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Brian Swartz · 04-20-2019, 06:40 AM

2066 Player Rankings

Technically there are a couple days left in '65 as I write this. However, the weekend isn't a real good point for me time-wise, and the rankings won't change at all so here we go.

1. John Hart(28, IRE) - 14,800

Hart didn't do quite as well as I thought, having 'merely' a typical dominant #1 season with six losses again, 2 Slams, the WTF, and 5 more Masters. Depending on how the next couple of years go, he seems destined to be either the best of the tier-3 or the worst of the tier-2 all-time greats in terms of career accomplishments. Either way, probably 7th overall in the history of the sport or a once-a-decade at worst kind of player. Maybe he took advantadge of a weak era, but timing matters as much as anything so we're not holding that against him.

2. Brian Meikeljohn(27, IND) - 8,870

The oft-mismanaged lighting bolt had only a single WTF crown and no Slams in the spring, having lost in the first week of three consecutive Slams. Then he made the RG semis, and claimed the trophy at Wimbledon and the USO. These successes vaulted Meikeljohn into the top challenge spot, and ensured that he wouldn't be remembered as a total flake. It's anybody's guess how well he follows those up in the new year though. This season's flop at the tour finals wasn't encouraging.

3. Barry Molyneaux(27, USA) - 7,100

Head of the weakest crop of American players possibly ever, Molyneaux was a solid, dependable #3 almost all year.

4. Ali Solberg(26, SWE) - 5,860

A bit younger than the other top players, Solberg has earned a reputation as Mr. Consistency. This is a career high ranking for him, but I don't think he'll hold it long.

5. Nicolas Perez(23, ARG) - 5,620

It's no longer a secret that Perez is to be the next #1 after Hart. This year he figures to continue that upward push, and will be favored against the other contenders most of the time instead of just being one of them. Nicolas has probably three more years of improving ahead of him. Athleticism is only average at best, but he's already got a quality serve and a baseline game the equal of some of the best to ever play. Rising sharply from 19th a year ago, there's no reason to think he won't keep moving up. I'm picking him for #3 next season.

6. Isa Solheim(26, DEN) - 5,540

A brief stint at #4, but slipping to a very competitive 6th isn't bad at all when you began the year at 10th. The pride of Denmark figures to stay about here, maybe a spot higher, maybe one lower.

7. Seamus Hughes(28, IRE) - 5,510

690 points better than a year ago, and a bounce-back year overall to roughly equal his best from '73; he was 62-19. Still, Hughes stays ... barely ... at the same spot in the pecking order. Due to age, I have to figure he remains here. Getting past the younger Solberg/Solheim is far from impossible, but probably unlikely. He's still a fine player though who can be a threat to anyone on his best day.

8. Sushant Chiba(29, SRI) - 4,250

Winner of the Golden Turd Award for the greatest single-season collapse by a top player. I have no reason to replace him so he'll just keep soldiering on, but Chiba looks ripe to slip out of the Top 8 early and just make a general nuisance of himself now. He'll pull off some upsets I'm sure, but definitely more spoiler than favorite. Four career Slams ties him for third with Girsh among Sri Lanka players, but 7 Masters titles is the lowest among my five. Add it up and he ranks 4th on the Legends listing, above Dudwadkar but behind the rest. Most notably, he's the first one never to reach #1.

9. Mike Rhodes(27, PHI) - 3,680

The Walking Serve slid up a couple spots from 11th mostly by not being mismanaged as much. Emphasis on the 'as much'. He's still a one-trick pony who is hard pressed to succeed off of his favored clay.

10. Srba Dogic(24, CRO) - 3,630

Right now, Dogic is the closest thing Perez has to a generational rival. And he's not close at all, but a steady rise continued with him up from 16th a year ago. Should at least be able to be the last member of the Tour Finals group, replacing Chiba.

11. Harald Balzer(26, SWE)

Balzer was 6th last year, his career best. A meteoric player now over the hill, I mention him here only because the decline of a former solid Top-10 player is worthy of note. Wave to him as he fades away.

13. Tim de Jong(24, NLD)

de Jong is best positioned if you are looking for a new face to crack the first page. QF at RG, two Masters semis for him. Per usual for improving youngish players, he needs more consistent results.

14. Samuel Aas(25, SWE)

Two first-round defeats in Slams, and first-week exits at all of them. Also won Rome and made the Paris final. If you can explain that, you're a better man than I.

15. Ollie Haas(23, NLD)

Haas is the surprise player of the year. A season ago he was trying to break out of Challengers. He succeeded, to put it mildly, and now is another maturing force to be reckoned with.

17. Gullermo Valturri(25, MEX)

Last year, as he was 32nd, I said 'we'll see if he sticks'. I, uh, missed the boat here a little. Valturri is a late-developer, but probably has at least a couple of years to give in the teens.

18. Emilien Mathou(24, FRA)

Yet another guy who was Challenger last year and virtually halved his ranking.

19. Chisulo Mpakati(22, ZIM)

44th a year ago. This swath of new Top-20 faces will be interesting to watch. Even moreso when they are as young as Mpakati.

20. Constantino Gonzoles(25, ARG)

Treading water.

21. Clavet Moniotte(24, FRA)

Ditto.

22. Jose Luis Robredo(25, USA)

Looked like he might be something most of the year ... but hasn't played since the US Open. Likely to be another abandoned player.

25. Acke Kjaerstad(22, SWE)

Kjaerstad wasn't even a particuarly good Challenger player - ranked 60th - at this time last year. That level of increase makes him one to watch. Fairly credible 250/500 results, but nothing to note in the big events. Yet.

26. Il-Sung Jung(23, KOR)

A more modest rise from 36th. QF showings in Miami/Canada were pretty much all of that, so ... we'll see.

27. Santino Belmon(24, ITA)

35th last year, so another gradually improving newbie.

30. Algot Hakanson(24, SWE)

A foil to Kasaravalli in the Challengers, so he wasn't sad to see this Swede 'promote'.

31. William Todhunter(24, AU)

NOT 'AUS' as I often mistake it. Todhunter is from Australia, not Austria. Up from 58th, so he's newcomer number umpteen.

A couple of others, including the previously mentioned Matteus Ameen, fell just back out after the WTC Playoffs. Five of the next six spots in the rankings are players 25 and younger. There's a truly STUPID amount of good improving players right now - but as has been noted, we're still short on high-end prodigies.

37. Amrik Kasaravalli(23, SRI)

Spent most of the year in the 60s before a late surge. An early event or two will be absolutely vital in his push to be seeded at the Australian Open. If not though, it will almost certainly happen by spring for IW/Miami. Amrik is coming up. Finally.

70. Joao Narciso(21, BRA)

That hoped-for late-season surge didn't happen. Narciso, a clay-heavy player, is still somewhat up from last year's 89th placing, and is young enough to still be at his physical peak. Just needs more time.

203. Marcel Bonner(24, DEU)

Bonner is under-ranked due to entering tournaments above his class - masters and 250s for a good amount of them. He's also a guy who doesn't seem to value the serve, or know whether he wants to be singles or doubles. As such, it's difficult to predict much aside from the unpredictable.

283. Tommy Fitzpatrick(19, IRE)

Three futures titles now, two at the middle tier. All of our batch of late-teens budding stars are pushing upwards towards the Challenger ranks, but Fitzpatrick is definitely ahead of the rest.

384. Nasir Chittoor(19, SRI)

Last time out, Chittoor faced two of the elite-skill, no-serve types so prevalent in futures. He beat one of them, but lost to the other in his first FT2 final. It still boosted him enough to where his practice results are better - even the wins are usually very competitive so I can relax his schedule again. There's a constant tension there. He's in the 'good futures player' class, but still very much a futures player.

437. Ritwik Intodia(19, SRI)

A pair of FT3 titles but, like Chittoor, is still searching for his first FT2 crown.

553. Rakesh Kayeeda(19, SRI)

Got his first futures tournament win a few weeks ago.

817. Mark Smith(18, GBR)

Finished #2 in juniors and managed to already get his first futures win. That gives him a head start - this should be an interesting year for Smith.

1128. Mike Ferry(18, GBR)

Not as successful as Smith, Ferry was 9th in the junior ranks. Still managed a FT2 final though a few months back.

1182. Satyagit Guha(19, SRI)

Oh there you are. Latest amateur foray ended the semis, so Guha is taking his sweet time clearing that hurdle.

1981. George Petrov(22, MAL)

A recent acquisition who really, really needs tournament matches. Career high is just above 1500th.

04-20-2019, 06:40 AM	#975
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2066 Player Rankings Technically there are a couple days left in '65 as I write this. However, the weekend isn't a real good point for me time-wise, and the rankings won't change at all so here we go. 1. John Hart(28, IRE) - 14,800 Hart didn't do quite as well as I thought, having 'merely' a typical dominant #1 season with six losses again, 2 Slams, the WTF, and 5 more Masters. Depending on how the next couple of years go, he seems destined to be either the best of the tier-3 or the worst of the tier-2 all-time greats in terms of career accomplishments. Either way, probably 7th overall in the history of the sport or a once-a-decade at worst kind of player. Maybe he took advantadge of a weak era, but timing matters as much as anything so we're not holding that against him. 2. Brian Meikeljohn(27, IND) - 8,870 The oft-mismanaged lighting bolt had only a single WTF crown and no Slams in the spring, having lost in the first week of three consecutive Slams. Then he made the RG semis, and claimed the trophy at Wimbledon and the USO. These successes vaulted Meikeljohn into the top challenge spot, and ensured that he wouldn't be remembered as a total flake. It's anybody's guess how well he follows those up in the new year though. This season's flop at the tour finals wasn't encouraging. 3. Barry Molyneaux(27, USA) - 7,100 Head of the weakest crop of American players possibly ever, Molyneaux was a solid, dependable #3 almost all year. 4. Ali Solberg(26, SWE) - 5,860 A bit younger than the other top players, Solberg has earned a reputation as Mr. Consistency. This is a career high ranking for him, but I don't think he'll hold it long. 5. Nicolas Perez(23, ARG) - 5,620 It's no longer a secret that Perez is to be the next #1 after Hart. This year he figures to continue that upward push, and will be favored against the other contenders most of the time instead of just being one of them. Nicolas has probably three more years of improving ahead of him. Athleticism is only average at best, but he's already got a quality serve and a baseline game the equal of some of the best to ever play. Rising sharply from 19th a year ago, there's no reason to think he won't keep moving up. I'm picking him for #3 next season. 6. Isa Solheim(26, DEN) - 5,540 A brief stint at #4, but slipping to a very competitive 6th isn't bad at all when you began the year at 10th. The pride of Denmark figures to stay about here, maybe a spot higher, maybe one lower. 7. Seamus Hughes(28, IRE) - 5,510 690 points better than a year ago, and a bounce-back year overall to roughly equal his best from '73; he was 62-19. Still, Hughes stays ... barely ... at the same spot in the pecking order. Due to age, I have to figure he remains here. Getting past the younger Solberg/Solheim is far from impossible, but probably unlikely. He's still a fine player though who can be a threat to anyone on his best day. 8. Sushant Chiba(29, SRI) - 4,250 Winner of the Golden Turd Award for the greatest single-season collapse by a top player. I have no reason to replace him so he'll just keep soldiering on, but Chiba looks ripe to slip out of the Top 8 early and just make a general nuisance of himself now. He'll pull off some upsets I'm sure, but definitely more spoiler than favorite. Four career Slams ties him for third with Girsh among Sri Lanka players, but 7 Masters titles is the lowest among my five. Add it up and he ranks 4th on the Legends listing, above Dudwadkar but behind the rest. Most notably, he's the first one never to reach #1. 9. Mike Rhodes(27, PHI) - 3,680 The Walking Serve slid up a couple spots from 11th mostly by not being mismanaged as much. Emphasis on the 'as much'. He's still a one-trick pony who is hard pressed to succeed off of his favored clay. 10. Srba Dogic(24, CRO) - 3,630 Right now, Dogic is the closest thing Perez has to a generational rival. And he's not close at all, but a steady rise continued with him up from 16th a year ago. Should at least be able to be the last member of the Tour Finals group, replacing Chiba. 11. Harald Balzer(26, SWE) Balzer was 6th last year, his career best. A meteoric player now over the hill, I mention him here only because the decline of a former solid Top-10 player is worthy of note. Wave to him as he fades away. 13. Tim de Jong(24, NLD) de Jong is best positioned if you are looking for a new face to crack the first page. QF at RG, two Masters semis for him. Per usual for improving youngish players, he needs more consistent results. 14. Samuel Aas(25, SWE) Two first-round defeats in Slams, and first-week exits at all of them. Also won Rome and made the Paris final. If you can explain that, you're a better man than I. 15. Ollie Haas(23, NLD) Haas is the surprise player of the year. A season ago he was trying to break out of Challengers. He succeeded, to put it mildly, and now is another maturing force to be reckoned with. 17. Gullermo Valturri(25, MEX) Last year, as he was 32nd, I said 'we'll see if he sticks'. I, uh, missed the boat here a little. Valturri is a late-developer, but probably has at least a couple of years to give in the teens. 18. Emilien Mathou(24, FRA) Yet another guy who was Challenger last year and virtually halved his ranking. 19. Chisulo Mpakati(22, ZIM) 44th a year ago. This swath of new Top-20 faces will be interesting to watch. Even moreso when they are as young as Mpakati. 20. Constantino Gonzoles(25, ARG) Treading water. 21. Clavet Moniotte(24, FRA) Ditto. 22. Jose Luis Robredo(25, USA) Looked like he might be something most of the year ... but hasn't played since the US Open. Likely to be another abandoned player. 25. Acke Kjaerstad(22, SWE) Kjaerstad wasn't even a particuarly good Challenger player - ranked 60th - at this time last year. That level of increase makes him one to watch. Fairly credible 250/500 results, but nothing to note in the big events. Yet. 26. Il-Sung Jung(23, KOR) A more modest rise from 36th. QF showings in Miami/Canada were pretty much all of that, so ... we'll see. 27. Santino Belmon(24, ITA) 35th last year, so another gradually improving newbie. 30. Algot Hakanson(24, SWE) A foil to Kasaravalli in the Challengers, so he wasn't sad to see this Swede 'promote'. 31. William Todhunter(24, AU) NOT 'AUS' as I often mistake it. Todhunter is from Australia, not Austria. Up from 58th, so he's newcomer number umpteen. A couple of others, including the previously mentioned Matteus Ameen, fell just back out after the WTC Playoffs. Five of the next six spots in the rankings are players 25 and younger. There's a truly STUPID amount of good improving players right now - but as has been noted, we're still short on high-end prodigies. 37. Amrik Kasaravalli(23, SRI) Spent most of the year in the 60s before a late surge. An early event or two will be absolutely vital in his push to be seeded at the Australian Open. If not though, it will almost certainly happen by spring for IW/Miami. Amrik is coming up. Finally. 70. Joao Narciso(21, BRA) That hoped-for late-season surge didn't happen. Narciso, a clay-heavy player, is still somewhat up from last year's 89th placing, and is young enough to still be at his physical peak. Just needs more time. 203. Marcel Bonner(24, DEU) Bonner is under-ranked due to entering tournaments above his class - masters and 250s for a good amount of them. He's also a guy who doesn't seem to value the serve, or know whether he wants to be singles or doubles. As such, it's difficult to predict much aside from the unpredictable. 283. Tommy Fitzpatrick(19, IRE) Three futures titles now, two at the middle tier. All of our batch of late-teens budding stars are pushing upwards towards the Challenger ranks, but Fitzpatrick is definitely ahead of the rest. 384. Nasir Chittoor(19, SRI) Last time out, Chittoor faced two of the elite-skill, no-serve types so prevalent in futures. He beat one of them, but lost to the other in his first FT2 final. It still boosted him enough to where his practice results are better - even the wins are usually very competitive so I can relax his schedule again. There's a constant tension there. He's in the 'good futures player' class, but still very much a futures player. 437. Ritwik Intodia(19, SRI) A pair of FT3 titles but, like Chittoor, is still searching for his first FT2 crown. 553. Rakesh Kayeeda(19, SRI) Got his first futures tournament win a few weeks ago. 817. Mark Smith(18, GBR) Finished #2 in juniors and managed to already get his first futures win. That gives him a head start - this should be an interesting year for Smith. 1128. Mike Ferry(18, GBR) Not as successful as Smith, Ferry was 9th in the junior ranks. Still managed a FT2 final though a few months back. 1182. Satyagit Guha(19, SRI) Oh there you are. Latest amateur foray ended the semis, so Guha is taking his sweet time clearing that hurdle. 1981. George Petrov(22, MAL) A recent acquisition who really, really needs tournament matches. Career high is just above 1500th. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 04-20-2019 at 06:41 AM.