The draw produced an incredibly tough red group with Federer, Murray, Andy Roddick, and Nadal’s replacement Gilles Simon. As good as the Frenchman had been this year, he was a decided underdog against that trio of accomplished stars. Of course, don’t tell Simon that! He kicked off his maiden appearance at the prestigious year-end event by stunning Federer in three sets. Simon’s chances of reaching the last four improved again when Roddick turned an ankle in practice and pulled out after playing just one match (a three-set loss to Murray). Radek Stepanek was the highest-ranked player to accept an alternate invitation and he promptly when 0-2 (losing to Federer and Simon). Simon’s loss to Murray and victory over Stepanek left him at 2-1 and in need of Federer to go 1-2 due to Federer’s advantage in ratio of sets won.

That set the stage for Federer vs. Murray. Federer needed a win to advance, while Simon needed a Federer loss to advance. Murray, of course, was already guaranteed a semifinal spot after dispatching Roddick and Simon. Despite that, Murray gave it his all and he outlasted the Swiss in a three-set epic that lasted three hours and one minute.

The gold group looked far less imposing than the red when the draw was revealed. Novak Djokovic led the way ahead of Nikolay Davydenko, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Juan Martin Del Potro. Tsonga had just won the Masters Series Paris and Davydenko had reached the Paris semifinals, but Djokovic had been slumping and Del Potro was no longer on fire like he was during the summer. In the end, it produced none of the same drama as the Federer-Murray match, but the semifinal spots (one of them, at least) still came down to the very end.

Djokovic advanced after just two matches (defeating Del Potro an Davydenko) while Tsonga was quickly eliminated (losing to Davydenko and Del Potro), but that set the stage for a showdown between Del Potro and Davydenko for the second spot out of the gold foursome. The Argentine had recently routed Davydenko in Davis Cup semifinal action, but with no home-court advantage this time around, the outcome was much different. Davydenko cruised into the semis after just two sets.

The most exciting match of the final weekend turned out to be Djokovic vs. Simon in the semifinals. A grueling three-setter featured plenty of twists and turns, a Simon neck problem in the second set, and Djokovic cramping issues in the third set. In the end, however, it was the Serb who ultimately survived, prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 52 minutes. The other two matches were more straightforward. Murray’s heroic effort against Federer cost him dearly when he fell in routine fashion to Davydenko. The Russian, however, could not sustain that level under the pressure of a Masters Cup final and Djokovic rolled to the title in straight sets.

Now that it’s all said and done, let’s take a look at the superlatives from the 2008 Masters Cup:

Best match: Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray. This one had it all. A semifinal spot at stake. High-quality tennis. Momentum changes. Injury timeouts. Everything. Federer won the first set and had a chance to win it in two, but Murray forced a decisive third by winning the second in a tiebreaker. That’s when things really got crazy. Federer’s bad back stated acting up and Murray raced to a 3-0 lead. Out of nowhere, Federer suddenly seized new life and ran off four straight games to lead by a break, 4-3. Murray, however, got the break back and had seven match points with Federer serving at 4-5. The Swiss saved every one. But in the end, Murray had too much game for a slightly gimpy Federer and he prevailed 7-5 in the third after three hours and one minute.

Best decision: Novak Djokovic “tanking” his third set against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round-robin play. Say what you will about the integrity (or lack thereof) of not trying your best, but it’s the reason why Djokovic had enough left in the tank to survive his marathon semifinal against Gilles Simon. Already assured of a semifinal spot, Djokovic did not need to beat Tsonga, and he played like it.

Best point: A 36-ball rally between Federer and Murray late in the second set, that ended with Murray diving well outside the court but unable to return a Federer smash. It’s no doubt available on YouTube or Masters Series TV for all to see.

Worst match: Nikolay Davydenko vs. Juan Martin Del Potro. The second semifinal spot in the gold group all came down to this one. To say it did not live up to the hype or the stakes would be an understatement, as Del Potro crashed out 6-3, 6-2.

Worst luck: Andy Roddick, turning an ankle in practice. Sure, his back was already up against the wall with an 0-1 record, but his hardest round-robin match (against Andy Murray) was already out of the way, so the American still had a fighting chance.

Overall, the 2008 Masters Cup started poorly (with Nadal’s withdrawal) and ended in lackluster fashion (with Djokovic’s routine win over Davydenko) but in between there were some outstanding matches and moments. It drops the curtain on the ATP season and should have fans eager for the beginning of 2009.

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Already 2-0 and assured of a semifinal berth by the time he faced Tsonga, Djokovic did not need a win in order to advance. Nonetheless, he played like he did…at least for the first two sets. After failing to close out the match is straight sets, losing the second 7-5, the Serb pretty much decided to throw in the towel and Tsonga took the third easily, 6-1. Despite the fact that it went tree sets, Djokovic played just one hour and 38 minutes of tennis and conserved energy in the process.

Like Djokovic, Andy Murray also took a 2-0 record into his round-robin finale against Roger Federer. But Murray—also already guaranteed a semifinal spot—never showed any signs of putting in a less-than-100-percent effort. He didn’t decide to bag it even when he lost the first set. He didn’t decide to bag it even after failing to serve out the second. He didn’t decide to bag it even when he went from a break up in the third to a break down. He didn’t even decide to bag it when he squandered a whopping seven match points as Federer served to stay in the match at 4-5. Murray never quit, and it paid off in the form of a three-set elimination of the world No. 2.

It did not, however, pay off in Murray’s attempt to win the Masters Cup title. While Djokovic spent just over an hour and a half on the court against Tsonga, Murray battled Federer for three hours and one minute.

Not surprisingly, it cost him dearly against Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals. Murray would normally be a heavy favorite against the Russian, but not when he had less than 24 hours to recover from a three-hour slugfest. The Scot looked tired right from the start, but he hung in there until 5-5 in the first set. That’s when Davydenko seized a crucial break and he promptly served out the opening frame of play for 7-5. After that, an exhausted Murray had no chance in the second. Davydenko raced to a 6-2 victory to close the book on his opponent’s breakout 2008 campaign.

Djokovic, on the other hand, went into his semifinal clash against Gilles Simon with a full tank of gas…. And he needed every drop. The relentless Frenchmen gave Djokovic all he could handle for two hours and 50 minutes before succumbing 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Think Djokovic would have been able to come back from a set down if he had played for three hours and one minute against Tsonga (as Murray did against Federer)? No way.

No way could he have endured the kind of struggle that ensued after the first set. Simon took an injury timeout early in the second for a neck issue and that seemed to hand the momentum back to Djokovic. The Frenchman double-faulted to donate break of serve to his opponent at 2-1 and Djokovic never looked back. Although he squandered more break chances to seize an insurmountable lead in the second set, Djokovic held serve comfortably on a consistent basis and he closed out the set in routine fashion at 5-3.

The No. 3 player in the world also jumped out to a fast start in the decider, breaking for a 2-1 lead as rare errors crept into Simon’s game. However, it was soon Djokovic’s turn to endure physical problems, cramping up midway through the third. Certainly the cramping would have occurred sooner had Djokovic refused to save himself against Tsonga. Despite receiving treatment for the cramps and looking completely exhausted, he consolidated the early break (and had chances for another break) until serving for the match at 5-4. At 30-40, Djokovic threw in a wild double-fault to bring Simon even. With the world No. 9 now seemingly in control, the twins and turns continued. Djokovic took control from the baseline to break right back and he successfully served it out at 6-5 to finish off the relentless Frenchman. He did it in appropriate fashion, too, with yet another exquisite drop-shot.

“Final is something special,” Djokovic said. “Every player has a motive more to do well and to win the title. I didn’t win a title for a long time already, since Rome, so I would like to end up my season in a good way.”

He has a chance to end his season in the best possible way—with a Masters Cup title—thanks to conserving himself in round-robin play. Some may call it “tanking,” others may call it being smart. Whatever it was, it’s the reason Djokovic is in the final and the reason Murray is going home. Murray should be commended for his extraordinary effort in a match he didn’t have to win, but it’s without question the reason he bowed out so easily to Davydenko.

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