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Brian Swartz · 11-01-2022, 08:33 PM

Shanghai Masters

The last big hardcourt tournament of the year was the occasion for Johann Przalowik to make an announcement; he will no longer be ignored or marginalized. Ranked 46th coming into the season, the 22-year-old German crashed the party by knocking off (7) Solitris Papadias in the third round, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. For reference, the last time Papadias failed to make the final eight at a Masters or a Slam was over a year ago at Canada '99. Przalowik followed it up by pushing Renke Cananis to a close third-set tiebreak before losing in the quarterfinals. I can't remember ever seeing such as rapid ascent as this.

The rest of the quarterfinals went as scripted; all of the expected seeds were here, and Faille, Polychroniadis, and Xanthos all advanced in straight sets. Jochen Weigle took just four games from Polychroniadis, so whatever got into him at the US Open appears to have faded just as quickly. Oleg Urazov put in a decent effort against Xanthos, but went down to defeat as expected.

It was just a couple of months ago that Themis Xanthos defeated Ben Faille to win the Cincinatti Masters. This time around though, the Cypriot could manage only a pair of breadsticks in a semi-final humiliation. On the other side, Leon Polychroniadis lost is a competitive two-setter. Renke Cananis gave Faille a battle in the final, but fell a bit short 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-5. It actually probably shouldn't have been quite that close, but Cananis hasn't lost any of his mental prowess of course, and he did well in his limited break chances.

Race Standings Update

I know I called this after the US Open, but given Przalowik's performance here it seemed appropriate to run his numbers and Urazov's again. Przalowik is up to #9 in the rankings. Oleg Urazov sits at 4,100, Johann Przalowik at 3,365. He's also won the Japan Open 500 in the interim. So he's mathematically definitely in it, but from a practical perspective not really. He'd have to win one of the 500-level events the week before Paris and also make the final there to have any realistic chance. But next year he'll definitely be one to watch.

Elsewhere ...

Sushant Srivastava lost a close match in the final of Brazil FT2, but took home the doubles title. That's two quality doubles futures results in a row, which means more matches for him in tournament weeks and more weeks off in-between.

Aparna Chandrasekharan won another Amateur in Adelaide, quarterfinal finish in doubles. He's now knocking on the door to graduate, with a high of 1006th and a little below that now. If Chandrasekharan reaches the QF round in his next event coinciding with the Paris Masters, he will officially make the jump to futures at that point. I don't think he's quite ready yet, but the rules are the rules.

Girish Raychaudhari knocked out another JG5 title in Almaty, Kazachstan, then headed for another JG4 try to Quebec, Canada. A loss in the finals there was as good as a JG5 win, and he made the semifinals in doubles. Up now to the low 200s, his endurance (2.1) has improved to the point where he's starting to occasionally play doubles in practice weeks as well. All good signs of progress.

11-01-2022, 08:33 PM	#1313
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Shanghai Masters The last big hardcourt tournament of the year was the occasion for Johann Przalowik to make an announcement; he will no longer be ignored or marginalized. Ranked 46th coming into the season, the 22-year-old German crashed the party by knocking off (7) Solitris Papadias in the third round, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. For reference, the last time Papadias failed to make the final eight at a Masters or a Slam was over a year ago at Canada '99. Przalowik followed it up by pushing Renke Cananis to a close third-set tiebreak before losing in the quarterfinals. I can't remember ever seeing such as rapid ascent as this. The rest of the quarterfinals went as scripted; all of the expected seeds were here, and Faille, Polychroniadis, and Xanthos all advanced in straight sets. Jochen Weigle took just four games from Polychroniadis, so whatever got into him at the US Open appears to have faded just as quickly. Oleg Urazov put in a decent effort against Xanthos, but went down to defeat as expected. It was just a couple of months ago that Themis Xanthos defeated Ben Faille to win the Cincinatti Masters. This time around though, the Cypriot could manage only a pair of breadsticks in a semi-final humiliation. On the other side, Leon Polychroniadis lost is a competitive two-setter. Renke Cananis gave Faille a battle in the final, but fell a bit short 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-5. It actually probably shouldn't have been quite that close, but Cananis hasn't lost any of his mental prowess of course, and he did well in his limited break chances. Race Standings Update I know I called this after the US Open, but given Przalowik's performance here it seemed appropriate to run his numbers and Urazov's again. Przalowik is up to #9 in the rankings. Oleg Urazov sits at 4,100, Johann Przalowik at 3,365. He's also won the Japan Open 500 in the interim. So he's mathematically definitely in it, but from a practical perspective not really. He'd have to win one of the 500-level events the week before Paris and also make the final there to have any realistic chance. But next year he'll definitely be one to watch. Elsewhere ... Sushant Srivastava lost a close match in the final of Brazil FT2, but took home the doubles title. That's two quality doubles futures results in a row, which means more matches for him in tournament weeks and more weeks off in-between. Aparna Chandrasekharan won another Amateur in Adelaide, quarterfinal finish in doubles. He's now knocking on the door to graduate, with a high of 1006th and a little below that now. If Chandrasekharan reaches the QF round in his next event coinciding with the Paris Masters, he will officially make the jump to futures at that point. I don't think he's quite ready yet, but the rules are the rules. Girish Raychaudhari knocked out another JG5 title in Almaty, Kazachstan, then headed for another JG4 try to Quebec, Canada. A loss in the finals there was as good as a JG5 win, and he made the semifinals in doubles. Up now to the low 200s, his endurance (2.1) has improved to the point where he's starting to occasionally play doubles in practice weeks as well. All good signs of progress.