There were a fair share of surprises from both Doha and Brisbane this week.  Doha doesn’t do much for me as a tournament and it still surprises me that more players do not go to Brisbane, which despite Roger Federer, had little depth in the draw.  Here are the main points I took away from week 1 on the ATP tour in 2014.

ATP Doha: Rafael Nadal d. Gael Monfils, 6-1 6-7(2) 6-2 (Final)

Rafael Nadal

Doha had a surprising number of upsets this week although there was a predictable winner in the world number one, Rafael Nadal, who prevailed for his first ever title at this event.  Nadal played five matches this week and was taken to three sets in three of those matches.  He was not at his convincing best, but got the job done each day.  The surprise of the tournament was Gael Monfils, who was terrific all week and one can only hope he keeps this form up.  Andy Murray‘s loss to Florian Mayer in the first round was disappointing, but not exactly unexpected.  I think it demonstrated that it will take time for Murray to find his feet on the tour and he is not really going to be a contender for the Australian Open so soon into his comeback after back surgery.  The loss of the big seeds opened up some opportunities for players who are not exactly household names.  Peter Gojowczyk, who qualified and made the semi-finals where he took a set off Rafael Nadal, put his name on the map.

Moo’s Match of the Week: Ferrer d. Dolgopolov, 6-3 5-7 6-3

Moo’s Original Predictions: 52% correct picks, correctly predicted champion

ATP Brisbane: Lleyton Hewitt d. Roger Federer, 6-1 4-6 6-3 (Final)

Brisbane finished in rather fairytale fashion with a rolling-back-the-years finale between Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt where Hewitt won his first title since 2010.  I was really shocked to find out Hewitt had won and you have to give him a tremendous amount of a credit.  He really is a remarkable competitor and results like this one and the upset win over Juan Martin del Potro at last year’s US Open indicate he is not ready to hang up his tennis shoes just yet.  I cannot wait to see what he does in Melbourne where he will be a dangerous floater for any seed.  All in all, it was a solid week for Federer, but the same kind of issues as last year cropped up as he was unable to maintain his level throughout the whole tournament.  Away from the final, I was pleased to see Marin Cilic make the quarter-finals.  He lost to Kei Nishikori in a three set quarter-final, but managed to notch up a win over Grigor Dimitrov, which was impressive in just his second tournament since June last year.

Moo’s Original Predictions: 52% correct picks, correctly predicted one of the finalists

ATP Chennai: Stanislas Wawrinka d. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-5 6-2 (Final)

Stanislas Wawrinka made a fine start to the year as he won the title in Chennai.  It wasn’t a strong field at all, but it was a very promising start to the year for Wawrinka who did not drop a set all week.  Edouard Roger-Vasselin reached the second final of his career and did benefit from a weakened draw with the world ranked 38, Marcel Granollers, his highest ranked scalp.  Vasek Pospisil played a good tournament as he reached the semi-finals in an albeit lacklustre draw.  He gave Wawrinka a good match before having to retire down 6-4 5-5 in their semi-final match.  Hopefully that was a precaution and he will be fit for the Australian Open because he certainly has the capability to get through a few rounds at least.

Moo’s Original Predictions: 52% correct picks, correctly predicted one of the finalists