For about 2 years, Nadal and Federer have dominated the ATP Tour. Here is predicting that will change this year. Federer is obviously not able (at least mentally) to beat Nadal. So, I expect him to finally surrender the number 1 ranking to Rafa at some point next year if his losing streak to Nadal continues.  But, I don’t think Nadal will be the number 1 for long. Here is my ATP ranking for the end of 07 or mid 08:

1. Ljubicic: The talented Croat has been lurking in the top 4 for quite some time now. He is my favorite to take the crown from Rafael Nadal.

2. James Blake: He certainly got the talent to be the No. 1 period. He just doesn’t have the consistency to take what could be easily his. He owns Rafael so far, and I don’t think Rafael has the game to beat him on hardcourts.

3. Rafael Nadal: He is not going to go away, but I expect him to open the way for the new No. 1 & 2. He is going to be in the top 3 for some time.

4. Roger Federer: He is the most talented of the bunch, but he has been lucky so far in his career.  As his age goes up, I expect him to spend some considerable amount of time on the sidelines. Hewitt anyone? Unless he beats Rafael fair and square, he’ll continue to lose steam. Sad!

5. David Nalbandian: He only misses a grandslam, and he could be in the top 2. Unfortunately, I don’t think he will win one in this year or the next.

6-7. Andy Murray/Ancic: This is a tough call. Anybody who has Brad Gilbert on his side is a threat, and Roddick was a fool to let that man go. These two young guns will be in top ten for some time.

8-10. Gasquet/Baghdatis/Safin: Again, a tough call. But at the end, with all the talent popping up from nowhere, you just don’t know who’s going to take these 3 spots. Safin will be a top 10 again for sure. Gasquet and Baghdatis have the game but need to improve physically and mentally to be here.

Disappointments: 1. Roddick: A potential no-brainer hall of famer is now just a shadow of himself. Unless he wins US. Open or Wimbledon in the next couple of years, I’d expect him to stay out of top 10 and continue his gradual slide towards outside top 20. After that historic U.S. Open that Andy won, neither he nor his opponent, Ferrero, have been the same. Unfortunately, I don’t see a bright future for Andy. His serve is becoming too predictable, and he doesn’t have an all-around Federer-like game to bail him out in tough situations. He’ll continue to lose, but on the bright side he’ll be making a ton of new tennis stars (Baghdatis anyone?).

2. Hewitt: With 3 other horsemen (Fed, Safin, Roddick and Hewitt) on the decline, I expect him to follow the same path. His game is not where it was a couple of years ago, and he doesn’t seem to be dedicated enough to tennis to improve his game up a notch. Out of the 4 horsemen, only Fed has a real chance of staying in top 3 or even top 10 for that matter. All other guys need to improve dramatically or maybe retire like Agassi! Not all hope is gone though. If Blake can do it, these guys can too. But they just need to work harder. Safin needs to stop having mental breakdowns or at least reduce the number of his episodes. Hewitt needs to rededicate or quit. Roddick needs to learn how to play tennis, period!