2017 AUS OPEN: 6-time Champ Djokovic Loses To Istomin (#117) In Shocking Upset

Wow! I'm still on vacation in Hawaii but I feel compelled to blog about one of the biggest upsets in recent history that happened last night. I caught about an hour of the 2nd round match of the Australian Open match between Dennis Istomin (ranked #117in the world) and the current World #2 Novak Djokovic. Amazingly, the 6-time Aussie Open champion lost to the hard-hitting guy from Uzbekistan in a high-quality 5-set match that was well over 4 1/2 hours long. The score was 7-6(8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Djokovic was so dominant in Australia that he had rarely lost a set in the first week of the tournament, let alone three, especially to someone outside of the Top100.

Istomin's defeat of Djokovic in Melbourne ranks up there with recent shocking upsets such as Djokovic's loss to Sam Querrey in the 3rd round of Wimbledon in 2016 and Rafael Nadal's loss to Lukas Rosol in the 2nd round of Wimbledon in 2012.

2016 ATP YEC: Murray Beats Djokovic To Win Title, Claim Year-End #1

Defying expectations and predictions, Andy Murray was able to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to win his very first ATP World Tour Finals in London on Sunday. The win cemented the British player's hold at #1 and insured that he will end the year ranked #1 for the very first time. It was Murray's 24th consecutive match win and he now improves to 11-24 against his chief rival.

Amazingly, Andy's brother Jamie Murray is ranked #1 in doubles (with partner Bruno Soares), so the two have become the first brothers to simultaneously top the tennis rankings in singles and doubles.

This is how their mother Judy Murray marked the occasion:

The way they were....... pic.twitter.com/oSJVs5fEC9

— judy murray (@JudyMurray) November 20, 2016

Congrats, Andy!

2016 ATP YEC Final: Djokovic-Murray XXXV To Decide Year-End #1 Ranking

The race for the year-end #1 comes down to a historic meeting between world #1 Andy Murray and World #2 Novak Djokovic in the very last  tour match of the year! After playing against each other in two major finals (2016 Australian Open and 2016 French Open) this year the two will play their 35 career ATP match in the final of the 2016 ATP year-end championship. Murray is playing in his very first ATP Tour Finals final while Djokovic is trying to win his 6th year-end championship and for the fifth consecutive year!

Murray has won his last 23 matches in a row, which has led him to a career-high #1 ranking but in the last six months where he has been ascendant (winning Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics singles gold medal and multiple Masters shields) he has not had to face any other members of the big Four (Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were injured and Djokovic was curiously  unproductive this fall). However, in his semifinal match, Murray played an intense 3-hour-38-minute match with Milos Raonic (who will end the year at World #3), saving 1 match point in the third-set tiebreaker and winning 5-7 7-6(5) 7-6(9) in what some are calling one of the best matches of the year. (It was the longest match ever at the year-ending championship, a record that Murray had set just a round before when he won another epic match in 3-hours-21 minutes against Nishikori. In contrast, Djokovic dismantled World #5 Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-1 in just over 66 minutes to get the right to retake the World #1 ranking and end the year at the top for the third consecutive year.

I'm glad that this is a 3-set match. Despite the fact that Djokovic has a 24-10 head-to-head record and appears to be playing some of his best tennis right now I still think this is Murray's best chance to beat him in a long time. It should be noted that 2 of the 3 major finals Murray has one he did it over Djokovic. But it will not be easy. I think the more likely result is a straight sets win by Djokovic. If Murray wins the first set, then I think he has a slightly better than 50% chance to win the match. But Djokovic has beaten Murray in all 4 indoor hard court matches they have played and leads him 3-1 in the four finals they played so far this year.

MadProfessah's pick: Djokovic.

2016 ATP YEC: Semifinals are Djokovic vs Nishikori, Murray vs Raonic

The semifinals of the ATP Tour Finals in London are now set with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori reaching the final four of the year's most prestigious tournament. Surprisingly, 2016 US Open champion Stan Wawrinka did not make the semifinal round for the first time in his five appearances in the year-end championships.

Both Murray and Djokovic won their respective groups by winning all three of their matches in the round-robin portion of the tournament. Murray beat Nishikori, Wawrinka and Marin Cilic while Djokovic beat Raonic, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin (who substituted for Gael Monfils). Murray is now on a 22nd match winning streak, and is now the #1 player in the world. He will face Raonic in the first semifinal (a reprise of the 2016 Wimbledon final won by Murray) and he has won their last 7 meetings and leads the head-to-head 8-3. Djokovic faces Nishikori, whom he has beaten 7 times in a row since losing the 2014 US Open semifinal match, and leads the head-to-head 10-2.

If they both win their semifinal matches the two will face each other for the 35th time, with the year-end #1 ranking going to the winner. Djokovic leads their rivalry 24-10 and has beaten Murray in most of their most crucial meetings (including in 4 major finals) but Murray is playing the best tennis of his life and if there's any time he can turn this rivalry around it is in London while riding a career-high win streak. An exciting end to the tennis year!

2016 PARIS MASTERS: Murray Reaches World #1, Will Face Isner in Final

Andy Murray will be the new World #1 on Monday November 7, thanks to a withdrawal by Milos Raonic from the 2016 Paris Masters, allowing him to reach the final, which gives him just five more ATP ranking points than former World #1 Novak Djokovic. If he wins the final, Murray will gain another 400 points. Murray is 72-9 on the year and has won 7 titles so far (tied with Djokovic, who achieved the career grand slam earlier this year). Murray had held the #2 ranking for a total of 76 weeks (in 7 discontinuous stints) before reaching #1.

From ATPworldtour.com:

On Monday, at 29 years, 5 months and 23 days, the Dunblane native will be the 26th player in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973) and the second-oldest player (John Newcombe, 30 years, 11 days, on 3 June 1974) to debut at No. 1 in the official rankings in men's tennis. He is the 15th European player to rank No. 1 and owns the ATP World Tour record for most time between becoming No. 2 and No. 1, having debuted at No. 2 on 17 August 2009.

Murray is the 26nd person to hold the #1 spot in the history of the ATP rankings (since 1973). Now the entire Big Four Djokovic (223 weeks), Roger Federer (302 weeks) and Rafael Nadal (141 weeks) have all reached the Top spot. It is likely that the battle for the very top of men's tennis will be between Djokovic and Murray for the next few years, two rivals who were born just 1 week apart in 1987.

On Sunday the new #1 will face John Isner, who defeated Marin Cilic (in straight sets!) in the final of the Paris Masters. Isner is playing in his 3rd Masters final while Murray is trying to win his 3rd of the year an dis playing in his 21st Masters final overall (13-7). Murray has a 7-0 undefeated head-to-head record against the top-ranked American, and has beaten him twice this year without losing a set. Isner is playing some of his best tennis of the year and is currently at World $#19 and could end the year at #15 if he wins the title.

MadProfessah's prediction: Murray.

2016 PARIS MASTERS: Cilic-Isner and Murray-Raonic In Semis With #1 Ranking In Play

The semifinals of the BNP Paribas Paris Masters have now been set. The first surprise that Novak Djokovic is not there--he was upset in straight sets by Marin Cilic, which means that Andy Murray can become new World #1 if he reaches the final. The semifinals are Cilic versus John Isner (who dismissed fellow American Jack Sock in the quarterfinals to retake the American #1 slot) and Milos Raonic versus Murray. Murray dismissed Tomas Berdych, ending the Czech's chances of qualifying for the year-end championships, while Raonic did the same for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. That mens that the 8th and final slot will be take by Dominic Thiem.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Murray Gunning For ATP #1; Kerber Ends Year As WTA #1; Domi Dazzles

DOMI CIBULKOVA RELISHES HER WTA TOUR FINALS WIN
Dominka Cibulkova won the biggest title of her career by blowing out World #1 Angie Kerber in straight sets in the finals of the WTA Tour Finals in Singapore. The result brought her to a career-high ranking of World #5, which was a significant increase from her start at the beginning of the year at #38. The 6-3 6-4 win brought her more prize money in one match than she had won for the rest of the  year. And she looked fabulous afterwards!

ANDY MURRAY KEEPS RACE FOR #1 ALIVE WITH VIENNA TITLE WIN
Andy Murray now has a plausible way of finally reaching the World #1 ranking before the end of the year. Because current World #1 Novak Djokovic has not had his typically excellent fall tennis season while Murray is currently on a 14-match winning streak, and has reached 10 finals in the last 11 matches. If Murray wnis the Paris Masters this week and Djokovic fails to get to the final then Murray will have more ranking points as the ATP World Tour finals begin on November 13.

ANGIE KERBER ENDS 2016 AS SINGLES #1; MIRZA ENDS YEAR AS DOUBLES #1
After Serena Williams decided not to compete in the WTA Tour Finals, Angelique Kerber was essentially ceded the year-end #1 ranking. The #1 doubles ranking for 2016 ended up going to Sania Mirza who earned it despite not defending her 2015 WTA Finals doubles title with Martina Hingis. If American Bethanie Mattek-Sands could have reached #1 if she and Lucie Safarova  had not lost the final agaist the Elenas (Makarova and Vesnina) who added to the 2016 Olympic Gold Medal with the 2016 WTA Tour final title.

RAFA NADAL CUT CORD ON 2016 SEASON AND OPENS UP HIS TENNIS ACADEMY
Rafael Nadal announced on October 20th that he would not play again this year. The 30-year-old, 14-time major champion had a 39-14 record in 2016 and won two titles. Rafa opened his official tennis academy in his hometown of Manacor, Mallorca the day before. Roger Federer, his great rival, who cut the cord on his 2016 season in July, was also present at the grand opening of the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar.

2016 SHANGHAI: Djokovic Loses Temper and Semifinal; Murray Faces Bautista Agut In Final

Something is clearly affecting Novak Djokovic's play. The current #1 lost his first ATP Master series semifinal in years to Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4. During the match, Djokovic's play was off-track but his loss of compusure was even more startling. He destroyed a racquet, argued with the chair umpire and ripped off his own shirt after losing a rally. Bautista Agut has 37 hard-court victories, 3rd most on tour this year (behind Djokovic and Gael Monfils).

The Spaniard will face Andy Murray who had his own anger issues in his semifinal but was able to defeat Gilles Simon 6-4 6-3 to reach his 10th final of 2016, 1 more than Djokovic. The race for the year-end #1 is getting more exciting as the year-end championships (held in London in November) approaches.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Cilic Wins Cincy; Serena Will Tie Graf's #1 Record; Stevie Is A Top; #Santina Splits

MARIN CILIC WINS FIRST MASTERS SHIELD BY BEATING ANDY MURRAY IN CINCINNATI
2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic became only the fifth player since 2010 other than the Big Four (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal) to win an ATP Masters shield event by beating Murray 7-5 6-4. The other four are Robin Soderling (Paris 2010),  David Ferrer (Paris 2012), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Toronto 2014), Stan Wawrinka (Monte-Carlo 2014). Murray was hoping to continue his 22-match winning streak after triumphing at the 2016 Wimbledon championships and 2016  Rio Olympics this summer. Not only was this Cilic's first Masters 1000 win, it was the first time he had even reached the semifinal of a masters in 8 previous tries.

SERENA WILLIAMS WILL TIE STEFFI GRAF'S RECORD OF 186 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS AT #1 BUT FOUR PLAYERS WILL VIE FOR #1 IN NEW YORK
By Angelique Kerber losing in straight sets to Karolina Pliskova in the Cincinnati Final, World #1 Serena Williams will remain at #1 for three more weeks and tie Steffi Graf's record of 186 consecutive weeks at #1. However, to break the record Serena will probably need to win the 2016 US Open (which would also simultaneously surpass Graf's major singles title haul of 22) because she is defending semifinal points from the 2015 US Open and none of her rivals: Garbine Muguruza, Agnieska Radwanska or Kerber have very many points to defend. Theoretically any of these four could conceivably be #1 on Monday September 12th. The most exciting scenario would have Serena and Kerber facing off for the #1 ranking in the final.

STEVIE JOHNSON IS THE NEW #1 AMERICAN MALE PLAYER
Fresh off of winning the Men's Doubles Bronze medal with partner Jack Sock (who also won the Mixed Doubles Gold with Bethanie Mattek-Sands) Stevie Johnson is now the highest ranked male American player by reaching the #21 spot on the ATP rankings while John Isner (who had been the top-ranked American since July 2013) fell to #22 with Sock at #28 and Giant-Killer Sam Querrey at #31.  This also means that there i no American male in the Top 20 of the ATP World rankings while on the women's side there are three American women in the Top 10: Serena (#1), Venus Williams (#6), Madison Keys (#9).

MARTINA HINGIS AND SANIA MIRZA SPLIT UP, FACED EACH OTHER IN CINCY
During the Rio Olympics it was confirmed that despite winning 3 grand slam titles, the 2015 Year-end championships and a 41-match winning streak in the last 18 month, the doubles team of Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have decided to split up. (They have agreed to play the 2016 year-end championships together, having already qualified!) Awkwardly, the two former partners faced each other in the very first tournament after the Olympics in the Cincinnati finals, and the team of Mirza and Coco Vandeweghe defeated Hingis with Barbora Strycova.

US OPEN SEEDS REVEALED: WILLIAMS, DJOKOVIC SEEDED #1 
The seeds for the U.S. OPEN have been revealed, and the only notable absences are 2015 Champion Flavia Pennetta who retired soon afterwards, Victoria Azarenka who is pregnant. On the men's side Roger Federer (is missing the rest of 2016 with injury) and Tomas Berdych has appendicitis.

2016 WIMBLEDON: Murray Wins 3rd Major (2nd Wimbledon)

As expected, Andy Murray defeated Milos Raonic to win his 3rd major title. The score was 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2).

2016 WIMBLEDON: Djokovic Upset By American Sam Querrey In 3rd Round!

The calendar Grand Slam will not happen in 2016! American Sam Querrey defeated 12-time major champion and World #1 Novak Djokovic  7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 7-6(5). Despite achieving the Nole Slam by winning the last four major tournaments (2015 Wimbledon. 2015 US Open, 2016 Australian, 2016 French Open) his streak of wins at the Grand Slam tournaments has stopped at 30 and his earliest loss at a major since the 2009 French Open. His streak of 28 quarterfinals in a row is now over, as well as his streak of 6 major finals in a row and 9 semifinals in a row.

Although Djokovic lost the match, a lot of credit must be given to Sam Querrey for going out and winning it, primarily by saving 14 of 17 breakpoints during the last two sets, mostly by serving big on the pressure points. Despite starting the 4th set tiebreak (hitting two nervous errors to go down 1-3, he fought back to even it at 3-all, getting the best of the World #1 in two twenty-plus rallies. Querrey eventually got to 6-5 on his serve (after Djokovic saved his first match point with a service ace) and when Djokovic hit a forehand error, the 28-year-old American had the biggest win of his career and the biggest upset of 2016. The World #1 had only lost one other completed match this year (against Jiri Vesely on clay in Monte Carlo). Djokovic had retired with an eye infection against Feliciano Lopez in the Dubai semifinals earlier this year for his only other official loss of the year.

We will have a new Wimbledon champion in 2016. How will #2 Andy Murray handle being the favorite for the first time at a major, especially Wimbledon? Time will tell. Murray is into the Round of 16, where he will face the winner of Nick Kyrgios or Feliciano Lopez, who split the first two sets in their 3rd round match, which will be completed on Sunday, where play will occur for the first time since 2004.

2016 FRENCH OPEN: Djokovic Wins 12th Major, Achieves Career Slam & Nole Slam At Same Time

As I predicted, Novak Djokovic won the 2016 Roland Garros men's singles title by defeating Andy Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4. Djokovic's win was historic: he finally won his first French Open title in his fourth appearance in the Roland Garros final, becoming the eighth man in history to achieve the career slam. In fact, he has now won the last four consecutive majors, becoming the first man in 47 years to simultaneously hold all four major titles, sometimes called the Nole slam.

MEN'S FINAL REVIEW
The final was of relatively high quality, although both players started off nervously, trading breaks at the very beginning. Murray settled down first and was able to nurse his break advantage to take the first set 6-3. Djokovic settled down almost immediately once the second set began and broke Murray immediately and ran away with the first set 6-1. It was clear by the time the third set was half over that Murray's moment had passed and it was only a matter of time before Djokovic would be achieving his longterm goal of the career slam.

Djokovic is now fourth on the all-time list of major singles titles, behind Roger Federer (17), Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras (14). He increased his head-to-head  to 24-10 against Murray and is  now 5-2 in major finals against Murray and 12-8 in major finals overall. Murray falls to 2-8 in major finals.

2016 FRENCH OPEN: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs Andy Murray (GBR) [2]

This is my prediction post for the men's final at the 2016 French Open. Last year I did not predict that Stan Wawrinka would defeat Novak Djokovic to win his 2nd major title. This year I have correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals, 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 2 of 2 women's semifinals. (This year also I incorrectly predicted that Serena Williams would beat Garbine Muguruza in the women's final.

In this post I will review the mens semifinals and preview the men's final.

MEN'S SEMIFINALS REVIEW Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] d. Dominic Thiem (AUT) [13] 6-2 6-1 6-4. The 22-year-old Thiem has just broken into the elite of men's tennis by reaching his first major semifinal and is now a bonafide Top 10 player. However,  the World #1 gave him a stern lesson on the distance the Austrian needs to travel if he wants to challenge the man at the top of the rankings.  The result was basically never in doubt, despite Thiem playing quite well Djokovic just demonstrated just how much better he is than the entire rest of the field.

Andy Murray (GBR) [2] d. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [3] 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2. Murray had the much more difficult task, drawn in the same half as the defending champion Stan Wawrinka. Despite only having a slight 8-7 edge over the hard-hitting Swiss champion and having lost the last three meetings (including no wins on clay) I predicted that Murray would win this match. From watching the clay court season it was clear to me that Murray is now (at least) the second best clay-court player in the world, and he demonstrated that with his 4-set dismissal of Wawrinka. Murray becomes the 10th player to reach the finals of all four majors tournaments and becomes the first male British player since Fred Perry in 1938 to play in the final of Roland Garros.

MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [2]. We have seen this match-up many times before. In fact, the Djokovic-Murray rivalry now includes 7 meetings in major finals, which is just one ahead of the all-time record of the eight Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal meetings in finals (Rafa leads 6-2). Djokovic leads their major finals (4-2) and their overall career head-to-head 23-10 and 3-1 on clay. It should be noted that these two met last year in the French Open semifinals and Djokovic won 6-1 in the fifth. In fact, in their recent history their matches have been long but the final set is often a blowout in favor of Djokovic.

Mentally, all the pressure should be on Djokovic. Not only is he trying to finally complete the career grand slam so that he can bolster his claim to the Greatest of all time title in the future, he is also trying to do something which has not been done since Rod Laver did it in1969: be the defending champion in all four majors simultaneously, i.e. complete the Nole slam. Last year, Serena completed her second Serena slam and it should be noted that Djokovic was one win away from completing a calendar slam. If he wins he will also move to 4th on the all-time list with 12, only behind  Federer's 17 and 2 behind Nadal and Laver's 14.

Murray would love to win a 3rd major title and I think it is definitely possible that he could do that. Can he somehow come out and play a mentally tough and tactically fearless match tomorrow and blow Djokovic off the court like Wawrinka did last year? Yes, it's possible but also unlikely. Instead I think that it is Djokovic's moment and he will deliver a win to take his place in the pantheon of the greats.

MadProfessah's pick: Djokovic.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Murray & Serena Win 1st Titles of 2016 In Rome; Berdych Fires Coach After Double Bagel

ANDY MURRAY DEFEATS NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN ROME FINAL ON HIS 29TH BIRTHDAY
For the second week in a row, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray faced off in the final of a clay court Masters final. However, this time the result was different, primarily because Djokovic had a harder draw this week, having to go through the King of Clay Rafael Nadal and outlasting a spirited fight from Kei Nishikori and Murray may have been inspired by the fact  that the match was being played on his 29th birthday! Whatever it was, Murray played a very smart match, and became the first person other than Roger Federer to beat Djokovic in straight sets in nearly two years, winning 6-3 6-3. It was Murray's 12th ATP Masters shield (#5 on the all-time list) and his 36th ATP tour title (now 36-19). He improves to a career head-to-head of  10 wins and 23 losses against Djokovic.

SERENA WILLIAMS WINS 1st TITLE OF 2016 BY BEATING MADISON KEYS IN ROME
Ending a drought of more than  nine months without winning a tournament, Serena Williams won her 4th Rome title (2002, 2013, 2014, 2016) by defeating fellow American Madison Keys 7-6(5) 6-3 (as expected). Although nine months sounds like a long time for the World #1 not to win a title, she had only played in 5 tournaments in that period (2015 US Open, 2016 Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami and Rome). It was Serena's 14th clay court title and 70th WTA tour title overall.

TOMAS BERDYCH LOSES 0-6 0-6 TO DAVID GOFFIN, FIRES COACH DAYS LATER
There's no question that 30-year-old Tomas Berdych is in something of a slump in 2016, which is somewhat surprising after he started 2015 so well (dispatching Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open). However no one really expected that the former Top 10 player would be having results like failing to win a single game in a match. Clearly, neither did he, so he has decided to fire his coach of 19 months, Dani Vallerdu (who used to be part of Murray's team). Hmmm, Murray just ended his coaching relationship last week so maybe the two could reunite?

2016 ROME: Finals Are Djokovic-Murray XXXIII and Serena v Madison Keys

The finals of the 2016 Italian Open in Rome are now set. For the second week in a row, World #1 Novak Djokovic and World #3 Andy Murray will face off in a clay court final. Last week, Djokovic prevailed 6-2 3-6 6-3 to with the Mutua Madrid Open. This week, Djokovic extended his streak of wins over Rafael Nadal to 7 with a tight straight sets win in the quarterfinals 7-5 7-6(5) and now leads their head-to-head 26-23. Djokovic won a three-hour three-set thriller against Kei Nishikori in the semifinals to set up his 33rd career meeting with Murray. The other member of the Big Four, Roger Federer is currently recovering from an injury, and although he won his first match of the week against Young Gun Sascha Zverev he lost to another, Dominic Thiem, the very next round.
In the final, Djokovic, despite not playing his best, has reached another final, and could extend his lead in the record number of ATP Masters titles if he wins his 30th shield on Sunday, extending his undefeated streak against fellow Top 10 players to 14-0  for 2016.

MadProfessah's Pick: Djokovic.

On the women's side, the haphazard results of the seeds continues with  only Serena Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Svetlana Kuznetsova making it through to the quarters. Serena efficiently dispatched Sveta (losing only two games) and Muguruza made it to the semifinals, where she surprisingly lost to Madison Keys, who earlier in the week took out Petra Kvitova. Angie Kerber lost in the very first round, and neither Simona Halep nor Aggie Radwanska played Rome, but Radwanska will end up with the #2 seed at Roland Garros, despite the fact that Halep is the one who won Madrid last week! Serena is in her 4th Rome final, Keys is in her first. Serena has won 19 consecutive matches in Rome, but surprisingly has not won a title in 2016 yet. The last two times Keys won a title she went through two top 10 players to reach the final and she has done that here. But Serena hates to lose to other Americans, and hasn't done so in a final since the 2008 Wimbledon.

MadProfessah's pick: Serena.

2016 AUS OPEN: Djokovic Beats Murray To Win 11th Major (6th Aussie Open Title)

As I predicted, World #1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated World #2 Andy Murray of Great Britain 6-1 7-5 7-6(3) in the men's singles final of the 2016 Australian Open to win his 11th major title, and a record 6th Aussie Open title. Murray lost a record 5th Australian Open title (four to Djokovic and one to Federer.)

Djokovic's win means he now has 11 major titles, tying Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg's tally at #5 on the list of greatest men's single champions. He is behind Roger Federer (17), Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12). He is now 6-0 in finals at the Australian Open and ties Emerson for the most titles in Melbourne.

Djokovic is playing some of the best tennis of his career, and is dominating men's tennis in a way that has been seldom seen in the modern era. Since January 2015, he has a 92-5 record, which matches Roger Federer's 2006 season. In the last 12 months he has reached 17 consecutive tournament finals and has failed to win 3 of them (2015 French Open, 2015 Cincinnati Masters, 2015 Canada Masters). He has won 3 of the last 5 and 5 of the last 7 major tournaments. If he wins the 2016 French Open, he will complete the Nole Slam, and become the first male player to hold all major titles simultaneously in decades and if he's playing that well he just might go on to achieve the calendar grand slam as well.

2016 AUS OPEN: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Andy Murray (GBR) [2] vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1]

This is my prediction post for the men's singles final at the 2016 Australian Open. Last year, I incorrectly predicted Andy Murray would beat Novak Djokovic in the men's final but correctly predicted Serena Williams would beat Maria Sharapova in the women's final. This year, I predicted 2 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. I have also written a preview of this year's Women's singles final.

Men's Semifinals Review: How The Finalists Got Here
Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] d. Roger Federer (SUI) [3] 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3.  With this win (that I predicted), Djokovic nudges ahead 23-22 in his career head-to-head with Roger Federer and with the trajectory of their careers in reverse directions it is hard to see that  there will be turning point in the Swiss Great's favor anytime in the near future. The first two sets were simply tennis at a level that we have not seen before. Djokovic was simply unbeatable, and Federer was lucky to come out of that first 54 minutes of this match with his dignity intact, despite managing to barely eke out 3 games to his opponent's 12. Federer did well to stay strong mentally on the court and when Novak's level dropped he was able to take advantage and snatch the third set. However, just a few errant shots in a service game in the fourth set and the World #1 was able to break and hold serve to close out the match and reach his 6th Australian Open final, where he is undefeated in his five previous appearances.

Andy Murray (GBR) [2] d. Milos Raonic (CAN) [13] 4-6 7-5 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2.  Murray showed why he is currently the #2 player in the world by dismissing a energetic and energized Milos Raonic who served impeccably to gain a 2-1 sets advantage over him in the semifinal. Murray refused to panic and Raonic's large (6-foot-5) body let him down as he suffered a hip injury which hampered his movement midway through the fourth set and made the result not in doubt for much of the fifth set. (Murray raced out to a 5-0 lead but Raonic stiffened his resistance but still succumbed in the end). Raonic has nothing to be ashamed of and he has more information about what he needs to do to breakthrough to compete in the ultimate test against the very top echelon of men's tennis. I would be very surprised if we don't see him there within the next year or two.

Men's Final Preview: Who The Champion Will Be

Djokovic is playing in his 6th major final here in Melbourne, and he is currently undefeated at this stage of the tournament having beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008, Rafael Nadal in 2012 and Murray in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Last year's final was particularly rough, because despite playing much better tennis than his opponent for most of the first three sets, Murray managed to lose two of them and then lost the last set 6-0. In fact, with Djokovic posting a 21-9 head-to-head lead over Murray, including 10 of 11 matches since Murray's 2013 Wimbledon final win, the final set in their most competitive matches have often been blow-out victories for the Serb.

Surprisingly, in major finals, Djokovic only has a 3-2 edge, with a 3-0 lead in non-final grand slam matches (2015 French Open semifinal, 2014 US Open quarterfinal and 2012 Australian Open semifinal). Most people expect that Djokovic will simply run away with this match in 3-sets but I actually think it will be much closer than that. I think it will be an epic war of attrition, and there is a possibility (a small one, but the opening is there, as a result of Djokovic's shockingly bad performance in his 5-set win over Gilles Simon in the fourth round) that Djokovic could go off. Everyone expects him to win this match, he expects to win this match, and he probably will win this match. But if things don't go as planned (like he loses the first set), then I think it is very possible this men's final could be as surprising (and entertaining) as the women's final. That being said, Djokovic is 10-8 in major finals while Murray is 2-6 in major finals for a reason.

MadProfessah's pick: Djokovic.

2015 PARIS MASTERS: Djokovic Wins Record 6th Masters Shield of 2015; Now 22-0!

It's official, Novak Djokovic is playing the best tennis of his life. He won his 10th title of 2015, and 6th ATP Master shield at the Paris Masters today, defeating his frenemy Andy Murray (the #2 seed) 6-2 6-4. It was Djokovic's 22nd consecutive match win of the year; he has an astonishing record of 27-4 against the rest of the Top 10. No one has ever won 6 Masters shields in a year and Djokovic only lost one match at the Grand Slam level all year (to Stan Wawrinka in the final of Roland Garros).

It was Djokovic's 26th Masters shield, 58th ATP tour title. He improved to a 21-9 head-to-head record versus Murray and 58-26 in finals He has now won the Paris Masters 4 times and is now only one behind Nadal (27) on the al time list and is ahead of Roger Federer (24).

2015 SHANGHAI: In SFs Tsonga Beats Nadal, Djokovic Beats Murray

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had not faced Rafael Nadal in more than two years and despite losing a bagel second set, the Frenchman was able to emerge victorious in the semifinals of the 2015 ATP Shanghai Masters 1000 tournament, winning 6-4 0-6 7-5. This result improved his head to head with Nadal to 4-8. Nadal is playing better than he has for most of 2015, having dismissed 2015 French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets the round before, so this was an impressive win by the Frenchman.

In a reprise of the 2015 Australian Open final, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic faced off in the other semifinal and as has happened in 9 of their last 10 meetings, the Serb came up the winner. This was revenge for Murray's surprising win in the Montreal Masters final this summer. Djokovic now has 20-10 edge over his British rival. The World #1 is having one of the all-time great seasons, having been in all four major finals, winning three of them, and he has actually made the final of thirteen consecutive tournaments he has played this year (he lost in the quarterfinals of the first tournament he played in to Ivo Karlovic), winning 8 titles so far and having only lost 5 times all year. His four other 2015 losses were to Roger Federer (Dubai Duty Free final, Cincinnati Masters final), Stan Wawrinka (Roland Garros final) and Andy Murray (Montreal final).  Can Tsonga join this list?

The Frenchman has a 6-13 record against Djokovic. Djokovic is playing for his 25th Masters shield and 3rd title in Shanghai. Tsonga has only won two Masters titles, both times in French speaking cities.

MadProfessah's pick: Djokovic.

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Amélie Mauresmo Gives Birth To Baby Boy

Amélie Mauresmo, 36, gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday August 16, the same day that Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic for the first time in nine tries (and more than two years) to win the ATP Canadian Masters in Montreal.

Following his victory in Montreal, Murray mentioned his coach, saying she had given birth that morning. "I'm not sure she would have stay up to watch," he said, "but Amelie, this one's for you." 

"I don't know much detail because, yeah, we just saw a picture of her and the baby this morning when we got up. I haven't spoken to her or anything," he said. "I would imagine she's quite tired. Probably me and my tennis are the last thing on her mind just now, which is totally understandable."

 Congratulations to mother and child!