The year's best … and a few disappointments

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA

Comeback Player of the year, Men: Mark Philippoussis Yes, the Scud has had a slew of injures over the years and has staged more comebacks than Gary Hart. However, his leap from No. 83 to No. 9 in the rankings was the result of a killer off-season training regimen. The result: a Wimby final and Davis Cup heroics.

Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA

Comeback Player of the year, Women: Nadia Petrova The Russian is no spring chicken by East Bloc standards and has yet to get used to her strong, large frame, but after a disastrous 2002 which saw her plummet to No. 111 due to a plethora of injuries, she climbed back to No. 12. Her French semifinal run was inspiring, but she still lacks confidence against the big guns.

Rookie of the Year, men: Rafael Nadal Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA The 17-year-old Mallorcan was the spring sensation and already looks like a Top 5 player in the making. The ambitious lefty bagged two Challenger titles and upset Albert Costa and Carlos Moya in Masters Series tournaments.

Rookie of the Year, women: Maria Sharapova Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA Plenty of teens have made splashes at the Slams like the 16-year-old Maria Sharapova did at 2003 Wimbledon, but few followed it up like the Russian did, winning two titles and cracking the Top 35 in her first year on tour. Sharapova has all the tools to make it big: height, athleticism, gargantuan groundies, a big serve, huge return, a go-for-broke attitude and a world-class shriek. Plus, she's got what it takes to make it far on the women's tour: more than a little attitude and seemingly unswerving commitment to greatness.

Match of the Year, men:
Andy Roddick d. David Nalbandian, US Open
There were a ton of good men's matches this year, but only a few great ones that mattered. Two involved Andy Roddick: his remarkable 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 win over Younes El Aynaoui in the quarters of the Aussie Open; and his 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-1, 6-3, victory over David Nalbandian in the semis of the US Open. Since the US Open match was more significant to Roddick's career, we'll pick the Nalbandian contest. Even though it seemed like that Roddick would never win another point from the back court again, he never caved in and finally out-toughed the brawny Argentine in three-and-a-half hours. He was a match point down 6-5 in the third set tiebreak, but he still had his nuclear weapon in his pocket and exploded a 138-mph service winner and a 136 down-the-middle ace to go ahead 7-6. Roddick committed a forehand error, but then Nalbandian did the same and at 8-7, Roddick punched away a forehand volley winner. He was no longer praying to Nalbandian, started moving his feet again, found his fearsome forehand and built his own altar.

Match of the Year, women:
Justine Henin-Hardenne d. Jennifer Capriati, US Open
Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Jennifer Capriati at the US Open 4-6, 7-5, 7-6. Capriati came so close to tasting a significant victory at the US Open and then suffered one of the most agonizing defeats in the tournament's history. Capriati emotionally fell apart in her loss to Henin-Hardenne in a semifinal where she was just two points away from victory nine different times and served for the match in both the final sets. It was an extremely hard fought contest that saw Capriati lay her heart on the line and Henin-Hardenne heroically limp her way to victory. In the end, it was Jennifer's failure to calm her jumbled nerves that was her undoing and Justine's ability to raise her level on the crucial points that carried her to victory.

Doubles team of the Year, men:
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan
Back in July after they won their first Grand Slam at Roland Garros, tennisreporters.net asked the question: "Can the Bryans dominate?" While Bob and Mike didn't exactly snuff out the competition from July through November, they did edge out all comers and finished the year at No. 1. In the last tournament of the year at the Houston Masters Cup with the top spot in the line, the lefty-righty combination came through with flying colors, winning all five matches they contested, saving four match points against Martin Damm and Cyril Suk in their first round-robin match and two match points against Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge in their final round-robin match. Had they lost that match, the Bryans would have been eliminated from the tournament. But they played like a couple of veterans and in the final, outlasted France's Michael Llodra/Fabrice Santoro 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. It was their fifth title of the season and they became the first all-American team to finish No. 1 since fellow Southern Californians Rick Leach and Jim Pugh in 1989.

Doubles team of the Year, women:
Kim Clijsters/Ai Sugiyama
Even though the pair couldn't secure the No. 1 ranking when they were tripped up by US Open champs Paola Suarez/Virginia Ruano-Pascual at the Championships, the now defunct team won Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Most Improved, men:
Rainer Schuettler
There's plenty of fine candidates here (such as Mardy Fish, Martin Verkerk and Nicolas Massu), but the German was the biggest factor with his run to the Aussie Open final and success against the elite. The fleet counterpuncher's No. 6 ranking is no fluke.

Most Improved, women:
Vera Zvonareva
You think it's easy going from rookie school to No. 13 in the rankings? Think twice. Vera sputtered in the fall, but anyone who has met her knows how deadly serious she is about her sport. She'll give her countrywomen a run for their money in 2004 in the race for the top rankings among Russians. Runner-up: two-time titlist Sugiyama.

Over-30 player of the Year, men:
Andre Agassi
Aussie Open titlist Agassi is the easy choice, but don't forget El Aynaoui, who finished ranked No. 14.

Over-30 player of the Year, Women:
Conchita Martinez
Who wants to try to knock this 32-year-old out of the Top 20 in 2004? No young player who despises a low slice, that's for sure.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year, men:
Marat Safin
The Russian hasn't found a way to stay healthy or focused and now is in danger of becoming a one-Slam wonder. Believe it or not, he's making his countrymen appreciate Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Biggest Disappointment of the Year, women: Daniela Hantuchova
After a tremendous 2002, the smooth Slovak seemingly got worse with each passing month. No visible body fat, not much muscle or mental toughness has put her elite prospects in serious jeopardy.