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Final 2004 Rankings By
The B Man No BCS controversy here, and we even used “the computer rankings.” Outsports readers bujeff23, Cattledog, Curtj, Dedric, and Gaga4Gaby submitted ballots to The B Man listing in rank order their top 8 players of the year. These rankings, plus The B Man’s and the official WTA and ATP rankings, were compiled to create the list below! (Note: the comments provided for each player do not necessarily reflect how that reader ranked the player). No. 1 Lindsay Davenport – “She is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball and she has the biggest and most consistent groundstrokes on the tour,” Dedric Roger Federer – “Not much to really argue about. He won three out of four Grand Slam events, and still is getting it done in most of the Masters events as well. He may very well be the most well-rounded player of our generation,” Cattledog No. 2 Maria Sharapova – “Stunned the world with ‘In The Zone’ tennis for two weeks at Wimbledon, dethroning Serena Williams in the final. Won year-end Championships as well and breathed some glamor and life back into women's tennis,“ Gaga4Gaby Lleyton Hewitt – “Even though he can’t beat Federer, he had a brilliant summer, and really came on in the end,” Cattledog No. 3 Anastasia Myskina – “Because during the entire season, including Fed Cup final, she played smart, showed heart, and hits the ball as clean as anyone,” Dedric Marat Safin – “Started and finished the year in fine form, reaching the Oz final and accomplishing at the end of the year even something Federer couldn’t by winning back-to-back Tennis Masters Series events,” The B Man No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo – “This was her biggest year, but it could have been bigger. With Serena Williams, Justine Henin-Hardenne, and Kim Clijsters not in the picture as much, she should have at least won one Grand Slam,” Cattledog Andy Roddick – “Wimbledon finalist and champ in Miami had a solid year, but not a spectacular one, and certainly down a notch from his 2003 campaign,” Gaga4Gaby No. 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne – “Didn't play much because of illness but still managed to capture the Australian Open and a Gold Medal at the Olympics. Not bad,” Gaga4Gaby Carlos Moya – “Three titles on the year is nice, but his Davis Cup heroics throughout the year are what really deserve note,” The B Man No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova – “For winning the US Open,” Dedric Andre Agassi – “He still knows how to win the Masters tournaments…Nothing was a breeze for him this year at the Grand Slams, and yet he still is a regular semi-finalist,” Cattledog No. 7 Serena Williams – “The US Open match vs. Capriati was the stuff of legend. She fought valiantly in the WTA tour championship match at season’s end, too. In both matches, Serena impressed many fans with the hunger, tenacity, and, yeah, believe it or not, *class* with which she comported herself in losing,” The B Man Gaston Gaudio – “Not a factor outside of clay court season, but you stun the world with a French Open win and you're a playa in '04,” Gaga4Gaby No. 8 Elena Dementieva – “She blew two golden opportunities to win a Grand Slam title,” Cattledog Tim Henman – “He did unbelievably well at the French and the US Open with a game that is out of style,” Dedric Also receiving votes: Jennifer Capriati, Guillermo Coria, Joachim Johansson, Nicolas Massu, Raphael Nadal, David Nalbandian, Mary Pierce, Paulo Suarez |