Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2016. Today we feature Juan Martin del Potro vs. Andy Murray & Stan Wawrinka:

Juan Martin del Potro was a man on a mission in 2016. The Comeback Player of the Year in the 2016 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon, del Potro turned in multiple watershed moments of magic in his return to action from wrist surgery. Indelible images of the emotional Argentine with tears of joy came early and often.

After reaching the semi-finals in his debut in Delray Beach, he would streak to the third round at Wimbledon with an upset of Stan Wawrinka, claim the silver medal at the Rio Olympics behind stunning wins over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, reach the quarter-finals at the US Open with a victory over Dominic Thiem, notch his first ATP World Tour title in nearly three years at the If Stockholm Open and cap it off with a thrilling win over Marin Cilic to guide Argentina to its first Davis Cup crown.

The common theme? Inspired performances against the Top 10.

In his first full season back, del Potro was one of just six players to earn at least six Top 10 wins in 2016, joining Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Nick Kyrgios, Djokovic and Cilic.

The spark immediately returned for the Argentine, rekindling old rivalries with a pair of pulsating match-ups against both Murray and Wawrinka. Murray led the FedEx ATP Head2Head 5-2 entering the season, but they hadn’t faced off for more than three years. Two of the more consistent performers throughout the season, the Scot and the Argentine battled for the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, followed by a five-set, five-hour affair in the Davis Cup semis.

With both players relying on their final reserves, Murray persevered past a dogged del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in more than four hours to become the first man to win back-to-back singles gold medals at the Olympics. Coming into the match, del Potro had spent 11 hours and 36 minutes on court; Murray, eight hours, 10 minutes. It was a pure war of attrition. Murray saw his win streak extend to 18 straight, while del Potro capped a remarkable week that featured wins over Djokovic and Nadal en route to the silver medal.

“I know tonight’s one of the hardest matches that I’ve had to play for a big, big title,” Murray said. “Emotionally it was tough… Physically, it was hard. There were so many ups and downs in the match. It was one of the toughest matches that I’ve played to win a big event.”

Murray’s defence looked to neutralise del Potro’s firepower once again, as he took a two-sets-to-one lead in the Davis Cup semi-finals a month later. But this time the Argentine powered across the finish line with a furious finish. He prevailed 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in five hours and seven minutes to open the tie against Great Britain. On his third break chance of the fifth set, del Potro chased down an apparent winning volley from Murray to strike a running forehand winner and secure the decisive advantage.

“It’s amazing. Amazing. I really enjoyed the match,” del Potro said. “He is a ridiculous player, a fighter, a great champion. I was trying to find a way. I played good forehands and good serves. That was the key.”

View FedEx ATP Head2Head (Murray Leads 6-3) 

Del Potro vs. Murray: 2016 Meetings

Arguably the greatest Grand Slam rivalry of the year was between del Potro and Wawrinka, with the Argentine’s forehand firepower clashing with the Swiss’ backhand prowess. Del Potro led the FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-2 entering the season and their first meeting in four years took place in the second round at Wimbledon. With the roof closed on Centre Court, the featured match of the first week did not disappoint.

In just his second match at a major since the 2014 Australian Open, del Potro stormed back from a set down, advancing with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over the fourth seed.

“As we all say, it’s great for tennis to see him back. He’s a great guy, a really good player, a big champion,” Wawrinka said. “He’s beaten some good guys. Today he was playing really well. I think he was serving really well and his forehand is there.”

Wawrinka would avenge the defeat at the US Open, needing four sets to advance through their quarter-final encounter, en route to lifting the trophy. He prevailed 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 over the 2009 champion under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The match ended at 1:20 a.m. local time, with the Swiss firing 53 winners, including 10 aces.

“It was important to stay there, to stay tough,” said Wawrinka. “I knew before the match that against del Potro it’s a tough challenge. He’s playing well. He’s strong mentally. He doesn’t give you much. It’s going to be painful physically and mentally to stay there, so I had to adapt my game a little bit. It’s not a player that I can really always play the way I want to against, because he’s so aggressive”

View FedEx ATP Head2Head (del Potro Leads 4-3)

Del Potro vs. Wawrinka: 2016 Meetings

Milos Raonic will try to improve upon his career-best 2016 without the guidance of coach Carlos Moya. The Canadian announced on Wednesday that the two will no longer be working together.

Raonic first partnered with the former World No. 1 in January, and he went on to experience his best season on the ATP World Tour. The 25 year old kicked off the year by winning his eighth ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Federer). Raonic proceeded to reach the Australian Open semi-finals, the BNP Paribas Open final, The Queen’s Club final and his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon (l. to Murray).

Raonic also earned a career-high 52 wins in 2016 and finished at a career-best year-end No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, up 11 spots from his 2015 year-end ranking of No. 14.

“Thank you to Carlos Moya for helping me tremendously this year, alongside my team, to get the best out of me. Under Carlos’ direction and tutelage I have played my best yet to date,” Raonic posted on Instagram. “We will no longer be continuing our coaching relationship but remain close friends. I wish him all the best.”

Raonic also works with Riccardo Piatti on a full-time basis. The Canadian had also brought on John McEnroe for a stretch during the grass-court and U.S. hard-court swings. Before working with Moya, Raonic had worked with Croatian Ivan Ljubcic for more than two years.

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2016. Today we feature Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic:

It has been 10 years since Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic first faced off on the ATP World Tour. Ten years have passed since the Scot and the Serbian stepped on the indoor hard courts of Madrid for an unassuming third round meeting. Little did they know that a burgeoning rivalry that would span 35 encounters and feature a catalogue of heart-stopping moments was born on that day in the Spanish capital.

Close friends off the court and fierce rivals between the lines, Murray and Djokovic have had their share of memorable clashes over the years. They have met in all four Grand Slams, all nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and twice at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

With two of the best backhands in the game and lightning-fast agility, they are mirror images from the back of the court: seemingly impenetrable elastic walls that can turn defence into offence in a flash, leaving opponents scratching their heads in disbelief. As the spotlight grows and drama builds, Murray and Djokovic raise their games to new heights and this was never more evident than in 2016, when the battle for Emirates ATP Rankings supremacy – World No. 1 – came down to the last match of the season at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Murray dramatically dethroned Djokovic in straight sets in the season finale and it was a change of fortunes for the new World No. 1 against his longtime rival, having dropped 13 of their previous 15 encounters. Djokovic was an indomitable force in their first four meetings of 2016, opening the season with a straight-set win in the Australian Open final – his fifth victory over Murray at Melbourne Park – and following that with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 triumph for the Mutua Madrid Open crown.

“I’m very pleased that I have developed a great rivalry with somebody that I’ve known for a very long time and somebody that I have a very good and friendly relationship with on and off the court,” Djokovic said after winning his 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Madrid. Following the tournament, he had opened a seemingly insurmountable 9,025-point advantage over Murray in the Emirates ATP Rankings and the year-end No. 1 spot was all but secured by May… or so it seemed.

With Djokovic continuing to build momentum towards Roland Garros, where he would bid to complete the career Grand Slam, it was Murray who would stop him in his tracks at the Foro Italico in Rome. Meeting in back-to-back finals at the clay-court Masters 1000 events, the birthday boy notched his first victory over Djokovic on the dirt with a strong 6-3, 6-3 performance.

“Each time I go up against him, I know I have to play a great match to win,” Murray said after lifting the Rome trophy. “Sometimes you play great tennis and you don’t win, because he’s such a great player.”

They would meet for a third time in the clay-court season less than a month later at Roland Garros. Murray burst out of the gates, taking the opener 6-3, but Djokovic would not be denied his place in history, claiming the elusive crown in four sets and thus completing the career Grand Slam. It was their seventh clash in a major final, one meeting shy of the record held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Murray scratched and clawed at Djokovic’s perch and the lead slowly began to evaporate. After squaring off three times in the span of five weeks, they would not meet again until the championship bout at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. An 9,025-point deficit suddenly became a near-1,000 point lead for Murray, as the Scot notched his first title at the season finale. He capped a stunning march to the pinnacle of the tennis world with his 24th consecutive match win and fifth straight title, cementing his place in the history books.

Touted as a match for the ages with so much on the line, it was Murray who grabbed the initiative. He had laboured on court for a marathon nine hours and 56 minutes entering the final, including the two longest best-of-three set matches in tournament history (since 1991), while Djokovic needed three hours less to reach the title match. But the top seed exhibited no signs of fatigue. Murray would emerge victorious on his third match point after one hour and 42 minutes, becoming the first British player to finish as year-end No. 1.

With the battle for No. 1 reaching its climax in the final weeks of the season, the two rivals are poised to continue fighting for the top spot as we turn the calendar to 2017.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head (Djokovic Leads 24-11)

Djokovic vs. Murray: 2016 Meetings

The ATP World Tour this week published the 2016 year-end Emirates ATP Rankings on ATPWorldTour.com, after a memorable and exciting season that saw Andy Murray clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking on the final day of the season at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

For the first time in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973), there were 10 different countries represented in the year-end Top 10. There were four new players in the year-end Top 10 from last season (No. 3 Milos Raonic, No. 6 Marin Cilic, No. 7 Gael Monfils and No. 8 Dominic Thiem). Monfils and Thiem are first-time additions while Raonic and Cilic are in the year-end Top 10 for the second time.

1. Andy Murray (GBR) – First Brit and 17th different year-end No. 1 continues 13 years of Big 4 dominance at the top of Emirates ATP Rankings

2. Novak Djokovic (SRB) – Finishes in Top 2 for sixth straight year and in Top 3 for 10th consecutive year

3. Milos Raonic (CAN) – Made biggest jump to No. 3 from previous year (14) since Djokovic in 2007 (16 to 3)

4. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) – Finishes No. 4 for third straight year and in Top 10 for fourth season in a row

5. Kei Nishikori (JPN) – Second Top 5 finish in three years and third straight year in Top 10

6. Marin Cilic (CRO) – Second Top 10 finish in three years and best Croat year-end ranking since Ljubicic (5) in 2006

7. Gael Monfils (FRA) – First time finish in Top 10 and ninth Frenchman in year-end Top 10

8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) – The 23-year-old is youngest in Top 10 and first Austrian in year-end Top 10 since Muster (9) in 1997

9. Rafael Nadal (ESP) –  Top 10 for 12th year in a row and one of six players with 12-more Top 10 finishes

10. Tomas Berdych (CZE) – Seventh consecutive finish in the Top 10

2016 Year-End Emirates ATP Rankings Quick Facts

* For the first time since 2007 France led all countries with 12 players in the Top 100 (including seven in the Top 50). Spain followed with 10 in the Top 100, including an ATP World Tour-high nine in the Top 50.

* Despite ‎losing year-end No. 1 ranking, Djokovic has been in the Top 2 every week since March 21, 2011. He has also finished 10 straight seasons in the Top 3. The only other players to finish in the Top 3 for 10-more consecutive years are Jimmy Connors (12), Ivan Lendl (10) and Federer (10).

* Six players in the Top 15 finished the season with career-high rankings: Murray (No. 1), Raonic (No. 3), Cilic (No. 6), David Goffin (No. 11), Nick Kyrgios (No. 13) and Lucas Pouille (No. 15). Wawrinka finishes at No. 4 for the third straight season.

* Juan Martin del Potro, who jumped from No. 581 in 2015 to No. 38, made the biggest ranking jump in the Top 100 from last season (543 spots). On Feb. 8, he dropped to No. 1,045.

* Teenager Alexander Zverev finished a year-end best No. 24. The 19-year-old German is the first teenager to finish in the Top 25 since Djokovic (No. 16) and Murray (No. 17) in 2006. Zverev led a group of 15 #NextGen players in the Top 200 year-end rankings.

* Zverev and American Taylor Fritz, who finished as the youngest player in the Top 100 at No. 76, were the two teenagers in the year-end Top 100. The 19-year-old Fritz is one of six #NextGen players from the U.S.

* Ivo Karlovic, 37, finished the season in the Top 20 for the first time and he is the oldest player in the year-end Top 20 since Ken Rosewall (43), at No. 12 in 1977.

* Andy and Jamie Murray are the first brothers to finish No. 1 in the singles and doubles team rankings respectively. They are also only brothers to be No. 1 in singles and doubles at any time, with Jamie atop the individual doubles rankings for nine weeks earlier this season.

* Nicolas Mahut is first Frenchman to finish a season at No. 1 in singles or doubles.

* Jack Sock (No. 23 singles, No. 16 doubles) and Feliciano Lopez (No. 28 singles, No. 11 doubles) finished season with highest combined singles and doubles ranking. Mahut was one back (No. 39 singles, No. 1 doubles). Six players overall ended the year in Top 50 of both singles and doubles.