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2041 Top Ten Rankings(Final)
1. Antonin Iglar(CZE, 25) -- 15,050
Iglar was merely human last year after a campaign for the record books in 2040. There's no question who is the top dog or king of the hardcourts though. He'll be starting to make his way up the shortlist of most of the individual all-time achievements this year, with 6 Slam titles, 10 Masters, and 58 weeks at #1, there's no end in sight for the near-term and there's little question he adds significantly to those numbers.
2. Bjorn Benda(DEU, 27) -- 10,530
The first signs of decline were seen for the German former champion. His dominance on clay remains intact, but for how much longer? Probably another go at least, but the clock is ticking and he's much less of a reliable force off the dirt than he was even one year previous.
3. Anil Mehul(SRI, 25) -- 7,720
With his first two Masters titles and finals at the WTF and Australian Open, Mehul took another step forward and eventually distanced himself from the rest of the field as a clear if still distant #3. One of the big questions for the new year is how long it will take for him to chase down Benda.
4. David Alvarez(ESP, 29) -- 6,490
Alvarez broadened his impact beyond clay this year, showing much more consistency and potency than before on other surfaces. He briefly reached the #3 spot and was a surprise, but I don't see him having much more to give. We've understimated him before, but it's difficult to see how he rises beyond his current station with everyone in front of him both younger and more talented. He's had a very fine run the last few years though, and should still be a significant force.
5. Perry Hogue(USA, 27) -- 5,560
No longer able to be a consistent threat even on his favored hardcourts to the best players, Hogue is just trying to hold on as long as he can now. He is clearly on the downside of his career.
6. Viktor Goncharenko(RUS, 28) -- 5,365
Goncharenko is a yo-yo. He plays quite well for several months, then disappears largely for a year, then comes back ... I'm not sure how much is left. He could fall out of the Top 10 again, or he could be at the edge of the Top 5 if he can repeat performances like his run this past year to the USO final.
7. David Almagro(ESP, 31) -- 4,900
There is no indication yet that Almagro is anything more than a corpse. He apparently has no plans to return to the court other than token WTC appearances, and even that will probably not last beyond the group stage as Bahana will eventually be taking his spot.
8. Cestmir Marcek(CZE, 27) -- 4,300
It appears Marcek has basically peaked; his last several outings were not particularly impressive. He's had a nice surge the last year and a half, but I don't think it will go much further.
9. Pierce Gaskell(USA, 25) -- 3,815
Gaskell is currently at his career-best and still rising. He could well seize the spot of best US player by the end of the year. To make any kind of challenge to the top players though, he will need to improve his performance in Slam events: he has only two quarterfinal appearances to his name, and none of them within the past year. He's been consistently solid, but will need to step it up from that level to make more substantial inroads.
10. Julian Hammerstein(AUT, 25) -- 3,810
Hammerstein has been dividing his time some with doubles efforts, and this is one reason why he has not risen as fast as he should. He's still good enough to be a major threat to anyone other than Iglar when he's properly prepared, but how much he will make of his gift remains an open question.
It's a gap of over a thousand points right now back to Marcel Bahana in 11th; no doubt the Spanish phenom will make his presence felt here by the end of next year, but for now this should be a stable group at the top.
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