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Brian Swartz · 05-23-2015, 12:03 PM

2038 Wimbledon

Amrik Chittoor first faced off against Pamel Bestiavanov(RUS, 108th), roughly same age and skills. Bestianov is a little more gifted physically and more familiar with grass-court tennis. A tight match, but Chittoor failed to break through and get his first Slam win, losing 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-5. This was about as good a chance as Chittoor is likely to get to win a match, it's pretty clear he just isn't quite good enough at this point.

Anil Mehul had a good draw against Arvid Hjoch(SWE, 59th). Could have been better but also could have been a good deal worse. On paper it looked like a very even match, little to choose between them. Mehul has the better baseline game and more grass familiarity, a surface that Hjoch basically completely ignores: the Swede is the better server as always seems to be the case and a hair faster around the court. It was an epic match and could have gone either way. In the end, Mehul prevailed in his first five-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 10-8!! Only one point separated them, 178-177 in total. On this day, Mehul was a little better on the big points especially the break chances, and that was the(very narrow) difference.

In the second round, 11-seed Viktor Goncharenko of Russia waited. In this case the athletic gap between the players was simply too much to overcome. Goncharenko cruised to a comprehensive 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 stroll of a win. The loss hurt Mehul a bit in the rankings as he made it to the third round last year, but it is a third straight second-round showing at the Slams which is a pretty good indicator of where he is right now. Last year he caught a really low seed in the first round, which is the kind of fortuitious draw it would take to have a real chance of getting further. He's still getting better though, and that should continue for a few more years so it's still uncertain what his ceiling is.

Rankings Update

A little over halfway through the year now. Here's how the picture has changed in the last few months:

Anil Mehul -- 62nd to 67th singles, 192nd to 182nd doubles. Basically stagnant overall, but the clay season will never be much of a strong point for him. Whether or not he moves up much this year will be determined by the North American hardcourt swing coming up in a few weeks.

Amrik Chittoor -- 92nd to 83rd singles, 850th to 549th doubles. Continues to move up steadily. I think the gap between the two here is greater than the rankings show.

Anil Manohar -- 490th to 534th singles, 712th to 1034th doubles. Continuing to fall off the cliff, even the better futures events are now beyond
him. Right now Manohar is working on his doubles game in view of becoming a well-rounded trainer in a few years time.

Girish Girsh -- 1571st to 958th singles, 3335th to 2434th doubles. Girish will take his first plunge into low-level futures play in a couple of weeks. I fully expect him to catch Manohar in the rankings by the end of the year.

Top Ten

1. Gabriel Alastra(28, ARG) -- 10,280

Alastra won Wimbledon for his sixth Grand Slam title, making him 10th all time in that category.

2. David Prieto(27, ESP) -- 9,990

A four-set loss to Alastra at Wimbledon prevented him from taking the top spot. Nonetheless, these two have separated themselves a bit from the other challengers recently.

3. Mick Elder(27, USA) -- 8,710

4. David Prieto(27, ESP) -- 8,530

5. Bjorn Benda(24, DEU) -- 7,100

Benda, a clay specialist, broke through with a win at the French Open for his first Slam crown. This cements his place of the most accomplished player of the 'next generation'.

6. Oliver Challenger(28, USA) -- 6,300

7. Jens Oberg(23, SWE) -- 4,470

8. Eric Gorritepe(32, ESP) -- 4,450

Up a couple spots in the last few months, he refuses to go away completely.

9. Perry Hogue(24, USA) -- 4,270

10. Spasoje Kucerovic(27, SRB) -- 4,070

There's a big gap between 6th-7th and also between 10th and 11th. This could very well be the same group of ten players straight through the end of the year. After a semifinal run at Wimbledon, 24-year-old Evgeni Topolski of Russia looks like the only player capable of crashing the party.

Next up is the Olympics in Belgium in a few weeks, and then after that in short succession will come the hard-court masters in Canada and Cincinatti, followed almost immediately by the US Open.

05-23-2015, 12:03 PM	#16
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2038 Wimbledon Amrik Chittoor first faced off against Pamel Bestiavanov(RUS, 108th), roughly same age and skills. Bestianov is a little more gifted physically and more familiar with grass-court tennis. A tight match, but Chittoor failed to break through and get his first Slam win, losing 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-5. This was about as good a chance as Chittoor is likely to get to win a match, it's pretty clear he just isn't quite good enough at this point. Anil Mehul had a good draw against Arvid Hjoch(SWE, 59th). Could have been better but also could have been a good deal worse. On paper it looked like a very even match, little to choose between them. Mehul has the better baseline game and more grass familiarity, a surface that Hjoch basically completely ignores: the Swede is the better server as always seems to be the case and a hair faster around the court. It was an epic match and could have gone either way. In the end, Mehul prevailed in his first five-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 10-8!! Only one point separated them, 178-177 in total. On this day, Mehul was a little better on the big points especially the break chances, and that was the(very narrow) difference. In the second round, 11-seed Viktor Goncharenko of Russia waited. In this case the athletic gap between the players was simply too much to overcome. Goncharenko cruised to a comprehensive 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 stroll of a win. The loss hurt Mehul a bit in the rankings as he made it to the third round last year, but it is a third straight second-round showing at the Slams which is a pretty good indicator of where he is right now. Last year he caught a really low seed in the first round, which is the kind of fortuitious draw it would take to have a real chance of getting further. He's still getting better though, and that should continue for a few more years so it's still uncertain what his ceiling is. Rankings Update A little over halfway through the year now. Here's how the picture has changed in the last few months: Anil Mehul -- 62nd to 67th singles, 192nd to 182nd doubles. Basically stagnant overall, but the clay season will never be much of a strong point for him. Whether or not he moves up much this year will be determined by the North American hardcourt swing coming up in a few weeks. Amrik Chittoor -- 92nd to 83rd singles, 850th to 549th doubles. Continues to move up steadily. I think the gap between the two here is greater than the rankings show. Anil Manohar -- 490th to 534th singles, 712th to 1034th doubles. Continuing to fall off the cliff, even the better futures events are now beyond him. Right now Manohar is working on his doubles game in view of becoming a well-rounded trainer in a few years time. Girish Girsh -- 1571st to 958th singles, 3335th to 2434th doubles. Girish will take his first plunge into low-level futures play in a couple of weeks. I fully expect him to catch Manohar in the rankings by the end of the year. Top Ten 1. Gabriel Alastra(28, ARG) -- 10,280 Alastra won Wimbledon for his sixth Grand Slam title, making him 10th all time in that category. 2. David Prieto(27, ESP) -- 9,990 A four-set loss to Alastra at Wimbledon prevented him from taking the top spot. Nonetheless, these two have separated themselves a bit from the other challengers recently. 3. Mick Elder(27, USA) -- 8,710 4. David Prieto(27, ESP) -- 8,530 5. Bjorn Benda(24, DEU) -- 7,100 Benda, a clay specialist, broke through with a win at the French Open for his first Slam crown. This cements his place of the most accomplished player of the 'next generation'. 6. Oliver Challenger(28, USA) -- 6,300 7. Jens Oberg(23, SWE) -- 4,470 8. Eric Gorritepe(32, ESP) -- 4,450 Up a couple spots in the last few months, he refuses to go away completely. 9. Perry Hogue(24, USA) -- 4,270 10. Spasoje Kucerovic(27, SRB) -- 4,070 There's a big gap between 6th-7th and also between 10th and 11th. This could very well be the same group of ten players straight through the end of the year. After a semifinal run at Wimbledon, 24-year-old Evgeni Topolski of Russia looks like the only player capable of crashing the party. Next up is the Olympics in Belgium in a few weeks, and then after that in short succession will come the hard-court masters in Canada and Cincinatti, followed almost immediately by the US Open.