This year was bizarrely bookended for Andy Murray, opening with a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of a Qatari no-hoper and ending with a crushing 6-0, 6-1 loss at the hands of Roger Federer.
Detached analysis shows that, in between times, he actually performed pretty well to finish it ranked No 6, considering the turbulence that continually buffeted him.
Aside from having to recover from back surgery, there was the loss of the two key coaches in his career, Ivan Lendl and Dani Vallverdu, replaced by the groundreaking appointment of Amelie Mauresmo. For good measure he also lost his main clothing sponsor, threw in the odd politically-contentious tweet and got engaged to long-term girlfriend Kim Sears.
None of which gives much clue as to what will happen when this season begins, unofficially tomorrow, with a low-key exhibition in Abu Dhabi where he is slated to play Spain’s Feliciano Lopez.
After that, he represents GB with Heather Watson at the Hopman Cup in Perth, and then it is straight into the Australian Open, an event where he has an admirably consistent record.
Yet the truth is that even the most seasoned Murray watcher would struggle to muster much conviction in predicting how he will fare this season.
Much of the debate centres on whether Mauresmo can instil a more aggressive intent in him, but more fundamental is whether he can rediscover the self-control that became so evident under Lendl.
The amount of yapping at his support box is usually a pretty good guide to his mindset. If we see this spilling over from 2014, and Mauresmo tolerates it as she has done while their relationship beds in, then he is unlikely to regain the place in the top three that his talent should permit.
They will be under scrutiny, as many in the game question the wisdom of the arrangement. One ex-Grand Slam champion recently described the decision to hire her as ‘unfathomable’, but was fearful of being accused of sexism if his name was put to that.
Murray is not the only big name with questions to answer in 2015. Federer played 85 matches this year, plenty even for such a phenomenal athlete at 33, and his continuing outstanding form will depend much on whether his sometimes troublesome back can take the workload.
Rafael Nadal’s last Grand Slam was Wimbledon, and his three comeback tournaments in the autumn yielded just four wins and three defeats. The concerns over his long-term fitness will endure, but he has confounded doubters before.
The man sitting prettiest at the start of the year is, by far, Novak Djokovic. He starts the year 1,585 points ahead of Federer at the top of the rankings and the biggest single issue in the men’s game is whether he can topple Nadal at Roland Garros to complete his Grand Slam collection.
You would expect Djokovic to win at least two Grand Slams this year and nudge himself further into the greatest-of-all-time debate.
I do not see the landscape at the top of the men’s game changing dramatically this year, but it could be the final season when the now-familiar order remains in place.
Likewise it is difficult to see anyone displacing Serena Williams at the top of the WTA Tour for now. Petra Kvitova could be the one, if she can apply herself more consistently.
From a British perspective there will be longing for Laura Robson to come back fully restored after what will be more than a year out of the game. She will not play in Australia but, if her cautious recovery from wrist surgery remains on track, the likelihood is her return to the top level will be around the time of the premier events at Indian Wells and Miami in March.
That could be a significant month for the British game, as it is when Glasgow hosts the biggest Davis Cup tie the country has seen for decades, the World Group first round against the USA.
This might also be the year when, belatedly, tennis takes steps to update its product to suit the modern audience, with its shrunken attention span and desire for fast and furious action.
Men’s tennis remains — for now — in a golden era and the women’s game is on an upward curve, but nobody can afford to stand still. – Daily Mail