ROGER FEDERER (2)

The Fedster is back. Tonight, playing in his 100th tour final, he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets to win his 70th career title. More importantly, it was the ATP World Tour Finals, only open to the best eight players in the world over the course of the year; and it was his sixth victory in the event, moving him ahead of Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl on the all-time list.

There was much to celebrate. Winning such a prestigious tournament at the relatively old age of 30, to make an end-of-year tally of three tournament victories in a row; defending the title he won last year; going through the tournament undefeated; and beating, both in the round robin stages and the final, Tsonga, a player who can beat anyone in the world on his day (as Federer himself learned to his cost at this year's Wimbledon).

However, the most satisfying aspect is probably the fact that all three of his main rivals - Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - were suffering from niggling injuries and failed to make the semi-finals. Murray had to retire from the tournament with a groin problem. Djokovic has had an amazing year, winning three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and becoming the world number one in the process; but ever since he won the U.S. Open in September, he has been plagued by a shoulder problem, retiring injured in the Davis Cup semi-final and being defeated twice this week. While Nadal has had to retire from tournaments in recent months, and was comprehensively stuffed by Federer in their round-robin match.

One of the most underrated aspects of Federer's game is its simplicity, which makes him less likely to pick up an injury when under pressure. He is the only one of the top four to use a one-handed backhand (the more natural stroke); and although his serve is not the hardest in the world, it is by far the most simple and elegant. Murray is generally injury-prone, one reason why I don't think he'll ever win a major. A large part of Djokovic's success this year has been his hustling in defence, which is bound to catch up with you in the long run. While Nadal imparts such huge torque and sidespin on the ball that shoulder and knee problems are always likely.

So, at the end of 2011, it is the old man who is looking best of the four. The others have all said that they will be recovered in time for the Australian Open at the end of January. But the sorts of niggles they have are unlikely to go away completely. My tip for Melbourne is Federer.

Walter Blotscher