Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Swartz
2049 Season Preview
42. Gillo Fangio(100%, 8.22, ??) -- Fangio is the yin to Guareschi's yang, so to speak, a hardcourt player, also from Italy, and just a week older. The two 21-year-olds could form a scary combination, including, not long from now, in the WTC. Of the two, Fangio looks set to be the scariest. He's just behind where Janin was last year. He's got a lot of power, but more notably is one of the mentally strongest players I've ever come across. Technique is of course still a work in progress, but I expect to see him in the Top 20 by year's end. In a few years, Fangio and Janin is likely to be a clash of the titans ... and mostly I'm just glad I don't have anyone directly in their path, age-wise. This is still 2+ years ahead of Dudwadkar. I'm not brown-nosing to Nevstar here either -- Fangio is a serious stud. I've got him as roughly 15th-best in world right this very minute.
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I'm pretty happy with Fangio's development. Guareschi has higher Talent & Stamina, but Fangio's passed him in Skill & Service. However, 20 year Mateo Kaspar might have better prospects than either of them, and with a 96% aging factor, he's not quite in his athletic prime yet.
The absolute best advice I learned for development is to find a good doubles partner for junior players during their 18th year. The extra doubles matches in JGS & JGA events do wonders. The extra ranking points kept my players seeded in singles for big events, when he probably wasn't talented enough, and the extra matches raised his form enough to allow him to practice for more weeks, instead of entering minor tournaments in between the majors.
Great write up, as usual!