Summary of ATP world tour events (2012)

The 2012 Atp season can be described as one of the most thrilling seasons in the history of the ATP. This season was one of the few where anything was expected to happen. As a fan of the tour, one would have expected the restart of the rivalry between Djokovic (who was outstanding in 2011) and Nadal who was likely to seek some revenge against the Serbian. With Roger Federer fighting to remain in the picture and Andy Murray still struggling to match up against the top three seeds, no one could have predicted the outcome of this season..

The top 4 seeds

Novak Djokovic

2011 proved to be an amazing year for the young Serb and he sought to carry the momentum into a new year. After enduring one of the longest grand slam finals of all time, he claimed his first major of the year. The French clays at Roland Garros however did not favour Novak as Nadal swept past him to win a record breaking 7^th title. With Federer Building enough steam to win at Wimbledon and regain number 1 ranking in the world, Djokovic was left with the option of redefining his game or fading into the background. Nole however, managed to win  the end of year ATP tournament to regain the top spot in tennis.

Roger Federer

The year begun somewhat slowly for Federer who was suffered an injury scare. Making it to the finals either the Australian Open or French Open seemed almost impossible as both Djokovic and Nadal were on top form. When Wimbledon finally arrived however, Federer was back to his winning ways and managed to overcome Djokovic in the semis and Murray in the finals. The Swiss maestro shot back to world number one and a record setting 17 Grand Slam titles.


Rafael Nadal
After suffering at the hands of Novak Djokovic throughout the 2011 season, most “Rafans”(a nickname for Rafael Nadal fans) expected a huge comeback from the king of clay this season. All seemed to be going well as Rafa managed to win a routine Roland Garros final against Novak and was looking to send that confidence unto the grass at the All-England tennis court. This dream was short lived when the Spaniard suffered an unbelievable loss to Lukas Rosol in the second round of the championships. His season ended with that loss and a knee injury scare which cost him the almost 6 months off the tour.

Andy Murray
“Finally people can stop asking me that stupid question!” This statement from Murray summed up his year, and ended the long 76 year wait for a Grand Slam trophy. Defeat to Federer on home soils this year was treated differently by the Brit and we saw an even more determined Murray. He return to centre court at Wimbledon to win gold in the Olympics and in similar fashion, the US Open against his good friend, Novak Djokovic.

Tennis Drills you might have taken lightly- exercise your wrist and forearm

For sports like tennis where the wrist of the player is constantly used, it becomes important that the wrist and for that matter, the entire arm be strengthened. One sure result you can achieve by increasing the strength in your wrist is an increase in power of your forehand shots. A stronger wrist will also give you the necessary control needed when returning fast paced balls.
It is unfortunate that although this remains one of the greatest contributing factors to a player’s game, it is not discussed even by most experts as much as other parts of the sport. For this reason we have taken the responsibility of tackling a few of the techniques by which you can do this. You are however advised to do these exercises within the limits your body allows. If you have any qualms concerning these exercises, consult your physician.

Exercise #1-   5 balls, 15 balls, 20 balls
This is one of the simplest drills you can indulge in to increase the strength in both your wrist and forearm.

What you need; A squash wall, tennis balls and tennis racket

How it’s done; You start by playing a single tennis ball to hit the squash wall. Let the ball bounce once then hit it again against the wall. Try repeating this for 5 hits against the wall before you quit. Next, you try doing this for 15 hits against the wall. You gradually increase the number of times you want to return the ball till you feel you’ve had enough of the drill. This simple drill helps most beginners to improve their timing and concentration as well. This is one drill that even club level players can use to increase the length of their rallies and their stamina.

Exercise #2- Bouncing along the path
This is a drill that is pretty new but produces the effect you seek. It reminds me of the good old saying, “No pain, no gain”.

What you need; The rectangle of the doubles court, Racket, tennis balls

How it is done; You begin on the baseline and with your racket, bounce the tennis ball as you walk. Try to keep the ball within the confines of the extension of the double’s court. Also, try to keep your racket from moving too much. Rather, what you want to do is to make the racket control the bounce of the ball so you can walk without stopping from the baseline towards the net. The process is repeated in the opposite direction. You may perform this drill as many times as you are physically capable. An additional advantage of this drill is that it improves the eye and ball coordination of the player.

Exercise #3- Wrist curls with barbells
This final drill is centered mainly on increasing your forearm strength. I watched this video and knew it had the perfect description of the drill so I have chosen to embed the video below.
What you need; Barbells, workout bench
How it is done; Watch video

If you found this topic interesting, you might also want to read my article on; TIMING THE BALL IN TENNIS. All your questions and queries are humbly welcome. Subscribe to receive all our upcoming updates on how to improve your tennis. Have a great day.