It's no use fretting folks, things change, people change and rankings change.
Our four and a half year stay in the Swisspanic pleasuredome of tennis niceties is over.
Ram raided by the Muzzmobile, fangs at the ready.
But fret not, fear not, for I don't think this is the trauma-gedy it's being painted as. There might even be a silver lining in there if you look hard enough. For all four concerned.
Roger Federer
Do you know, I think he might actually prefer not having to face Muzz until the final. The diametrically opposite positioning in the draw also offers up a more effective vantage point for their now customary pre-Slam heavyweight boxing trash talk.
He dislikes playing him at least as much as he does Rafa, and a semi final match up with a Rafa not quite yet on the mend might represent a more attractive prospect. At least until he's learnt to know his Nike's from his Nappies.
With trash talk in full flow, I'd say this needs changing too.Andy Murray
It's easier to bare one's fangs from the bottom of the draw, the vantage point allowing for a more diffuse projection.
Not only that, but moving into bigwig slot #2, places him squarely in the eye of the storm. The increased pressure might actually bring about that first Slam sooner rather than later.
Rafael Nadal
No pressure, and outside of Flushing Meadows, little or no blimmin' points to defend until the Aussie Open. No one's expecting too much from El-Toro, at least not until the US Open, and I think that's exactly what he needs if he's to claw his way back from the nether-obscurity of world #3. Knowing Rafa he'll up for the fight - tooth, nail and bicep.
Novak Djokovic
Little over a year ago Djoko trounced Muzz 6-1, 6-0 at Monte Carlo and was handing out advice as to how a more aggressive approach might benefit him.
Murray's critics remain, but almost everything has changed for young Djoko. The tennis landscape is morphing around him quicker than you can say 'North-American-Hardcourt-Season' and if he's not careful he risks being smothered by the scenery.
If he was 'under the radar' for much of this year, we need a new aeronautical definition for where he might now be headed. That said, you can bet he's not liking this one bit, and that might be enough to snap him out of ATP nether funkdom.
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