Men's Tennis: 5 Key takeaways from the 2018 ATP Finals

The 49th edition of the ATP Finals concluded yesterday with Alexander Zverev winning his maiden title and the American duo of Mike Bryan and Jack Sock capturing the Doubles title. With the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro, this year's competition missed out on two of the most popular tennis faces.

The final of both the Singles and Doubles categories were unique such that in both cases the finalists had faced off against each other in the group stages with the outcomes being the exact opposite: Zverev lost to Novak Djokovic at the round-robin stage but won their encounter in the final.

French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut scheduled to represent France in the Davis Cup final against Croatia later this month beat the American duo of Mike Bryan and Jack Sock in their final group match but lost out in the final despite having a match point opportunity. We take a look at 5 key takeaways of the tournament:

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#5 Roger Federer at 37 cannot be written off, not now, never!

Roger Federer during his Nitto ATP Finals semi-final match against Zverev

Ageless wonder Roger Federer was making a record 16th appearance at the tournament and started off in the worst possible way as he lost to Japan's Kei Nishikori in straight sets. Critics were quick to offer comments with former player Greg Rusedski even going one step ahead to say that Federer may lose his remaining two group matches.

Facing allegations of preferential treatment by the Australian Open authorities with regard to his match scheduling, Federer let his racquet do the talking as he always has for the last 15 years or so. The Swiss ace won his remaining two group matches against Dominic Thiem and Kevin Anderson in straight sets to top the Lleyton Hewitt group despite losing his opener in straight sets.

Although he failed to beat Zverev in the semi-final, Federer can enjoy the off-season taking a lot of positives from his 2018 season. Rest assured, Federer will win his 100th ATP title. It is only a matter of time and his age is not going to stop him from defending his Australian Open crown in 2019.

#4 Alexander Zverev has come of age

Alexander Zverev with the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals trophy

Alexander 'Sascha' Zverev at the age of 21 years and 6 months became the youngest winner of the ATP finals since Novak Djokovic in 2008. Zverev collected a cool $2,509,000 (£1,950,000) prize money for winning the title. It was the biggest win of his career.

Zverev, the only player in the Men's Tour apart from the Big-4 with 3 or more ATP Masters 1000 title, showed remarkable composure to beat Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the span of two days. Prior to this, no man had beaten Federer and Djokovic back-to-back in this event.

Zverev who has struggled in Grand Slams with his best performance being a quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros earlier this year will see his confidence levels rise going into the 2019 tennis season. Zverev is the torchbearer of the 'Next Gen' of tennis players looking to break the stranglehold of the established pecking order.

#3 Age is no bar especially in Men's Tennis

John Isner - oldest ever first-time qualifier at the Nitto ATP Finals

We had many firsts in this tournament this year. John Isner became the oldest ever first-time qualifier at 33 years of age. Kevin Anderson at 32 years of age became the oldest first-time contestant to make the semi-finals. Roger Federer at 37 became the oldest ever player to feature in the semi-finals of this event.

Novak Djokovic entered the tournament as World Number 1 and with the withdrawal of Nadal from the tournament, he became the oldest ever player to finish the year as the top ranked player at 31 years and 223 days.

Clearly, the age at which men peak is on the rise. Kevin Anderson was a finalist at Wimbledon at 32 and rose to a career-high ranking of 5 earlier this year. John Isner won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at 33 years of age and reached a career-high ranking of 8 post Wimbledon.

With the likes of Stanislas Wawrinka and Andy Murray rejuvenated and starting the 2019 season injury-free on a clean slate, we can expect more 30+ players to win tournaments next year.

#2 Flawless Novak Djokovic can be beaten

Novak Djokovic in his match against Zverev at the final of the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals

Since winning Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic had lost just two matches going into the ATP Finals winning the Cincinnati Masters, US Open and the Shanghai Rolex Masters in the process. From being ranked outside the top 20 at the start of the year, Djokovic rose to the top of the rankings at Shanghai and in the process became the oldest ever player to finish the year as World Number 1 at the age of 31 years and 223 days.

The Serb looked in devastating form going into his final with Zverev, winning all sets without getting broken even once. Djokovic who faced just 2 break points until the final, uncharacteristically was broken thrice by Zverev in the final.

Just like Karen Khachanov shocked Djokovic and the tennis world in the final of the Paris Masters, Zverev stunned his opponent who is 10 years his senior at the O2 Arena, London. Djokovic has to wait until 2019 to equal Nadal's tally of 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Results of the last month have shown that even the impregnable Novak Djokovic can be beaten.

#1 Mike Bryan at 40 is playing some of his best tennis

Jack Sock and Mike Bryan with the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals Trophy

Mike Bryan and his twin Bob had contemplated retirement at the end of the 2017 Australian Open owing to a string of below-par performances. The greatest Doubles pair of all-time looked a shadow of their illustrious past going into the 2017 season. Their last Grand Slam had come at the 2014 US Open.

At the end of the Australian Open of 2017, Mike told his brother Bob that they put the retirement talk on hold at least until the end of the US Open that year. Remarkably, the most successful Doubles pairing of all-time, regained their stupendous form in 2018 winning the Miami Masters and the Monte Carlo Masters.

They were on the cusp of becoming the oldest pair to rise to the Top of the ATP Doubles rankings. However, an injury forced Bob to retire midway through their finals match at the Madrid Masters robbing them of their 3rd Masters title of the year and the number 1 ranking.

With Bob sidelined due to injury, Mike was forced to look at other options and eventually teamed up with fellow American Jack Sock. Much to the surprise of everyone, the American pair struck a chord and forged a successful partnership winning Wimbledon, US Open and the ATP Finals titles.

Mike who rose to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time way back in 2003 is now the oldest player to be ranked as the Top player in Doubles. He became the oldest winner of the ATP Finals title at the age of 40.

With Bob Bryan back in training and rearing to compete in the 2019 season, Mike and Sock have mutually decided to end their hugely successful partnership. The return of the Bryan twins is sure to make the 2019 Doubles season a treat to watch.