6. Will a Frenchman win Roland Garros?

It’s been more than three decades since a Frenchman last raised La Coupe des Mousquetaires on the burnt-orange terre battue of Roland Garros. Not since Yannick Noah, all dreadlocks and a smile as wide as the Seine, downed Mats Wilander 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(3) in 1983, has a Frenchman triumphed there. It’s mystifying, considering all the homegrown talent that has since come and gone (think: Pioline, Grosjean, Clement, Santoro, etc.). But as Jeremy Chardy recently said, “Roland Garros remains mythical for French players.” If ever there were a time to end that dry spell, it’s now. With Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon, Benoit Paire, Gael Monfils, Adrian Mannarino and Chardy all inside the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, there’s no time like the present.

“There are many positive things for the various French players,” said Cedric Pioline, a runner-up at the US Open in 1993 and Wimbledon in 1997. “Gilles has been very consistent. Maybe we would have expected a bit from Gael Monfils in terms of results. But we had good surprises, like the good results of Benoit, who started the year at No. 140. Chardy is very consistent. Globally, it is very positive.”

Whether or not they can perform under pressure in seven matches over two weeks in front of the French fans is another question. That big-stage pressure at home-country Slams is very real. No Aussie has won the Australian Open since 1976. When Andy Murray triumphed at the All England Club in 2013, it broke a lengthy dry spell of some 77 years for British men. An American hasn’t prevailed at the US Open since 2003. But wouldn’t it be magnifique to see France once again celebrate one of its own in the Bois de Boulogne?

7. Will we see more legends follow the likes of Becker, Edberg and Chang into the coaching ranks?

Ever since Jimmy Connors stepped out of retirement to coach Andy Roddick in 2006, it’s become downright de rigueur for former champions to share their expertise with today’s elite performers.  In 2012, Andy Murray took many of us by surprise when he hired Ivan Lendl. The Scot later aligned with Amelie Mauresmo and, until recently, Jonas Bjorkman. In 2013, German legend Boris Becker began a more-than-productive relationship with Novak Djokovic. As if in response, Roger Federer for two years hired one of Becker’s old foes, Swede Stefan Edberg, and this year adds former World No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic to his team. Kei Nishikori reached the 2014 US Open final under the guidance of Michael Chang.

“Let’s say it’s nothing that I thought that I ever would do,” said Edberg, who will step away from coaching duties this year.

As we saw in 2015, when 17 Grand Slams into a surefire Hall of Fame career Federer added a chip-and-charge attack to his arsenal (aka the “SABR,” as in Sneak Attack By Roger), it’s never too late to add to your game.

And while neither Federer nor Djokovic will become full-time serve-and-volleyers anytime soon, as they get older, who better to consult for ways to shorten points than champions like Edberg and Becker? The old guard still has something to say. All of which makes one wonder, when will John McEnroe begin a mentorship of his own?   

8. Will the Bryan Bros. return to their winning ways at the majors?

The most successful doubles team in the Open Era — Mike and Bob Bryan — saw its streak of 143 consecutive weeks at No. 1 come to an end in 2015, a year that saw the Bryans fail to win a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2004. All that being said, it was hardly an unproductive year for the twin terrors, who captured six ATP World Tour titles, including three at the Masters 1000 level. They also qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the 14th successive season, staying in the race for the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings right up until the semi-finals. Bryan/Bryan is the only team in the Open Era to win at least five titles for 14 straight years.

“It was bound to happen at some point,” said Bob. “Unfortunately, the stars didn’t align at the majors this year.”

At the age of 37 and now 17 years into their pro careers, no one would fault the Bryans if they eased off the pedal a bit, marriage and (in Bob’s case) parenthood demanding more and more of their time. With 16 Slams and more than 950 wins, they certainly have nothing left to prove. But the former Stanford stars are talking like they’ve still got some unfinished business.

“We’re going to go back to the drawing board, work even harder,” said Mike at the year-end finale in London. “We’re going to work extra hard. Obviously, next year is an important year with the Olympics. We want to try to win another Slam, be here again trying to get No. 1.”

“I think doubles improves every year,” Mike asserted. “I think we had [6,770] points. To our standards, that is a pretty low point number, but there were a lot of teams around that. A lot of teams had a crack at No. 1. Next year, we would like to do what we’ve done in the past, put up 10,000 plus points and win some big majors and make it really tough for anyone to catch us. If they want to catch us, they’re going to have to hit the big number of titles and points…We’re going to come back next year stronger, healthier and hungrier to do this again because we know what the feeling feels like. It’s a great feeling. We’ll do all we can to get back on top.”

9. What impact will Juan Martin del Potro have on the Tour this year?

It’s hard to believe a half-dozen years have gone by since Juan Martin del Potro’s towering, 6-foot-6 presence stalked the hard courts of Flushing Meadows on the final Monday at the US Open, when the popular Argentine took down the seemingly unconquerable Roger Federer and his 41-match winning streak in five sets 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 for the lone Slam title of his career.

Now 27, the ‘Tower of Tandil’ has played only sparingly since. After reaching a career-high of No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and inserting himself in the conversation with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, del Potro was limited to 10 matches or fewer in 2010, 2014 and 2015 due to injuries to both wrists. He underwent surgery on his left wrist in March 2014, missing the remainder of the year. But he wasn’t out of the woods just yet: Due to complications, he would undergo the knife again in both January and June of 2015, all the while never giving up hope of a return to the ATP World Tour.

If you follow del Potro on Twitter (@delpotrojuan) — and some two million fans do — you’re familiar with his eagerness to get back. He regularly posts selfies: in hospital beds, in casts, rehabbing, always with a thumbs up and usually accompanied by a motivational message.

“If you think I’m down and out, I want you to know I’m still fighting for it.”

“Here I am recovering after the surgery. I’m really thankful to you for being there.”

Perhaps the most encouraging Tweet came in late August just as the final Slam of the year was getting underway.

“The @usopen, my favourite tournament, just started. I’ll be there next year.”

There’s ample reason to believe del Potro will make good on his promise. In November, he took the courts for the first time in seven months in Florida, practising at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park, home to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami. Although he said at first “I felt I was holding a hammer instead of a racquet,” the Argentine has gained confidence as the training sessions have progressed. “There’s no doubt I will play again,” he said.

The only question is when.

10. Can Roger Federer remain a Top-5 force at age 34?

In a word, yes. If 2015 were any indication, age doesn’t seem to apply to the tricenarian the way it does we mere mortals.

En route to the Brisbane title, Roger Federer crossed the 1,000-win mark, becoming one of only three players in the Open Era to do so (joining Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl). He defeated Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic en route to his seventh Cincinnati title and 24th ATP Masters 1000 crown overall, the first time he had ever defeated the Nos. 1-2 at the same event. At the US Open, he became the oldest Grand Slam finalist since 35-year-old Andre Agassi at Flushing Meadows in 2005. He also claimed titles in Dubai, Istanbul, Halle and Basel. Overall, he went 6-5 in finals, with all five losses coming to World No. 1 Djokovic, including Wimbledon, the US Open and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. But his greatest achievement might just have been staying injury-free, something he’s developed an uncanny knack for over his 17-year pro career.

These days, Federer often fields questions about retirement; about how long he can see himself playing this game. Unvaryingly, he tells us he can’t yet see the finish line, and that’s just fine with him.

“As long as I don’t know when the end is, that’s how you plan,” said Federer in November. “Into infinity, if you like.”

Though the 17-time Grand Slam champion has been shut out at the majors the past three years, a look at his records over the past five years reveals that his level remains an elite one.

He most definitely remains a Top-5 force, and should remain so through 2016.

“I’m playing good tennis,” he said. “I’m happy with where my level is at. I’m able to be very consistent. I’m able to beat the best players regularly. Cincinnati was a great feeling, beating the World No. 1 and World No. 2 in the same week. I don’t think I’ve done that before. Then, of course, there’s also disappointment. I lost too many times in finals. But at the same time, I’m just happy that the last one-and-a-half years I have been again very consistent. I’m playing the right way, and also in a way that’s fun for me. If I decide to have long rallies and stay back, I can do that. If I decide to move forward and step it up, I can do that, too.”

10 Questions For 2016: Part 1

We’ve all seen the stats: fewest titles since 2011 (three), earliest exit at Roland Garros since 2009 (quarter-finals), no Slams or ATP Masters 1000 titles for the first time in more than a decade, lowest year-end Emirates ATP Ranking (No. 5) since 2004. But if you didn’t tune into Rafal Nadal’s post-US Open campaign, you’re not getting the full picture. The resurgent Spaniard would go 16-5 during the Asian and European swings with semi-final showings at the Shanghai Rolex Masters and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, and finals in both Beijing and Basel. More importantly, the 29-year-old Mallorcan was already looking ahead to 2016 with a renewed sense of on-court calm and confidence.

“Victories are the best medicine possible,” he said.

“A lot of the time this year, I was not able to fight the way that I wanted to, and I was not able to try to find solutions on the court when things weren’t going well,” he continued. “So for me, the big improvement is when I’m able to find those solutions again; when I’m able to figure out how to change the dynamic and to fight the way that I want to fight again. That’s the most important thing.”

Perhaps most reassuring was Nadal’s run to the Basel final (l. to Roger Federer 6-3, 5-7, 6-3), which included consecutive three-set wins against Lukas Rosol, Grigor Dimitrov and Marin Cilic, the Spaniard showing that he indeed has plenty of fight left in him. All this, he says, will serve as ideal prep work for 2016.     

“I take everything like a practice,” explained Nadal, who with uncle/coach Toni Nadal has been sharpening his serve and ramping up his return game. “Every week for me is like a preparation for next year.  I try to spend as much time on court as possible working on the things that I need to work on. The more time that I can spend on the court is going to be important practice, trying to do the things I need to do to start strong next year.”

For anyone who might doubt Nadal’s ability to turn things around, all you have to do is look back to 2013. That’s the year he returned from a seven-month injury layoff to win 10 titles and reach a career-high 14 finals, becoming the first player to retake No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after a three-year absence.

“I understand that people are questioning his game now and where he’s going to be,” said Novak Djokovic. “But if you need a reminder of who he is, you just look at his career stats and Grand Slams that he won. I think that says enough about his quality as a player and as a champion.”

2. Can Novak Djokovic possibly top his stellar 2015 and win a calendar-year Slam?

Twice now Novak Djokovic has come within a Roland Garros of the calendar-year Grand Slam, first in 2011 (when he opened the season on the second longest winning streak in ATP World Tour history en route to a 70-6 finish) and then in 2015 (when he claimed a record six ATP Masters 1000 titles, the Barclays ATP Word Tour Finals and went 82-6). As we saw with Serena Williams’ quest for the final piece in her Grand Slam puzzle of 2015, it can be a taxing, pressure-filled journey. But the level-headed Djokovic is just 28 and playing better than ever. Even the Serb called this past season “the best year of my life.” So there’s little reason to doubt his ability to complete the task in 2016. It’s just a matter of how he deals with the pressure and the obstacles that will inevitably come his way: the injuries, the colds, the rising talent, the Stan Wawrinkas.

“He was so close this year,” said Rod Laver, the last man to pull off the Grand Slam, something he did not once but twice, in 1962 and 1969. “Going into the French final, I would have picked him nine out of 10 times against Wawrinka. But things happen. The pressures are there. It depends on how you deal with them. If you start off 2016 saying, ‘I’m going for a Grand Slam,’ those sorts of things can creep into your game. The more you talk about it you’re just adding pressure. But if you play your best tennis under pressure, which Djokovic certainly does, he’s got a good chance.”

Though Laver admits that the pressures, at least from a financial perspective, are weightier now than in his heyday, the Hall of Famer did deal with his own heavy expectations when he swept the majors at 24 and again at 31, a remarkable seven-year buffer between them.

“The biggest thing is how you perform under pressure,” Laver, 77, told ATPWorldTour.com. “I was fortunate. I think I played my best tennis under pressure. It wasn’t nerves that beat me in my time on the tennis court. I think Djokovic has a great chance at a Grand Slam. I hope I can be there to congratulate him if it happens.”

3. What will Australian tennis look like in a post-Hewitt world?

When his last ball is struck on home ground at the 2016 Australian Open, be it in the first round or during an inspirational second-week run, Lleyton Hewitt will walk away from his playing career for good. Sure, he’ll stick around to represent his nation as the newly elected Davis Cup captain, but his days as one of the ATP World Tour’s most dogged on-court competitors will be over. The two-time Grand Slam champion’s departure will surely be felt, but thanks to the rise of a talented crop of young talent Down Under, the void won’t be as ominous as we once might have thought.

Fittingly, Hewitt played his last US Open match against a player whom many Aussies hope can fill his shoes, Bernard Tomic. In their first-ever FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, the 34-year-old Hewitt pushed his 23-year-old foe to five sets before falling 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5 in the second round. The torch had officially been passed. At the Australian Open, the enigmatic Nick Kyrgios became the first teen to reach two Slam quarterfinals since Roger Federer in 2001. Nineteen-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis became the first teen to reach the third round at Roland Garros since Ernests Gulbis in 2008. And fellow Aussies James Duckworth (23), Luke Saville (21) and Jordan Thompson (21) are showing promise, too.

“I will pass on stuff to the young guys,” said Hewitt, the year-end No. 1 in 2001 and 2002. “That’s my next role — to help those boys out. I was very fortunate that I came up in a group where there weren’t a lot of egos, especially the Woodies [Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde], [Jason] Stoltenberg, [Richard] Fromberg, Wayne Arthurs, a lot of these guys. They helped me out with a lot of stuff. [Patrick] Rafter came up when I was playing Davis Cup with him. He took me under his wing. So I was really fortunate with that stuff. I think that’s just part of a really good Australian culture.”

4. Will Grigor Dimitrov finally emerge as a consistent elite power?

Though he’s just 24, its feels like Grigor Dimitrov has been under the microscope for eons. From the moment that, as an 18-year-old upstart, he shocked Tomas Berdych in Rotterdam in 2009 and the tennis cognoscenti — fairly or unfairly — began to pin the “Baby Federer” label upon his chest, it seems the balletic Bulgarian has been expected to live up to some impossible Swiss standards.

Since turning pro in 2008, Dimitrov has been on an upward trend in the Emirates ATP Rankings, going from No. 482 to a career-high of No 8 in 2014, a year in which he claimed three ATP World Tour titles and reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon. This April, he scalped Stan Wawrinka in reaching the quarter-finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in both Monte-Carlo and Madrid. But just when it began to look as if he might continue his climb, Dimitrov, who has struggled with shoulder issues, took a step backward in the rankings to close 2015 at No. 28.

“Last year was a pretty intense year for me,” he confided. “Everything was quite intense for me to get into those rounds, quarter-finals, semi-finals.  Every tournament that I was playing was just something new for me. To come back the following year, to repeat all that, it’s never easy because after you put quite a bit of pressure on yourself to do good and even better.  It’s been a lot of ups and downs. Last year was an eye‑opener for me. It showed me what I was capable of. I fell into a rhythm that I always wanted to. But I knew it was very hard to sustain.”

However, Dimitrov’s uber-athletic game has clearly made an impression on his colleagues, even that Swiss sensation to whom he is so often compared.

“He’s making improvements from the baseline and taking bigger cuts at the ball now,” noted Roger Federer of Dimtrov’s arsenal. “He’s not just waiting for mistakes from the opponents, like he did at the beginning of the his career more often. I’ve played him quite a few times now. He’s always a tough guy to play.”

If he can get himself fully healthy, 2016 might just be the year in which he breaks through in a big way.

5. Will more teens continue to populate the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings?

Don’t look now but there’s a youth movement afoot in men’s professional tennis. Croatia’s Borna Coric (18), Korea’s Hyeon Chung (19), Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis (19) and Emirates ATP Star of Tomorrow award winner Alexander Zverev of Germany (18) all infiltrated the year-end Top 100 in the Emirates ATP World Tour Rankings in 2015, proving that the top young guns can indeed play with the big boys.

Though in recent years the sport’s elite hasn’t been peaking until its late 20s (the average age of today’s Top 10 is 29.6), that doesn’t mean this new era of young talent can’t hold its own or even break though at the biggest events.

“It’s good to have some fresh faces, new faces, in the Top 100. A lot are pretty close to breaking through, as well,” said Kokkinakis, who grew up idolizing Russian Marat Safin. “It’s good to have that new young crop coming through.”

“There’s a couple of more guys coming in. I’m just happy that I’m one of them,” said Coric, who scalped a Top-5 win over Andy Murray in Dubai. “It’s nice to have someone else to keep pushing you, so I can work even harder.”

“We’re definitely a new generation,” added Zverev, who in 2014 became the first 17-year-old since Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet in 2003 to finish in Top 150 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. “We’re young and we play very aggressive — all of us.”

Six players on the ATP World Tour earned their first titles in 2015. At the time of their victories, they ranged in age from 21 to 34. Below are stories of the last three winners and how they fared for the rest of the season.

Dominic Thiem – Nice [Thiem Spotlight] Austria’s Dominic Thiem vaulted up the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2015, cracking the Top 20 for the first time behind a trio of clay-court crowns. The 22 year old’s maiden title came in Nice, turning in a stunning run that included four wins over seeded opponents. Thiem outlasted fourth seed Leonardo Mayer 6-7(8), 7-5, 7-6(2) in two and a half hours in the final, after toppling John Isner in the semis and defending champion Ernests Gulbis in the quarters.

“It’s really, really special; the first title ever,” said Thiem. “It’s not only this. The match today was a really high level. Leonardo played outstanding and I was fighting until the end. I think it was one of the best matches I’ve ever played. The first title, I will remember it forever, so I will also remember forever Nice.”

Thiem would not stop there, registering a 14-1 stretch on clay with consecutive titles in Umag and Gstaad in late July. He became the first Austrian to win in Umag since former World No. 1 Thomas Muster in 1995 and the fourth player born in the 1990s to lift three ATP World Tour trophies. A second consecutive third round appearance at the US Open months later would propel Thiem to the Top 20 and a career-high position of World No. 18. The Gunter Bresnik pupil also reached his first quarter-final at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level in Miami, upsetting 10th-seed Feliciano Lopez en route.

Denis Istomin – Nottingham [Istomin Spotlight] They say good things come to those who wait. For 29-year-old Denis Istomin, this couldn’t be closer to the truth. The World No. 61 survived a furious rally from Sam Querrey to capture his maiden ATP World Tour title on the lawns of Nottingham in late June. The Uzbek, who had been defeated in two previous finals in New Haven 2010 and San Jose 2012, was one of two players to save a match point en route to a title this year. He denied one in sneaking past Leonardo Mayer in the quarter-finals.

“I worked for it,” said Istomin. “I’m not coming here to win two rounds. I always come to try to win the tournament. I passed this step and will try to do the next step in going up in the [Emirates ATP] Rankings. In the (second set) tie-break, I forgot about the score and I just tried to play and fight. In the end it worked… It would have been unprofessional from my side to lose from 5-2.”

The first player from Uzbekistan to hoist a trophy on the ATP World Tour, Istomin also added a 10th title on the ATP Challenger Tour in his penultimate event of the year. He became the sixth player to win on both circuits with a title run on home soil in Tashkent.

Istomin won his third ATP World Tour doubles title as well, prevailing alongside Aliaksandr Bury in Gstaad.

Benoit Paire – Bastad [Paire Spotlight] The 2015 Comeback Player of the Year in the ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moet & Chandon was France’s Benoit Paire. The 26 year old became the first player to win titles on the ATP World Tour, ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures circuit in a single season since Steve Darcis in 2006, claiming his maiden tour-level title on the clay of Bastad in late July. A 7-6(7), 6-3 victory over Tommy Robredo in the final secured the trifecta.

“It’s a perfect week,” said Paire. “The conditions today were not easy, but I’m really happy to win against Tommy. He’s a very good player. To play against him in the final and to beat him is a dream, so I’m very happy. It was a lot of pressure, but I think I played well… I hope it’s not the last First-Time Winners: Thiem, Istomin, Paire for me.”

It did not take long for the Frenchman to regain his footing after struggling with knee issues in 2014. Arguably his greatest moment came at the US Open, where he shocked World No. 4 and last year’s runner-up Kei Nishikori in the opening round in five sets. It marked his third Top 10 win and first over a Top 5 opponent. In October, he fell short in his bid for second career title, losing to top seed Wawrinka in the Tokyo final. Paire enjoyed one of the biggest jumps inside the Top 50 of the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings, soaring 99 spots to a career-high World No. 19.