as the American's ranking rose from 314th to 56th during the course of the year thanks to some promising performances, including reaching the fourth round of the US Open. He even took a set off Novak Djokovic in his Round-of-16 clash with the World No. 1 in New York.
There were some good performances as well from the other nominees, namely, Brandon Nakashima, Sebastian Baez, Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Hugo Gaston, who reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.
However, there is every chance of Brooksby beating them to this award.
Predicted winner - Jenson Brooksby
Most Improved Player of the Year
This is one award where you could say that all four nominees equally deserve to win.
Casper Ruud reached the semifinals of two Masters 1000 tournaments and the ATP Finals while his ranking rose from 27th to 8th over the course of the year.
Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the process. The young Spaniard also won the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Cameron Norrie also produced some good performances, the most notable of them being winning the Indian Wells Masters.
However, Aslan Karatsev is probably the frontrunner to bag this award. He reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and won the Dubai Championships.
The 28-year-old also defeated Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev on the ATP circuit over the course of the year.
Predicted winner - Aslan Karatsev
ATP Coach of the Year
There have been some outstanding coaches this year. Christian Ruud helped his son reach the top 10 of the ATP rankings and we could see a lot more from him in the upcoming years.
Former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero helped compatriot Alcaraz to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal while Facundo Lugones guided Norrie in what was a very good year for him.
Craig Boynton helped Hurkacz reach the Wimbledon semifinals and become the first Polish man to reach the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
However, the best coach of 2021 was probably Gilles Cervara who did a great job with Medvedev. Under his guidance, the Russian won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, thus preventing Djokovic from clinching all four Majors in a year.
Medvedev also won the Canadian Open and reached the finals of the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.
Given how things are going, Cervara could well guide the 25-year-old to the top spot in the ATP rankings in the near future.
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