BIGGEST UPSETS OF THE YEAR - NOS. 3-5 5. Milos Raonic d. Fernando Verdasco, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), San Jose Final
The signs were there that Milos Raonic was set to announce himself in a big way when he upset World No. 10 Mikhail Youzhny to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open in January. The 20-year-old Canadian fulfilled that promise with a scintillating run the following month in San Jose that culminated in victory in the final over then-World No. 9 Fernando Verdasco.
Raonic did not drop a set in his three matches to reach the final, and exhibited great poise and big match temperament to hold his nerve and edge the vastly more experienced Verdasco in two tie-break sets in the final. He faced down four set points as he rallied from a 2-6 deficit to clinch the first set breaker, and was always in control in the second set decider to claim victory on his third match point.
While defending champion and top seed Verdasco was contesting his 14th tour-level final, the No. 84-ranked Raonic, who had started the year at World No. 156, was appearing in just his eighth tour-level main draw and became the first Canadian in 16 years to win an ATP World Tour title.
"It’s been amazing... I came here and had probably my best week," declared Raonic. "I can’t stop smiling. I’m happy about it and I hope I can keep it going more than six weeks into the full year schedule and see where I am at the end of the year."
Success in San Jose proved to be the catalyst for Raonic, who reached the Memphis final a week later after beating Verdasco (in a third-set tie-break) in the first round. He finished the year at No. 31 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, earning him the ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year Award presented by Moët & Chandon.
4. Alex Bogomolov Jr. d. Andy Murray, 6-1, 7-5, Miami 2nd RD
Two years earlier Alex Bogomolov Jr., had thought he would not play tennis again after undergoing wrist surgery, but victory over then-World No. 5 Andy Murray in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open gave the Russian the ignition he needed to go on and enjoy a career-best season on the ATP World Tour.
Then 27 years old, Bogomolov Jr., went into the clash with Murray as a qualifier ranked World No. 118, but he stunned the Scot in straight sets to record the biggest win of his career. A combination of his steady play and Murray’s inability to settle saw Bogomolov Jr., race to a 4-0 lead before securing the opener. The right-hander squandered a 5-3 advantage in the second set as Murray staged a late fightback, but the Scot faltered on serve again in the 12th game and Bogomolov Jr., converted his first match point.
"Coming back from injuries, from my surgery [two years ago], was definitely something special, as well, because I didn't think I was going to play tennis again," said Bogomolov Jr. "So to get the first win after that was big."
And the Russian proved it was no fluke as he went on to compile a 27-21 match record, eclipsing the total number of matches he’d won on the ATP World Tour prior to this season (21-40 record from 2002-’10). Having started the year at World No. 166 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Bogomolov Jr., finished 2011 at a career-high No. 33 and earned the ATP World Tour Most Improved Player of the Year Award.
3. Kei Nishikori d. Novak Djokovic, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-0, Basel SF
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic had lost just three matches all season and was bidding to reach his 12th tour-level final of the year when he stumbled against an inspired Kei Nishikori, the then-World No. 32 who, two weeks earlier, had reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in Shanghai.
The 24-year-old Djokovic was looking good to secure his 68th win of what had been a phenomenal season when he clinched the first set in 36 minutes. The Serb then fought back from a break down in the second set and was two points from victory when leading 0/30 on Nishikori’s serve at 4-5. The Japanese player dug his heels in, though, forced a tie-break and managed to level the match.
The third set belonged to the 21-year-old wild card. He broke Djokovic three times and won 80 per cent of his service points to complete the upset in two hours and 16 minutes, becoming the first Japenese player on the ATP World Tour to defeat a World No. 1.
"It feels great. I was missing too much in the first set, but at the end of the second set, I started playing well," said Nishikori, who was just the sixth player to win a set 6-0 against Djokovic on the ATP World Tour, and first since Mardy Fish achieved the feat in a second-round loss to Djokovic at Indian Wells in 2010.
Nishikori went on to lose to Roger Federer in the final, but made history as the highest-ever ranked Japanese male player at World No. 24 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings on 7 November.
BIGGEST UPSETS OF THE YEAR - TOP 2 1. Donald Young d. Andy Murray, 7-6(4), 6-3, Indian Wells 2nd RD
Then-ranked World No. 143, Donald Young pulled off an astonishing upset of then-No. 5-ranked Andy Murray in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
With the Scot still reeling from defeat in his third Grand Slam final at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic), Young took full advantage to claim the biggest scalp of his career and would go on to make a significant climb in the South African Airways ATP Rankings during the year.
Having qualified into the main draw, Young recorded just his second tour-level win of the year to set up the clash with Murray, and broke the Dunblane native four times as he wrapped up the unlikely victory in one hour and 34 minutes. The highest-ranked player Young had previously beaten was a 32nd-ranked Feliciano Lopez in 2008 at the same stage of the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
"I'd been in this position a couple of times with a few players and had not won the match," reflected Young. "I just told myself this time I was going to see it through and not let the nerves get the best of me."
The American, now 22, went on to put together a career-best season, highlighted by reaching his first final at the PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok – where Murray reaped his revenge – and defeating World No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka en route to the US Open fourth round, also falling to Murray. He finished the year a career-high World No. 39 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, 88 places higher than his starting position.
2. Ivan Dodig d. Rafael Nadal, 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5), Montreal 2nd RD
Five weeks after finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, Rafael Nadal was rocked on his return to action as he was beaten by World No. 41 Ivan Dodig in his opening match at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
It was the Spaniard’s earliest defeat at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament since falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the 2008 Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
The Spaniard squandered a 6-1, 3-1 lead and also served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but was unable to close out victory against the tenacious Dodig, who clinched the improbable victory in a deciding third-set tie-break.
"I had to close the match with the 5-3 [lead] in the third set. I had to close that match probably in the second when I was playing very well, 6-1, 3-1," lamented Nadal.
The result marked the biggest win of Dodig’s career. The on-the-rise Croatian had more than halved his South African Airways ATP Ranking since the start of the year, helped by winning his first ATP World Tour title at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors (d. Berrer), and would go on to reach a career-high World No. 32 in October.
