A breeding ground for ATP stardom, the rising stars of men’s tennis lay the foundation for their budding careers on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The circuit provides a platform for players to develop their talents, but not all careers are created equal. Some rise to the top faster and slower than others and while there is no blueprint to success, Daniel Munoz-de la Nava is doing his best to defy the odds at the ripe age of 33.

In 2014, the Challenger circuit was set ablaze by a 33-year-old Victor Estrella Burgos, who capped his memorable breakthrough season with a trip to the ATP Challenger Tour Finals, before sending shockwaves through the ATP World Tour as the oldest first-time champion in Quito, earlier this year. Munoz-de la Nava is looking to follow a similar path.

Inspired by his thriving group of countrymen over the age of 30, including David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo, the Spaniard torched the competition in 2015, compiling 44 wins in 60 matches. His three titles from six finals, on the clay of Napoli, Moscow and Meknes, saw him soar to a career-high World No. 82 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“This year I am playing with more confidence,” Munoz-de la Nava told ATPWorldTour.com from his home in Madrid. “After two years of working really hard with my team, I’ve been able to play well and be happy on the court. I’ve been working with my physio on treating my knee and my trainer has helped me a lot. I’ve had so many injuries the past few years. As they say, it’s really important to play with two legs, to be able to run and just stay healthy. This is the big difference for me.

“It was really important for me to win the first Challenger in Napoli. It was a big one and it helped me make a big jump in the rankings. Before the victory there, I had played seven or eight finals in my career and only won one. It came so fast and the final was 6-2, 6-1 (d. Donati). The start of my season wasn’t so good. I lost many close matches in the first two or three months. After this tournament, everything changed. And of course I cannot forget the match at the tournament in Manerbio, Italy, when I became Top 100. I will never forget this match.”

When the Madrid native entered the Top 100 for the first time in August, he claimed a slice of history, as the 14th-oldest player to crack the century mark for the first time. He was the first 33 year old to do so since Estrella Burgos last year.

“It’s so special and so important for me (to enter the Top 100). For so many years, it was more than a goal. I was completely blocked when I was playing and I couldn’t focus my energy. It became a big point of pressure for me. After this year, I’ve made it and I feel freer and much better. It was really hard.”

Munoz-de la Nava turned pro in 1999, but his progress was hampered by a car accident soon after receiving his driver’s license, which resulted in persistent knee troubles. For years, the Spaniard’s position in the Emirates ATP Rankings vacillated around the Top 200. His 2011 campaign finished with promise and a year-end spot of No. 140, but setbacks would send it in the wrong direction. No. 171 would follow in 2012, No. 194 in 2013 and No. 206 in 2014. Finally healthy, he is now realising his potential 15 years later.

With two daughters at home – Noa and Paula – Munoz-de la Nava has new sources of inspiration that have driven him to new heights in 2015.

“Noa, my oldest (age 3), has seen me play many times. It’s been a really good inspiration for me and has motivated me. Every time they come with me I play well and I feel better. It’s very important.”

A doubles finalist at the ATP World Tour 500 event in Hamburg in 2012, with Rogerio Dutra Silva, Munoz-de la Nava has also reached a pair of tour-level singles quarter-finals in Estoril earlier that year and in Delray Beach in 2013. The biggest win of his career came in his hometown Mutua Madrid Open, upsetting then World No. 22 Sam Querrey from a set down as a qualifier in 2010. The Spaniard learned to play at age five when his father introduced him to the game. After competing in a national tournament in Madrid, he started practising there on a full-time basis and later turned pro at 17.

“Francisco Clavet has always been my idol. I practised with him a lot when I was 20-23 and he was at the end of his career. He inspired me because he was always focused, professional and working hard. I have to work hard at every point and he really taught me a lot about how to be a professional player.”

Munoz-de la Nava is looking to cap his breakthrough campaign with a strong statement at the ATP Challenger Tour Finals as he sets the tone for the 2016 season. Despite being the second-highest ranked player in the tournament field, he is not taking anything for granted and is grateful to have qualified.

“Since the middle of the year, I decided to be focused on Sao Paulo and I made it. It’s going to be on indoor clay with altitude. More similar altitude to Madrid, so for me it is not going to change a lot, but the balls are going to be fast. Let’s say for guys like Lorenzi, he’s especially good in altitude. I played Albot in a final in Moscow, Dustov likes faster courts and Cecchinato was pretty solid all year, so all the matches are going to be tough. The conditions will be really important. Let’s see how fast the court is. I’ve been practising hard. I haven’t played tournaments this month to rest and be ready to play here.

“2016 is going to be interesting but it will be tough. In the Challengers I was almost always seeded and it’s different now. I can play against Top 10, Top 20, Top 30 players. It’s going to be an exciting year and I will try to be as prepared as I can. I will need a little bit of luck with the draws and I’ll try to stay in the Top 100.”

How do you play a match at any level of the game and only lose three points on your second serve? That’s exactly what Novak Djokovic managed to pull off in his 6-3, 6-4 victory over Roger Federer in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London on Sunday night.

Second-serve performance is typically a key component in deciding victory from the back courts of Lahore to the centre court in London. Djokovic managed to win a mind-blowing 84 per cent (16/19) of his second-serve points against one of the most in-form players on the planet.

Many positive things flowed from this surprise advantage, including Djokovic only facing two break points in two sets against an opponent he lost to in straight sets earlier in the week, when he lost serve four times.  In the deuce court, Djokovic amazingly won 88 per cent (7/8) of second serves directed at Federer’s backhand down the T, and all three surprise serves to the forehand wing.

History shows us that Federer’s backhand return is always heavily targeted, but he was not sitting on this preferred location, ripping returns like the scouting report dictates.

In the ad court, Djokovic mixed it up much more, winning 50 per cent (2/4) to Federer’s backhand return on second serves, and 100 per cent (4/4) sneaking second serves right down the T to keep Federer off balance.

Second-serve performance is always a key component of victory, as it’s typically too difficult for the returner to succeed against far more powerful first serves. Federer averaged standing 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) inside the baseline to return Djokovic’s second serves, but quite often lacked the commitment to immediately attack.

On the first point of the 1-1 game in the second set, Federer looked to chip and charge off a second-serve return, second-guessed himself, and missed a routine return. That’s a moment in time when thinking really hurts you.

Federer’s magnificent short-ball-hunter instincts should have taken over, and his chance of winning the point at the net would have dramatically increased. Djokovic won 42 baseline points to Federer’s 23, so why stay back? While Djokovic soared, winning 84 per cent of his second-serve points, Federer struggled mightily, winning only 42 per cent (9/21) against the world’s best returner.

Federer’s game was spotty right from the beginning, committing 31 unforced errors to the Serb’s 14. With everything else being equal, that sinks the boat right there.

Federer hit more winners (19-13) than Djokovic, but as usual, it was the player who made fewer unforced errors than more winners who was smiling at the net shaking hands when the dust settled.

Federer’s backhand proved problematic throughout. He hit six winners off that wing but too often wildly missed the mark with 13 unforced errors, stopping his sporadic good play in its tracks.

Djokovic targeted Federer’s backhand from start to finish, hitting 70 per cent of his backhands cross court, and then on the right ball, attacking 30 per cent down the line to pressure Federer’s forehand on the run.

Federer hit 61 per cent of his backhands cross court and 39 per cent down the line, but should have directed a lot more down the middle of the court to Djokovic’s forehand, to rebound the ball back down the middle to his own forehand.

Federer used a lot more slice than Djokovic off his backhand wing, hitting 69 per cent topspin and 31 per cent slice, trying to disrupt the Serb’s dominant rhythm. Djokovic was content to just keep ploughing away at the comparatively weaker Federer backhand wing, hitting 97 per cent of his backhands with topspin, and only 3 per cent with slice.

Overall, Djokovic hit 23 per cent of his shots standing inside the baseline, 56 per cent within two metres behind the baseline, and 21 per cent further back than two metres.

Djokovic capped off a magnificent year with a dominant performance against a fierce rival. It’s the first time in the history of our sport that a player has won four consecutive year-end championships in a row.

It’s now time to put a glorious season to bed. Let’s respect Djokovic’s amazing process, and give thanks to him for taking us to a place on the mountain where nobody before has ventured.

It has been a historic season for Novak Djokovic. How will he celebrate his fourth consecutive victory at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals?

Follow the 2015 champion around O2 Arena as talks about his ambitions for next season and reveals his big plans for the holidays.

Roger Federer is the only player to have inflicted defeat on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic more than once this season. He had downed the Serb for a third time on Tuesday in the round-robin stage of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

But in the title match on Sunday, revenge came sweet for Djokovic – his straight sets result securing a fifth season-ending championship, in his 15th final from the 16 events he entered in 2015. Big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic was the only man who managed to deny him a berth in a final all season. He did so in the Doha quarter-finals.

“I guess Karlovic is my nemesis. I have a negative score against him. I have to talk about him before Doha next year,” Djokovic grinned. “It’s been an incredible season. Other than that tournament, I’ve played all finals. Obviously, sitting here with this trophy alongside me, I couldn’t ask for a better finish to the season. The last four years I managed to win the (Barclays ATP) World Tour Finals, where the best players in the world are playing. For some reason or another, I’ve been playing some of my best tennis after the US Open, in Asia and also indoors, both Paris and London.

“I’ve been trying to really pay as equal attention to the work and the recovery, as well, mental and physical. It allows me to have the longevity. It allows me to have the matches and the tournaments I’ve had in the last couple years.

“But this season definitely stands out. I can’t say I expected it, not at all … (It) obviously gives me a lot of confidence for anything that is coming in the future.”

Against Federer, in Showdown No. 2 at the season finale, Djokovic adjusted his tactics after the World No. 3 ended his streaks of 38 consecutive indoor match wins, 23 overall this season and 15 straight at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

“He’s a very complete player. I know that he’s always going to push you hard and try to protect the baseline, take away the time from you, which he was doing also today,” he said.

“I think what I managed to do better than what I’ve done in the last match we played in the group stage here was the fact that I was more solid from back of the court. I served well when I needed to.

“You try to take advantage of certain parts of his game that were not working well today, which was his backhand.”

It caps a remarkable season for the runaway World No. 1 who finished with 11 titles, including three of the four Grand Slams and an record six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles. Only John McEnroe (1984), Jimmy Connors (1974) and Federer (2005 and 2006) have finished with a better winning percentage and with as many or more titles.

Still, however, a Roland Garros champion’s trophy is missing from the Serb’s bounty. And in 2016 an elusive Olympic gold medal will also be on the line in Rio de Janeiro.

“Roland Garros is always one of the biggest challenges I have every year, but it’s not the only one. There are the Olympic Games that are happening every four years,” he said. “I will try to do as well as I’ve done in the last couple of years, always peak at the right moments and always try to perform my best at the biggest events.

“Now what I’m thinking about is the rest. I need some time to really recharge my batteries and then I’ll think about my next season.”