ATP 2011 Preview: What Are the Top 5 Stories in Men's Tennis in 2011?

Another year has ended which means it is time to look ahead to the next year. On the ATP tour the immediate story was Rafael Nadal's pursuit of the "Rafa slam". Rafael Nadal had won the last three Grand Slam titles but at the Australian Open last week Rafael Nadal fell to David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic won the tournament. What will the top stories be through out the 2011 season?

Nadal or Federer?
In 2011 many believe that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are still number one and number two but who is number one? Will Nadal continue his dominance? Can Federer regain the top spot? Will somebody else break the top two spots?

Djokovic or Murray?
A week ago Djokovic and Andy Murray would have been considered on the same level but Djokovic just dispatched Roger Federer and Andy Murray pretty easily in back-to-back rounds of the Australian Open. Djokovic has now won two Grand Slam titles while Andy Murray has disappeared in Grand Slam title. It looks like Djokovic is the answer to "Djokovic or Murray" but we'll see what Murray has later this season. Meanwhile, Djokovic could even move up to the top two. Djokovic has now advanced later than Roger Federer in four consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.

Comeback
Quick, who ended Roger Federer's streak of five consecutive US Open titles? No it wasn't Nadal or Djokovic and it can't be Murray since he has never won. How quickly we have forgotten Juan Martin Del Potro. Here is what Del Potro accomplished in that Grand Slam. Del Potro became the tallest player to ever win a Grand Slam (significant because tall players don't usually have Del Potro's mobility), he became the only player besides Nadal to beat Federer in a Grand Slam final and he is the only player to ever beat Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. The day that Del Potro got injured the analysts never mentioned his name again. Why would they? He's not Nadal or Federer and he's not one of ESPN's precious Americans.

American Failure
Speaking of ESPN's biased coverage of Americans, as long as ESPN is the force behind the ATP tour on television they will make sure one of the top stories is always the Americans. It's a shame because all of the American players are overrated by ESPN so their constant promotion of the Americans is just shining a light on the fact that none of them are ever going to win a Grand Slam.

Breakout Player
After his performance at the Australian Open, one of the players to keep an eye on in 2011 is Bernard Tomic. Tomic is only eighteen years old but has advanced to the 3rd round and was only eliminated because he had the impossible task of facing Rafael Nadal, the winner of three straight Grand Slams.

Sources:
Bryan Armen Graham, Juan Martin del Potro stuns Roger Federer, SI.com
Mike Coleman, We've found a new kid with attitude, Couriermail.com
Thomas Lin, Djokovic Wins Second Australian Open Title, NYTimes.com