That graph is pretty cool. Let us look at what lays ahead of us. We have almost four and a half months until the AO. Federer is resting, Nadal will likely be resting except for Davis Cup and the end of the year finals. Novak should take a rest from most everything but Bercy and the Barclays. Andy is playing well even though he lost in five sets in New York; he has been at the top of the game. Stanislas is a monster if he gets deep in a major and clearly has demonstrated he can wallop all of them. Apart from them, are there any real contenders for a major over two weeks in best of five sets?
Thiem has overplayed and is prone to playing himself out, but I feel he will rectify that come next year. I put him right at the top with another to break the big five's hegemony--Kei. Kei has reached a final and shown he can do it. He came close again this year in New York, and I think he is gaining confidence. Yet, I really don't see either of them faring well against a quality Nole--and this is about Novak catching Roger. I think he is the odds on favorite in Melbourne next year and he bags it--that is 13. The French and SW19 are too hard to call for me at this point--too many variables and we don't know how many of them will be doing. It is pretty wide open going into next year. If Federer does not come out on fire at the beginning, I don't know if the aura returns for him. If Rafa has more early exits, his aura will be further eroded. Unless he goes on a tear in the spring on clay, I question whether he will be one of two to beat in Paris. I think it is going to come down to Murray, Stanislas and one of the other two to pester Nole over next year. With that I think Novak bags one to two majors next year and ends the year at 14. At 30, I think we will see a slow decline. I have thought for some time 12-14 or 15 was where he would end up. Last night's loss makes me think that I could be lucky in picking that. If he had won last night, he would have tied Roger for most years with at least three majors (3), which he fell short of. Yet, his resilience is not to be understated. He is a real street fighter and if he does not get blistered toes or cramps like in this one, he is hard to count out.
Roger's record is safer for at least a few more years.