There’s joy and even more joy at Wimbledon this summer when, in a typical piece of summer weather, SW19 is hit by a monsoon. Cliff Richard, spotting the microphone and an opportunity to flog more albums to exactly the kind of people who probably buy his albums, warms up his vocal chords for a spot of rain-delay entertainment. Just as he launches into the first few bars of ‘Summer Holiday’ some bright spark remembers that they’ve recently put a retractable roof over centre court. Cliff is devastated as he watches the iron behemoth glide across and shut out the rain, bringing an abrupt end to his impromptu gig, but the universal consensus is “brilliant, why didn’t we do this years ago?” And Marat Safin joins the UFC.

Away from the delights of a Cliff-free Wimbledon and just how Safin gets on in the world of physical violence, the biggest question of 2009 will be about Roger Federer. For so long he was alone as the doyen of the game and even Federer was taking the piss out of how ‘bad’ a year he had in 2008. At the recent World Tennis Championships he rolled his eyes and bemoaned the fact that he ‘only’ won a single Grand Slam event last year. His disdain for the line of enquiry may have been justified, but when you set the bar as high as he has, last year can only be viewed as a disappointment. 2009 should tell us if it was simply a once-off disappointment or a symptom of a decline that eventually afflicts all athletes. It seems absurd to be saying a 27 year old is over the hill, but as much as Rafael Nadal has joined him at the top of the world game, Federer has also come back towards the chasing pack. With the opportunity to set a new benchmark for excellence in the men’s game within touching distance, you would doubt that motivation is a problem for the Fed Express so is it safe to conclude he just isn’t as good as he once was? He’s still excellent, but just not as excellent as we know he can be.

Aside from Nadal’s progress, the story of 2008 was the enlargement of the chasing pack. There are now a group of young players who will fancy their chances of beating Federer or Nadal on any given day and that sets up a fascinating 2009. As always, it’s hard to look beyond Nadal for the French and I think the Wimbledon trophy will be back in its rightful place in the Federer trophy cabinet in early July, but there are opportunities for this new group of players to establish themselves in the Australian and US Opens.

Cutting through the hype that surrounds Andy Murray at every Grand Slam, it’s not beyond the Scot to claim his first at some stage this season. Unfortunately for the masses on Murray Mound, it’s unlikely to be Wimbledon and more likely to be the US or possibly the Australian. Murray now boasts a record of four wins and two defeats against Federer and four wins and one defeat against Nadal. That tells us that he is talented enough to beat the best in the world. His success in the Masters Series also backs up that assertion, but the worrying aspect seems to be a lack of stamina towards the end of the slams. Whilst he can claim the Masters Series events that are played over the course of a week, he seems to wilt over a Grand Slam fortnight and although he is obviously capable of beating the world’s top 2, he is not playing them when he’s at his optimum. He says he has been working hard on his fitness and that should help him achieve the consistency required to prevail over two arduous weeks.

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