Training has already begun for the still tougher year ahead. 2012 has the Olympics shoehorned into its center and, for the men, there is a fortnight shaved off the end: The calendar will be even more jam-packed than it was this year.

With Twitter already abuzz with messages from players packing suitcases for the first tournaments of the year or warming-up in Middle Eastern havens for their Australian Open preparation, time to celebrate the performances that made 2011 so memorable and search for clues to who may make waves in 2012.

And where better to start than with the man of the year, the Serb who dominated the tour from first to—well, almost last.

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The final event of the tennis calendar was intensified by an Argentina team wanting this trophy perhaps more than any other nation, having been thwarted in three previous finals.

It added spice that they had fallen, at home, to a Nadal-less Spain, the last time they met—and that Spain was this time the hot favorite, back on home soil, on clay.

It injected some hope that Argentina fielded its three top players fit and injury-free and that Spain’s two top-five stars were bone-weary from their campaign at the World Tour Finals. The first of them, though, Rafael Nadal, had been here before and had proved his worth before.

He pointed out in London, “I’m lucky: If I’m not in the right condition, the captain can choose another player,” but all his compatriots—and there are six in the top 30 alone—knew that he would be first choice.

The six-time French Open champion has only ever lost one best-of-five-sets match on clay, against Robin Soderling in 2009, and his Davis Cup record was 18 wins to just one loss that came in his first ever match, as a 17-year-old, on his worst surface, indoor carpet.

Nadal had already won four rubbers this year, including a near-annihilation of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet in the semifinals for the loss of only 10 games in six sets.

Nadal had also tasted this atmosphere before. Spain is the most successful country of recent years. All four of its titles have come this millennium, including three in the last four years, and Nadal played a decisive part in two of them.

In 2009, he was part of a 5-0 whitewash of the Czech Republic, but his most dramatic role came in 2004 when more than 27,000 people saw Spain defeat the U.S.A., 3-2, in the magnificent Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla. The young Nadal beat Andy Roddick in four intense sets in the very stadium where he opened Spain’s campaign this year.

And if there were any doubts about his form after leaving the World Tour Finals at the round-robin stage, they were very quickly dismissed.

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It was the mantra of the tournament, repeated before each match.

And at the biggest indoor tournament in tennis, it helped capture the imagination of the players, the British public and audiences around the world.

With 10 of the 15 sessions a sell-out—that’s 17,500 seats each afternoon and evening, and never fewer than 14,000 for any session—the event attracted more than a quarter of a million spectators for the third straight year. It also drew record audiences on TV and online: 95 million viewers in 184 countries, a 60 percent increase on 2010.

The ATP’s website and live scoring had 9 million visits during the week, and another new feature also proved popular: The WTF app recorded more than 40,000 downloads.

But such stats barely scratch the surface of what makes the tournament so vibrant.

Here are photos, quotes and moments gathered from this year’s World Tour Finals by the author.

For more on the performances of the key players at the World Tour Finals, check the new end-of-year Power Rankings.

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It’s a year in which the top four rankings all saw new names, in which old hands made breakthroughs and in which former top-10-ers returned with a new spring in their step.

Since the final of the World Tour Finals (WTFs) last year between the two men, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who had dominated men’s tennis for more than half a dozen years, both had slipped behind a new champion: Novak Djokovic. Federer even slipped behind a British man ready, it seemed, to convert his success of the autumn into major silverware—Andy Murray.

But come the last day of the last tournament of 2011—the contest between the year’s best eight—the top three were gone, beaten by exhaustion, injury and the tennis of older men.

Top dog Djokovic, the man he knocked into second place in the rankings, Nadal and the man who had risen to No. 3 with three back-to-back titles in the Asian swing—Murray—all fell by the wayside, ashen and weary.

One of the oldest participants—Mardy Fish turns 30 next week—entered the top 10 and the WTFs for the first time. He took both Federer and Nadal to three sets, but had come to London with injury and bowed out at the Round Robin stage.

Serbia’s No. 2 player, Janko Tipsarevic, maturing to a career-high ranking of No. 9 at the age of 27, rose to the occasion in two tight contests: He held a match point in his final set tie-breaker against Tomas Berdych before losing in three, but then beat fellow Serb Djokovic for the first time in his career.

David Ferrer was the oldest man in his group—he too turns 30 in a few months—and finished 2011 higher than he’d been in more than three years, at No. 5. In the semifinals, he lost to his nemesis, Federer, and admitted afterwards that he was so tired he just wanted to stop—but he still has a Davis Cup final to play.

The other semi brought together Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nos. 6 and 7: close in age, in titles and in style of game. Berdych was the one to leave.

It was down, then, to the two. Tsonga faced the oldest man in the event who was also the only unbeaten man in the event: Federer.

Remarkably, it was their eighth meeting of the year and their third in a fortnight: three straight Sundays from the Paris Masters final, through London’s first Round Robin and on to the WTF final itself.

With two titles apiece since the U.S. Open and both looking fit, healthy and confident, few were prepared to nominate a winner, and it did indeed turn into a thriller, with Tsonga coming back from a set and a break down to level the match in a second set tie-breaker.

Visions of a Wimbledon-style upset suddenly reared their head, but with appropriate Swiss timing, Federer upped a gear to drop just three points on serve in the final set and took his 70th title in his 100th final for a record-breaking sixth year-end trophy.

After three back-to-back titles and a 17-0 unbeaten run, the oldest man ever to win the WTFs afterwards pointed out: “For me, it was the strongest finish I’ve ever had in my career.”

It sounded like a metaphorical gauntlet being thrown down to his rivals, and if there was any doubt about his intentions for 2012, they were soon removed.

Next year, he expects to visit London three times as the Olympics joins Wimbledon and the WTFs in the London calendar: “At this point, I’m extremely tired, but this is going to be a very important place to play good tennis…Clearly I don’t want to miss it and I hope to be healthy when the Olympics do come around.”

So Federer ends the year back at No. 3 in the ATP rankings and top of the Power Rankings. There are some big names missing—the likes of a sick Robin Soderling, a still-climbing Juan Martin Del Potro and the injured Fish—and some young guns ready to break through—Milos Raonic, Alexandr Dolgopolov and Bernard Tomic among them.

But these are the men who will take the most momentum into early 2012 and the Australian Open.

The power rankings list the in-form players based on recent results. The season-long series is authored by Marianne Bevis, JA Allen and Feng Rong, whose formula informs the rankings.

Check out more pictures, quotes and moments gathered from players at the O2 by the author.

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Both Agnieszka Radwanska and Marion Bartoli were still in contention for the eighth place on the boat to Turkey as the drama in the deciding tournament in Moscow unfolded.

A fortnight ago, with Radwanska making a late unbeaten run to two Premier titles in the Far East—Tokyo and Beijing—the Pole seemed to have the No. 8 place in the bag. Only Bartoli could overtake her, but the French woman needed to win the last two events of the year. Even then, Bartoli had to hope that Radwanska would lose her opening-round match in Moscow.

Fast forward to last week and two boxes had been ticked for Bartoli. With the Osaka title in the bag, she saw Radwanska lose to her nemesis, Lucie Safarova, in the Kremlin Cup. The French woman continued to keep her chances alive by advancing to the quarterfinals, but then, disaster struck in the shape of viral illness, and Bartoli had to pull out of competition.

It handed her rival the final place in Istanbul.

Bartoli will still make the journey to Turkey as first alternate—if she is fit—but to play, she depends on one of the elite eight becoming ill or injured.

For Radwanska and the other seven contesting the Championship, there is now big money at stake—a total purse of almost $5 million—as well as important points that could determine who will end the year as world No. 1.

While Caroline Wozniacki goes into the event at the top of the pile, it is possible for Maria Sharapova to beat her to the end-of-year finishing line—a first for the only multiple-Grand-Slam winner in the competition. However, the Russian will have to play at her peak, and the Dane will have to play very poorly.

Not possible? Look at the Bartoli/Radwanska race.

So with 26 titles between them, including three of the four 2011 Grand Slams, what are the chances for the cream of the women’s tour in Turkey?

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Ferrer needed to reach the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters and had to see fellow Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, lose against Andy Roddick to ensure his passage to London. And that is exactly what happened.

Judging from his performance, Ferrer was determined to leave blood, sweat and tears on the court rather than lose his chance: He was a set and a break down, and faced match points before fighting back against an increasingly drained Ferrero.

Yet in an amusing on-court interview, it became clear that Ferrer was unaware the numbers were stacked in his favor: “Yes? I did not know...Thanks for this news!”

Once the news of his qualification for London had sunk in, the world number five was more composed. This marks the second consecutive year he made the year-end championships.

“This is what I have been fighting for all year. I’ve had a great season with a lot of wins and I can’t wait to return to London. It is such a great event and it is so special to be among the top eight players once again. The atmosphere is incredible there.”

He joins another Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, along with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer at the end of November for the world’s biggest indoor tennis event. But while the World Tour Finals mark the climax of the ATP year, Ferrer and Nadal will quickly return home to join Spain’s campaign for Davis Cup victory in the first week of December.

Almagro, ranked nine in the race to London, still has some work to do if he is to become the third Spaniard to join what would be his first season-ending tournament.

He is scheduled to play in Valencia and Paris and will need to win good points to make up ground on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish—though both lost in Round 2 in Shanghai. If that was not enough, he needs to shake off Gilles Simon and Alexandr Dolgopolov, who still have a chance to qualify.

Simon has been making a strong late run for qualification, but fell in an enthralling third-round three-setter against Australian Matthew Ebden. Dolgopolov has reached his first Masters quarterfinal and will play another young rising star enjoying his first Masters quarter, Kei Nishikori.

Qualified for London

1. Novak Djokovic, 13,295 points

2. Rafael Nadal 9,500 points

3. Andy Murray 6,290points

4. Roger Federer 5,185 points

5. David Ferrer 3,880 points

Still to Qualify

6. Tomas Berdych 2,940 points (Scheduled to play Paris)

7. Mardy Fish 2,875 points (Scheduled to play Basel, Paris)

8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2,790 points (Scheduled to play Vienna, Valencia, Paris)

9. Nicolas Almagro 2,370 points (Scheduled to play Valencia, Paris)

10. Gilles Simon 2,155 points (Scheduled to play St Petersburg, Paris)

Outside Chances

Janko Tipsarevic 2,040 points (Scheduled to play Moscow, St Petersburg, Paris)

Alexandr Dolgopolov 1,835 points (Scheduled to play Moscow, St Petersburg, Paris)

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Just as they had done only a fortnight before at the French Open, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were again competing for both a Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking.

In the run-up to what most anticipated would be a dream final, the top spot was ready to shift from one of these players to the other.

Between them and their fifth final of the year, however, were two men peaking at just the right time to make their own claim on the greatest prize in the tennis year.

Roger Federer had brought Djokovic’s 43-match run to a halt in the semifinals of Paris and was becoming many pundits’ favorite to take his seventh Wimbledon title.

Andy Murray had challenged Nadal on the clay of Monte Carlo and Djokovic on the clay of Rome. He had also just won the biggest grass title outside Wimbledon at Queen’s.

This same quartet had filled 13 of the 16 semifinal places in the last four slams, including all four at the French Open, so it looked a tough ask for anyone else to intrude on their battle ground.

By the time the draw had whittled down to 16, everything was still laid out to perfection—and this month’s Power Rankings are filled by 10 of those 16.

For the connoisseurs, there were the big four: Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray.

For the fourth Wimbledon in a row, unseeded players also had a toehold: Feliciano Lopez and Xavier Malisse.

Then there was the added spice of two qualifiers: Lukasz Kubot at the older end of the scale, 29, and Bernard Tomic at the younger extreme, 18.

There were serve-and-volleyers and all-courters, there were men new to the top 10 such as Mardy Fish and men fighting back to the top 10 such as Juan Martin del Potro.

There were zesty rematches of notorious battles. Murray and Richard Gasquet in a replay of their last two Grand Slam meetings, both five-set thrillers.

There was also old-school tennis between old adversaries. Federer in his 13th straight Wimbledon against Mikhail Youzhny in his 11th, both aged 29, both with a silky, single-handed backhand.

To cap it all, the match between Nadal and Del Potro threatened to sideline both men with injury. In the end, they played out one of the contests of the tournament—45 games containing just 37 unforced errors and over 100 winners.

The greatest drama, though, was saved for the very last day. When Djokovic finally led Nadal into the colosseum of Centre Court, he had already won the first battle in the war for tennis dominance.

By Monday morning, Novak would be No. 1 in the world.

Now he was aiming to become the first man in nine years not named Nadal or Federer to win the most coveted of titles.

He had only to beat the current champion, unbeaten in 20 straight matches at Wimbledon and the holder of 10 Grand Slams, the man Djokovic himself had, at Indian Wells, called “the best player ever.”

But what Nadal saw across the net, in the cold light of this particular London afternoon, was a different Djokovic from the one he had beaten at the U.S. Open—their last Grand Slam final.

The Serb had since won the Australian Open and all four Masters they had contested. He had lost only one match all year, and he had won seven of the eight tournaments he had entered.

This single match would play out, in real time, the shift in the power balance from Nadal to the new “best.”

And in an appropriate convergence of landmark achievements, we salute Djokovic, Wimbledon champion, No. 1 in the world and leader of this month’s Power Rankings.

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By the end of 2010, one or the other had topped the tennis rankings for seven years, give or take the occasional flurry of excitement as Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray slipped into the No. 2 slot for a few weeks.

One or the other had featured in every Major final bar one for the last six years and they had won all but two of the last 23. By the WTFs at the end of the year, they had once again closed the door on everyone else as they fought it out for the title of the year’s concluding event.

But that was then; 2011 has been a different story. Novak Djokovic, who had been snapping at the heels of Federer and Nadal for almost four years, transformed—almost in the blink of an eye—after leading his country, Serbia, to a famous Davis Cup win in December.

The brash confidence that had won him his first Australian title at just 20 was remodeled into a mature confidence, and he immediately broke the Federer-Nadal stranglehold on the Majors by taking his second Australian title.

That was just the start. Having beaten Federer in the semis in Melbourne, Djokovic toppled him twice more at Indian Wells and Dubai. He gave Nadal the same treatment, beating the Spaniard for the first time in a final at Indian Wells and then he repeated the feat in all three of their subsequent Masters finals.

Most significant of all, as they arrive on the clay of the second Major of the year at Roland Garros, is that the Serb has just beaten Nadal in two successive clay Masters finals, in straight sets, bringing to an end a 37-match unbroken run for the Spaniard on his best surface.

Few need reminding that Djokovic is, thus far, unbeaten in 2011 and is enjoying a 39-match-winning streak. Should he win in Paris, he will tie Guillermo Vilas for the longest run, 46, in the Open era. But the next important step for the Serb is the top ranking.

Djokovic has been No. 2 since he overtook Federer at Indian Wells. Now, unless Nadal wins the French Open title, Djokovic will finally become No. 1. And even if Nadal does win the title, Djokovic will take over the top spot if he reaches the final.

So are there any scenarios that may prevent a fifth final between the same two men? And which of the two will be No. 1 on the last day of the clay season?

This assessment of the draw and its likely winners is interspersed with a few relevant stats to help you decide.

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He arrived in Madrid with the Estoril title—a tournament in which he had beaten top seed Robin Soderling and then Fernando Verdasco, both in straight sets.

Factor in three straight wins for Del Potro prior to Indian Wells—including the semifinals of the U.S. Open—and this had the makings of a classic. Not surprisingly, the Nadal-Del Potro face-off was given the prime slot in Thursday’s schedule.

Then came the shocking announcement that Del Potro had withdrawn due to the hip injury sustained during his first-round match against Youzhny.

It was a shock because the Argentine had subsequently beaten Cilic for the loss of just three games in a single hour, and all seemed well. But with more matches prior to Madrid than any of the top six men, the workload had clearly taken its toll.

For Nadal, however, his unexpected bye ensured a place in the quarters and the likely prospect of reaching the semifinal without facing a single seed. His scheduled opponent, Jurgen Melzer, did not even make it through his opening match.

A hint of irony, then, from the magic wand that waved over the Caja Magica. The man who began with one of the trickiest draws in the competition—the top seed and the favorite for the title—found himself with the clearest run to Saturday’s semifinal. And a rested Nadal is the last thing anyone wants to face, least of all his quarterfinal opponent.

That opponent was the 30-year-old Michael Llodra, whose elegant serve-and-volley game had made the most of the fast Madrid clay and the absence of any seeds in his segment, either. But he played a two-hour, 20-minute three-setter while Nadal sat back and watched. Hardly the most encouraging scenario for the Frenchman.

Beyond Llodra, the path to the title may still hold the other two of the triumvirate. There could be a replay of the last two years’ finals with Federer, though the Swiss first faces the No. 5 seed, Robin Soderling, who beat him in the French Open last year.

For the title match, it still remains possible for the clay swing to produce a third final in a row between the same two men: Nadal and his compatriot David Ferrer.

The No. 6 seed has looked as good in Madrid as at any time all year, finding remarkable power, speed and—his most valuable asset—desire to win in his bullish match against Sergiy Stakhovsky.

For him to reach the final, however, Ferrer will need to find the tennis of his life, because his immediate formidable task is to beat Djokovic, and no one has managed to do that in five and a half months or 29 consecutive matches.

Nadal is not just defending champion at this week’s Masters, though, but also next week in Rome and then in Paris, making 4,000 points to defend. He therefore needs to repeat his perfect 2010 clay run if he is to retain his place at No. 1 in the coming couple of months—and then do the same at Wimbledon.

Djokovic has just 540 clay points to defend and has already covered some of those by reaching this week’s quarterfinals.

So it’s 2011’s unbeaten man on clay up against 2011’s unbeaten man on the hard courts, both aiming for the No. 1 spot even before Wimbledon. And lurking behind them is Federer who, should he take titles of his own, may challenge them further down the road should they trip up.

Suddenly, the last matches in the Magic Box seem to be weaving together the finest possible spell.

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Grigor Dimitrov’s match results this year have been, it is true, far from eye-opening—as his 4-8 win-loss record proves.

He fell in the first round of the Dubai 500 in a shower of errors in 64 minutes, though he entered the tournament as a qualifier and lost to a man 53 places above him in rankings, Richard Gasquet.

It was a similar story in Rotterdam—the Bulgarian qualified for the main draw and immediately ran into Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He qualified for the Miami Masters, but this time went out to Sergiy Stakhovsky. Then in Barcelona, it was Juan Monaco.

So, no: not auspicious.

And yet, for many other reasons, now seems just the right time to turn the telescope on the youngest player in the top 100 of men’s tennis, the only teenager in the top 125.

For the eye-catching, elegant 19-year-old—bursting with the confidence of youth—has this week reached his first ATP quarterfinals in Munich.

And even though he was beaten by the 35-ranked Florian Mayer, the young Bulgarian came within touching distance of a semi-final place in a two-and-a-half-hour thriller, 6-7, 6-3, 4-6.

Dimitrov had break points in the first and third sets that he failed to convert, won more points overall, scored more aces and had a higher serve percentage.

It was, in fact, the kind of match that seems to slip through the fingers like silver sand.

However, the event marked a further step in a Dimitrov year that suggests green shoots are about to burst into flower.

He qualified for the Australian Open and beat the Hamburg champion, Andrey Golubev, in straight sets. He beat the experienced Rainer Schuettler with ease in Houston and, this week, he beat the 25-ranked Marcos Baghdatis, saving two match points in the process.

Since turning pro in 2008, Dimitrov has risen through the ranks with impressive intent. Two years ago, he hovered around 400, last year he broke the 200 barrier and he began 2011 at 105. He has since moved up to 69, and his win this week will add another handful of places.

His declared target for the year—to break into the top 50—therefore takes on less the look of arrogance and more the look of confidence.

And yet this young player seems always to be discussed with an edge of impatience, for such is the hype surrounding Dimitrov that the waiting tennis public has come to expect upsets every time his name appears on the draw sheet.

The media, for their part, urgently await the fulfillment of their assertions that he is the standard-bearer for the next wave of talent.

Dimitrov’s problem—or one of his problems—is the buzz that has surrounded him since he became both Wimbledon and U.S. junior champion just as he turned pro at 16.

The following spring, 2009, he was given a wild card for Rotterdam where he beat Tomas Berdych from a set down and then took Rafael Nadal to three sets.

With another wild-card entry to Queens in London, he lost in the second round to Gilles Simon—No. 7 at the time—by the skin of his teeth in two tie-breakers.

In between, Dimitrov blew hot and cold, losing more matches than he won, but by the latter half of 2010, he was winning Challenger events right, left and centre: three on the trot in September. Those green shoots have taken time and experience to ripen.

Another reason why expectation may have run ahead of reality is Dimitrov’s own disarming confidence: a self-assurance that comes very close to arrogance. Take the comments from an interview reported in The Telegraph in January.

“I definitely believe I can be the world No. 1…I believe in my abilities, as when I get things right, things happen to me.” And this: “For that to happen, I probably need to win a couple of grand slams, and they are not going to fall from the sky.

”And, when asked about the main strengths of his game: “I can do anything on any surface.”

And here’s where the final problem comes in. Dimitrov’s coach in 2009 was Peter Lundgren, who had coached Roger Federer during the years leading up to the Swiss’s first Wimbledon title.

Lundgren commented that his young charge was more talented than Federer had been at the same age…and the comparison stuck, helped not a little by Dimitrov claiming Federer as his idol and the man on whom he based his game.

That may sound like more arrogance, except that to see Dimitrov play is to believe every word. His tennis does, indeed, come closer in style to his idol's than anyone else on the tour.

First, the Dimitrov backhand is a single-hander that emanates from a Federer-like sweep back from the chest, and with such whip that the racket-head all but strikes him between the shoulders. The down-the-line top-spin drive—Dimitrov's personal favorite—has the makings of a signature shot.

The serve, too, is delivered from a near identical action to Federer’s. His feet are placed one behind the other, knees bent to unleash like an uncurling whip—and it is already faster than its Swiss template.

The forehand is fast and adaptable across court, down the line and inside out. But the striking feature is Dimitrov’s movement as he delivers it: a pivot off the leading leg, trail leg lifted, in copybook Federer style.

Dimitrov also shows talent at the net, a willingness to come in and use soft wrists to angle shots to both sides. Add to that the odd drop shot, sliced and curving, and it’s as though he has been mentored by the Swiss master himself.

In shot-making, then—in his easy fluidity and loose-limbed style—Dimitrov has many of the qualities that make the Federer game so aesthetically appealing.

But in appearance, too, he has a similar build, posture and coloring, supplemented by the Nike swoosh and the Wilson weapon: There are physical echoes aplenty.

Despite all these similarities, however, there are a few others worth recording.

Federer, too, was Wimbledon junior champion in the year he turned pro—at 16.

Federer’s early progress was gradual: at Dimitrov’s age, he was just breaking into the top 30.

It was three years after turning pro before Federer won an ATP title—indoors in Milan—and he was nearly 22 before winning his first Major at Wimbledon.

So Dimitrov clearly has time to emulate his role-model, but he also faces competition in achieving his aspirations.

Below him, Ryan Harrison, a year his junior, is already ranked 128. Above him are two men a year his senior: Richard Berankis at 77 and Milos Raonic at 27.

Perhaps this is the cause of the impatience. Dimitrov was forced into the spotlight—much as Richard Gasquet was before him—while the other three honed their young talents on the more shadowy “outside courts.”

Fortunately, the teenager from Bulgaria seems, for now at least, to have the self-belief to manage his Federesque sobriquet.

And we shall just have to be patient a little longer while he comes into full flower.

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