The final month of the ATP season featured a heated competition for the final spots in the World Tour Finals, with many of the top players in the world playing some of their best tennis this season. Among the key narratives this month, beyond Masters 1000 titles for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, is the continued rise of some young players who are almost certain to be dangerous dark horses when the 2015 season kicks off in just two months.

Gilles Simon reaches first Masters Final since 2008 in Shanghai

Gilles Simon followed up his run to the semifinals in Tokyo with a run to the final in Shanghai. He reached that stage by notching wins over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Stan Wawrinka, Malek Jaziri, Tomas Berdych, and Feliciano Lopez, before falling to Roger Federer in a pair of tiebreaks. His wins over Wawrinka and Berdych in three-set battles were just his second and third victories over top-10 players this season. Gilles was having a poor season, by his usual standards, before the fall, but he certainly finished strong.

Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut and Feliciano Lopez reach career-high rankings

A pair of Spaniards, Roberto Bautista Agut, and the serve-and-volleying veteran Feliciano Lopez, reached career-high rankings at the end of this season by virtue of reaching the top 15. Bautista Agut was boosted by reaching the final in Moscow, beating Ernests Gulbis en route. Lopez defeated Rafael Nadal and John Isner in Shanghai to reach the semifinals and boost his ranking. Look for both multi-surface talents to continue to be dangerous opponents in 2015. Lopez finishes the year with 10 more wins than he had last season, and Bautista Agut finishes 44-20 on the year, with positive records on every surface. He also won a pair of ATP titles in what was by far the best season of his career.

Andy Murray wins back-to-back titles in Vienna and Valencia

Andy Murray finished his year at a breakneck pace, assuring himself a top-10 finish in the rankings with titles in Vienna and Valencia. In Vienna, he notably defeated Vasek Pospisil and Viktor Troicki before winning in three sets over David Ferrer, who was competing with him for a spot in the World Tour Finals.

In Valencia just a week later, Murray scored wins over Jurgen Melzer, Fabio Fognini, Kevin Anderson, and Ferrer again, to extend his winning streak, before saving multiple match points in yet another final victory over Tommy Robredo. He dropped the first set before winning a pair of tiebreaks to oust the dogged Spaniard, who could not convert any of the five match points he earned in the second and third sets.

Unheralded Match of the month: Stockholm R2: Adrian Mannarino d. Alex Dolgopolov 6-4 6-7(2) 7-6(4)

The Valencia final between Robredo and Murray was thrilling and was the overall match of the month, but this round two contest in Stockholm between Mannarino and Dolgopolov also produced high quality. Mannarino took the first set and was up a break in the second, but Dolgopolov, who is not playing near his best tennis right now, fought back to even it up and take the second-set tiebreak. In the third set, Dolgopolov went up a break, but Mannarino earned it back and had break-point chances with Dolgopolov serving at 4-5 and 5-6 to win the match. Dolgopolov saved those match points but lost the ensuing third-set tiebreak in a heated contest between talented shot-makers.

Borna Coric and David Goffin rise to the occasion in Basel

Seventeen-year-old Borna Coric became the first player under 18 to reach the top 100 since Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal did so 11 years ago in 2003. Coric shocked both Ernests Gulbis and a clearly injured and listless Nadal to reach the semifinals in Basel before falling to another in-form young player, David Goffin, in the semifinals.

Goffin beat Dominic Thiem, Ivan Dodig, and elite player Milos Raonic in three sets before needing three sets to oust Coric to reach the final. He would meekly fall to Roger Federer in that final, partially due to fatigue. Goffin finishes the season with an incredible 49-20 record between ATP, Davis Cup, and Challenger level action. The Belgian No. 1 captured two ATP titles this year and a Challenger title to boot.

Coric finishes the year 33-17 in terms of his total tournament record, with a Challenger title. He should be able to bypass qualifying for the Grand Slams next year. At just 18 with an already well-rounded game, he will be looking for more big scalps besides Nadal to add to his victory list.

Mikhail Kukushkin has great finish to season

Mikhail Kukushkin, a relative journeyman from Kazahkstan whose main claim to notoriety is that his wife is his coach, finished the 2014 season strong. He won two matches in Shanghai over top-20 players Tommy Robredo and Kevin Anderson, defeating Robredo in a third-set tiebreak from a set down, before nearly defeating Novak Djokovic. He would fall in three sets to the world No. 1, but he continued his momentum in Moscow, where he reached the semifinals with wins over top-30 players Fabio Fognini and Mikhail Youzhny before forcing another top-10 player, Marin Cilic, to three sets. He capped off his great run of form in Basel, where he upset world No. 4 Stan Wawrinka in three sets, winning the third set 6-3 after dropping a second-set tiebreak to the Swiss major champion on home soil. Kukushkin flashed his peak ability these last few weeks.

Milos Raonic clinches World Tour Finals Spot with run to Paris Masters final

Milos Raonic secured the last World Tour Finals spot that was up for grabs with a run to the final in Paris. The Manitoba missile beat Jack Sock and Bautista Agut before notching upset victories against the higher-ranked Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych to reach the final. Raonic was dismantled by Novak Djokovic at that stage, dropping to 0-2 in his career in Masters 1000 finals, but his improvement this year is still evident as he scored seven more wins this year compared to 2013, and he will end the year with fewer losses than either 2012 or 2013 as well.