[Brian Swartz]

Q2 Player Rankings


1. John Hart(28, IRE) - 14,250

Hart lost in the Australian Open final, but other than that it's been pretty darned impeccable. He still dominates the sport, and is up to 8th all-time in longevity at the top spot.

2. Brian Meikeljohn(28, IND) - 9,110

Added a bit to his total overall, but not as much as you'd like. Could have won a close IW final with Hart, then beaten by Solberg in the Miami QFs. That inconsistency is the difference. It makes him just a gifted player, not a champion like the Irishman well ahead of him.

3. Nicolas Perez(23, ARG) - 8,110

It's rather striking that Perez is five years younger than the two men he's chasing. He has fewer clay points to defend than Meikeljohn, who won Monte Carlo last year. If the Indian doesn't repeat that success, Nicolas could easily see himself taking over the #2 spot by summertime.

4. Barry Molyneaux(28, USA) - 6,580

Looks like he's starting to slide, and has less than a thousand points on Solberg & Hughes. Of course, neither of them are spring chickens either, so this is a battle that will probably play out for a while.

5. Ali Solberg(26, SWE) - 5,770

6. Seamus Hughes(28, IRE) - 5,585

Briefly up to 5th again was Hughes, but then a surprising R3 loss to Jung in Miami upset that upward drive.

7. Isa Solheim(26, DEN) - 4,420

Last year the top Dane made the SFs in each of the first three big events. This year he hasn't done it once. The clay portion of the calendar was a huge disappointment for Solheim last year, so that's his chance to either get back into things, or stay well of the pace.

8. Srba Dogic(24, CRO) - 4,210

Quality start to the year for Dogic, who is staking a claim to a spot at the WTF ... and perhaps more.

9. Mike Rhodes(28, PHI) - 3,685

Just hanging round and playing every clay tournament he can find.

10. Sushant Chiba(29, SRI) - 3,380

Soon to become the only 30-something in the Top 32, so it's something that he had a fine run at Miami to stick his nose back in the Top 10, however momentarily.

12. Tim de Jong(25, NLD)

Slow rise continues. He's playing like a guy who doesn't know for sure if he's ready to join the first page.

13. Samuel Aas(26, SWE)

Continues to be an enigma. Miami/IW were solid, but how do you make two Masters finals and lose in the first round for 3 of 4 Slams?

15. Ollie Haas(24, NLD)

If he's going to make a move this year, you're about to see it. Quality clay player and also focuses more than most on grass, where he made the Wimbledon QF last year.

16. Emilien Mathou(25, FRA)

Made the round of 16 in two of the three big ones, earning himself the right to expect such performances. Will that spur him on to greater breakthroughs?

17. Constantino Gonzoles(25, ARG)

Only has a couple years or so left to do whatever it is he's going to do, and the dirt is crucial to him. QFs in Rome and Monte Carlo last year - can he step it up a notch and/or find more consistency?

18. Chisulo Mpakati(22, ZIM)

Taking advantadge of chances at Miami/IW helped him, but he's still not quite up to the next tier. Appears to be backing off the diet of 250s some ... but possibly not quite enough. Should be able to add some points on clay, esp. if he can break into the seeding. He's close.

20. Clavet Moniotte(24, FRA)

21. Il-Sung Jung(23, KOR)

SF run in Miami got people's attention and backed up what I said about him at the start of the year. Now it's time to see if he can start producing consistently with other players watching out for him.

22. Harald Wentz(22, AUS)

Less than two months older than Mpakati for youngest Top 32 player, and candidate for breakout player of the year. Quarterfinalist in Dubai(500), AO, and Miami already. A hardcourt specialist, but can hold his own on the clay. Might be late summer though before he really makes a splash.

23. Lucas Perez(23, ARG)

Won the Argentina Open(250), SF in Acapulco(500), QF at Miami. That's vaulted him up, similar to Wentz, from 37th at the start of the year. And he's an almost single-minded clay-court specialist, so we're about to see the best part of his game.

25. Acke Kjaerstad(23, SWE)

A lot of just-missing early this year, but then a first-round loss at Miami to Abinati hurt. Overall he hasn't moved.

26. Guillermo Valturri(26, MEX)

27. Santino Belmon(24, ITA)

28. Algot Hakanson(24, SWE)

31. Amrik Kasaravalli(23, SRI)

Just another 23-year-old struggling to make it, and he's still right on the bubble. A clay specialist as my guys are at this point in their careers, he'll be looking carefully at scheduling options and continuing to try to find ways to replace challenger wins with equal or better points.

32. William Todhunter(25, AUS)

Right now the cutoff here is at 1545 points. That's about as high as I've ever seen it, and the competition remains intense.

65. Joao Narcisco(22, BRA)

Recently made the SF at CH2 Barletta and QF at CH2 Rabat. Narcisco is up a few spots to a new career high, but is apparently not ready to break out just yet. It'll come.

138. Marcel Bonner(24, DEU)

A sharp rise from 203rd to start the year, Bonner has decisively entered the Challenger ranks. Continues to mix-and-match singles and doubles at times, while recently making a SF and QF at CH2 events.

213. Tommy Fitzpatrick(19, IRE)

Now at full physical maturity, Fitzpatrick recently decided it was time to enter Challenger play. He made the final at CH3 Florianopolis, but went out in the early rounds at a few others of various tiers.

307. Nasir Chittoor(19, SRI)

Hasn't played since last we reported, though he's in Hungary for his first FT1 this week with Guha. Practice results have been solid but not spectacular - I sense it's the time to push through the upper levels of futures play. 808th in doubles.

364. Rakesh Kayeeda(19, SRI)

Won a FT2 in Romania a month ago, then a QF loss in a FT3 last week. Continued progress upwards.

398. Mark Smith(19, GBR)

Celebrating his 19th birthday this week, Smith has recent SF and champion results in the FT3 tier, and was a finalist at FT2 Ecuador two weeks ago. He's wasting no time, having already cut his start-of-year ranking in less than half.

399. Ritwik Intodia(19, SRI)

A 5th player packed into the 200-400 range for our club. The tour doesn't know what's going to hit it in a few seasons.

413. Mike Ferry(18, GBR)

Almost a sixth. Won Denmark FT3, then made the SF at CH3 Bath. So he's reaching high despite his youth.

797(D). Satyagit Guha(19, SRI)

Escaping amateurs and getting into the Top 1000 was the big news for Guha this year. Has yet to make it past the second round - and that only once - in a singles future event. In doubles though he has two futures titles and a runner-up finish, all with Chittoor of course. 953rd in singles, and the pairing is only slowly rising in doubles right now. The critical mass just isn't quite there yet.