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Rankings Update -- 2038 3Q
The third quarter is in the books, and there have been some surprises in the last few months for my Sri Lankan quartet.
Anil Mehul -- 67th to 35th singles, 182nd to 294th doubles. He's obviously really turned the corner here in singles, and it's an interesting and open question whether Mehul will be seeded at the AO to begin 2039. A couple of Tier 1 Challenger titles from last year will come off the slate in the next couple of months, and it's possible but probably unlikely he'll be able to replace those points in the Shanghai and Paris Masters, the two big events left in the year that he'll be playing. More likely a no than a yes, but there's still a lot of tennis to be played and he might need to throw a 250 event or a big challenger in there to stay match-fresh ... we'll see. Either way, there's no question Mehul should be positioned for a serious assault against the best in the world next year.
Amrik Chittoor -- 83rd to 87th singles, 549th to 259th doubles. A nice rise in doubles but pretty much still hanging out in the journeyman ranks. Whether he can build on his USO win remains to be seen.
Anil Manohar -- 534th to 376th singles, 1034th to 1337th doubles. A surprising crown at a recent Tier 2 futures event reversed his gradual decline for the moment, but it's a temporary stay.
Girish Girsh -- 958th to 525th singles, 2434th to 2006th doubles. Since turning pro, Girsh has lost just the one amateur match. Just last week, during the second half of the US Open, he moved up to a Tier 2 futures and promptly ran the table there as well. A quarterfinal match proved testy as he didn't show up early, dropping four straight games and eventually the first set before rallying for a fairly easy win. In the final, he met top seed Jesper Fine of Norway, a good test as Fine is ranked 212th in the world. Girsh prevailed in a tough three-set match that could have gone either way. Beating a player like Fine means he is probably going to settle in as a big futures/small challenger kind of tweener player for a while once his ranking gets up there. Right now he's blazing a trail upwards, and will give one of the big futures events a shot next time out.
World Top Ten
1. Mick Elder(USA) -- 10,930
Elder took the top spot for the first time after a thrilling conclusion to the US Open saw him beat Prieto and then Benda, both matches going the full five sets.
2. Gabriel Alastra(ARG) -- 10,660
A semifinal loss to Benda at the USO lost him the top spot, but he's still a major threat anywhere.
3. David Almagro(ESP) -- 8,340
Almagro did not show up to defend his title, which cost him dearly. One wonders if his manager has for some reason gone MIA. It happens sometimes.
4. David Prieto(ESP) -- 8,140
5. Bjorn Benda(DEU) -- 7,880
The next generation is no longer a thing that's coming: it's here. Benda may well take over the #1 spot by early next year at the rate he's going. A semi-final win over Alastra proved he's got the game to win not just on the dirt but across multiple surfaces.
6. Oliver Challenger(USA) -- 5,335
7. Eric Gorritepe(ESP) -- 4,665
8. Perry Hogue(USA) -- 4,300
9. Evgeni Topolski(RUS) -- 4,135
The other top player in the same stable as Almagro, Topolski missed the USO as well and the top ten's newest member a chance to move up.
10. Spasoje Kucerovic(SRB) -- 3,670
Kucerovic's slot may change hands quite a bit. Oberg, Goncharenko, and rising Spaniard David Alvarez are all one big tournament from taking it. Oberg appears to have peaked early though and the other two probably aren't going to get all that much better than they are right now, so none of them are going to be the next big star of tennis or anything.
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