Front Office Football Central - View Single Post

Brian Swartz · 04-05-2019, 04:09 PM

Race Rankings update will come later today. For now, there's this.

Q3 Rankings

1. John Hart(27, IRE) - 15,440

For a guy who's lost the last two Slam events, Hart is quite comfortable and still has an iron grip on the top spot. He has four Masters this year as well, and hasn't failed to reach QFs or better at any of the top tournaments. Not quite as dominant as I predicted, but there's no question who the best is. Early next year he'll start making his way into the Top 10 of players who have had the longest stay at the pinnacle of the sport. For all of my successes, I only have one player on that list - Prakash Mooljee is tied for 8th with Prince Karl 'First of his Name' Kaspar, and Hart is likely to surpass them. Sort of puts his excellence over the last couple of years into perspective. He's tied for 10th all-time right now with 10 Slam titles, ranks 8th in Masters shields, etc. John's already a third-tier great as he begins the decline phase of his career.

2. Brian Meikeljohn(27, IND) - 10,160

Also on the way down in terms of raw ability, but somebody forgot to tell him that. Or more accurately, he's been managed better this year than he was before. First two Slams of his career despite being on the downslope a bit. Meikeljohn now has put almost as distance between himself and the rest of the field as there is between himself and Hart. He's going to be #2 for a while, and the chance is there for him to close the gap and makes things more interesting.

3. Barry Molyneaux(27, USA) - 6,330

Didn't repeat at the USO, but beat the world no. 1 and got to the final so that's not nothing. Molyneaux has been consistently very good but no more than that for 3-4 years now. That puts him just ahead of a bevy of others.

4. Ali Solberg(26, SWE) - 5,750

Mr. Consistency takes advantadge of the struggles of others to sneak into the Top 4 for the first time. No big titles yet, but unlike the players still above him, he should still improve a bit more. Solberg should eventually make it even higher.

5. Seamus Hughes(28, IRE) - 5,640

Hanging out just behind Solberg, Hughes is poised to put pressure on him and take advantage of any slip-ups.

6. Isa Solheim(26, DEN) - 5,400

It was a good USO for Solheim who is now less than a thousand points out of the #3 spot. It could have been great without the collapse vs. Molyneaux, a win that would have eliminated that gap. Like Solberg, he has not yet reached his peak. Both of them continue to prepare for what could be a breakthrough, career-defining year next season.

7. Sushant Chiba(29, SRI) - 5,270

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Chiba may mount a rally at some point, but his ranking has finally caught up to the marginal Top-10 player he's been showing himself to be all year. It's just as likely that he keeps slipping.

8. Nicolas Perez(22, ARG) - 4,775

Fans have gotten disappointed by some of the close losses lately, but it's worth remembering that this phenom is over three years younger then the rest of the Top 10. He's close, and should start next year in the scrum of those ranked 3rd-8th, all of whom are going to be pretty close together it appears. Won't take much more for Nicolas to emerge from that group.

9. Mike Rhodes(27, PHI) - 3,710

The exact same point total as he had when last we looked.

10. Valery Stachovsky(27, RUS) - 3,575

Stachovsky has added a bit, but not enough to move up. Neither of them has impressed in the summer. .

12. Srba Dogic(23, CRO)

Made it as high as 9th, but was unable to recreate last year's breakthrough successes on his favored hardcourts. Still has a chance to re-insert himself in Shanghai, and is up from 16th last year but the surge appears to have stalled.

13. Samuel Aas(25, SWE)

Holding steady since that Rome success.

14. Tim de Jong(24, NLD)

15. Ollie Haas(23, NLD)

This Dutch pairing continues slow upward movement.

17. Chisulo Mpakati(22, ZIM)

Pushed Andrejova to five sets at the USO just after his first 250 title at Winston-Salem. He'd been close multiple times previously. Mpakati has not played any of the Masters, which I think is a mistake. We'll see if that changes whey become 'mandatory' for him next year.

18. Constantino Gonzoles(25, ARG)

Another slow riser.

20. Emilien Mathious(24, FRA)

Up a few more spots the last few months. Made the QFs in Canada, but also stopped at that same stage in a couple of 250s.

21. Guillermo Valturri(25, MEX)

Also continuing to move up. Finalist at the Los Cabos 250, and got through to the 4th round at the USO.

24. Jose Luis Robredo(24, USA)

25. Il-Sung Jung(23, KOR)

Making his first appearance in our rundown thanks to a pair of strong recent results. QF in Canada adds to the one he had in Miami earlier in the year, and beat Rhodes to reach the fourth round at the US Open. Looks like he'll be worth watching.

26. Patrick Sanchez(25, ARG)

Treading water along with Robredo and others.

27. Clavet Moniotte(24, FRA)

Moniotte on the other hand is headed the wrong direction, and in danger of dropping back to the Challengers.

28. Santino Belmon(23, ITA)

Also diving after a promising spring.

29. William Todhunter(24, AUS)

Ameen's doubles partner, and recently up from the Challenger ranks. Todhunter was just 58th at the start of the year, so his rise hasn't been subtle - he's cut the number of players above him in half in less than a year.

32. Stefan Baloch(26, ITA)

Just barely hanging on here, and eventually even that will be too much for him.

46. Amrik Kasaravalli(23, SRI)

Kasaravalli is about 450-500 points shy of what he needs to move up, so he's now searching out the biggest Challenger events regardless of competition. He's close enough to give him a chance against anybody who hasn't yet made the jump. Sometime next year it'll happen for him - the question is just when, and that depends on how consistently he's able to be the last man standing.

70. Joao Narcisco(21, BRA)

Won CH3 Brasilia, and reached the QFs at three big ones. Overall, Narcisco is treading water right now. CH2 Campinas, in his home country next week, might provide another opportunity for a boost ...

101. Claudio Altichiero(19, ITA)

Cagide has now turned 20 and is up slightly to 64th. But this guy here ... he's not even halfway to turning 20 and knocking on the door. The top youngsters just keep on coming. Feels to me like the tour is getting more competitive.

513. Tommy Fitzpatrick(19, IRE)

Fitz continues to lead the pack of ex-juniors. His futures results now include one title, two runner-up finishes, and a SF. He's kept himself busy, but now seems to be taking a breather for practice.

655. Nasir Chittoor(18, SRI)

One futures event under his belt, he'll take a crack at another soon. Might be ready to move up to FT2 soon, but Guha is not and the pairing isn't ready in doubles yet either. So for now, he'll take another tournament or two in FT3. There's no harm in being patient so long as practice continues to be profitable, and Chittoor is taking his medicine at least as often as not right now. If anything, he's slightly overranked - seems to be playing at a level of around 700th-800th.

842. Ritwik Intodia(18, SRI)

Made it to a futures semi recently, and is the 2-seed in another event this week. I expect Intodia to grab his first title at this level soon.

865. Rakesh Kayeeda(18, SRI)

One futures QF to his credit so far. Also gradually working his way up.

1309(D). Satyajit Guha(19, SRI)

Guha's singles ranking is climbing, but still in the 1500s so it's somewhat behind his doubles yet. That boost is due to him getting his first Amateur title.

04-05-2019, 04:09 PM	#953
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Race Rankings update will come later today. For now, there's this. Q3 Rankings 1. John Hart(27, IRE) - 15,440 For a guy who's lost the last two Slam events, Hart is quite comfortable and still has an iron grip on the top spot. He has four Masters this year as well, and hasn't failed to reach QFs or better at any of the top tournaments. Not quite as dominant as I predicted, but there's no question who the best is. Early next year he'll start making his way into the Top 10 of players who have had the longest stay at the pinnacle of the sport. For all of my successes, I only have one player on that list - Prakash Mooljee is tied for 8th with Prince Karl 'First of his Name' Kaspar, and Hart is likely to surpass them. Sort of puts his excellence over the last couple of years into perspective. He's tied for 10th all-time right now with 10 Slam titles, ranks 8th in Masters shields, etc. John's already a third-tier great as he begins the decline phase of his career. 2. Brian Meikeljohn(27, IND) - 10,160 Also on the way down in terms of raw ability, but somebody forgot to tell him that. Or more accurately, he's been managed better this year than he was before. First two Slams of his career despite being on the downslope a bit. Meikeljohn now has put almost as distance between himself and the rest of the field as there is between himself and Hart. He's going to be #2 for a while, and the chance is there for him to close the gap and makes things more interesting. 3. Barry Molyneaux(27, USA) - 6,330 Didn't repeat at the USO, but beat the world no. 1 and got to the final so that's not nothing. Molyneaux has been consistently very good but no more than that for 3-4 years now. That puts him just ahead of a bevy of others. 4. Ali Solberg(26, SWE) - 5,750 Mr. Consistency takes advantadge of the struggles of others to sneak into the Top 4 for the first time. No big titles yet, but unlike the players still above him, he should still improve a bit more. Solberg should eventually make it even higher. 5. Seamus Hughes(28, IRE) - 5,640 Hanging out just behind Solberg, Hughes is poised to put pressure on him and take advantage of any slip-ups. 6. Isa Solheim(26, DEN) - 5,400 It was a good USO for Solheim who is now less than a thousand points out of the #3 spot. It could have been great without the collapse vs. Molyneaux, a win that would have eliminated that gap. Like Solberg, he has not yet reached his peak. Both of them continue to prepare for what could be a breakthrough, career-defining year next season. 7. Sushant Chiba(29, SRI) - 5,270 Oh how the mighty have fallen. Chiba may mount a rally at some point, but his ranking has finally caught up to the marginal Top-10 player he's been showing himself to be all year. It's just as likely that he keeps slipping. 8. Nicolas Perez(22, ARG) - 4,775 Fans have gotten disappointed by some of the close losses lately, but it's worth remembering that this phenom is over three years younger then the rest of the Top 10. He's close, and should start next year in the scrum of those ranked 3rd-8th, all of whom are going to be pretty close together it appears. Won't take much more for Nicolas to emerge from that group. 9. Mike Rhodes(27, PHI) - 3,710 The exact same point total as he had when last we looked. 10. Valery Stachovsky(27, RUS) - 3,575 Stachovsky has added a bit, but not enough to move up. Neither of them has impressed in the summer. . 12. Srba Dogic(23, CRO) Made it as high as 9th, but was unable to recreate last year's breakthrough successes on his favored hardcourts. Still has a chance to re-insert himself in Shanghai, and is up from 16th last year but the surge appears to have stalled. 13. Samuel Aas(25, SWE) Holding steady since that Rome success. 14. Tim de Jong(24, NLD) 15. Ollie Haas(23, NLD) This Dutch pairing continues slow upward movement. 17. Chisulo Mpakati(22, ZIM) Pushed Andrejova to five sets at the USO just after his first 250 title at Winston-Salem. He'd been close multiple times previously. Mpakati has not played any of the Masters, which I think is a mistake. We'll see if that changes whey become 'mandatory' for him next year. 18. Constantino Gonzoles(25, ARG) Another slow riser. 20. Emilien Mathious(24, FRA) Up a few more spots the last few months. Made the QFs in Canada, but also stopped at that same stage in a couple of 250s. 21. Guillermo Valturri(25, MEX) Also continuing to move up. Finalist at the Los Cabos 250, and got through to the 4th round at the USO. 24. Jose Luis Robredo(24, USA) 25. Il-Sung Jung(23, KOR) Making his first appearance in our rundown thanks to a pair of strong recent results. QF in Canada adds to the one he had in Miami earlier in the year, and beat Rhodes to reach the fourth round at the US Open. Looks like he'll be worth watching. 26. Patrick Sanchez(25, ARG) Treading water along with Robredo and others. 27. Clavet Moniotte(24, FRA) Moniotte on the other hand is headed the wrong direction, and in danger of dropping back to the Challengers. 28. Santino Belmon(23, ITA) Also diving after a promising spring. 29. William Todhunter(24, AUS) Ameen's doubles partner, and recently up from the Challenger ranks. Todhunter was just 58th at the start of the year, so his rise hasn't been subtle - he's cut the number of players above him in half in less than a year. 32. Stefan Baloch(26, ITA) Just barely hanging on here, and eventually even that will be too much for him. 46. Amrik Kasaravalli(23, SRI) Kasaravalli is about 450-500 points shy of what he needs to move up, so he's now searching out the biggest Challenger events regardless of competition. He's close enough to give him a chance against anybody who hasn't yet made the jump. Sometime next year it'll happen for him - the question is just when, and that depends on how consistently he's able to be the last man standing. 70. Joao Narcisco(21, BRA) Won CH3 Brasilia, and reached the QFs at three big ones. Overall, Narcisco is treading water right now. CH2 Campinas, in his home country next week, might provide another opportunity for a boost ... 101. Claudio Altichiero(19, ITA) Cagide has now turned 20 and is up slightly to 64th. But this guy here ... he's not even halfway to turning 20 and knocking on the door. The top youngsters just keep on coming. Feels to me like the tour is getting more competitive. 513. Tommy Fitzpatrick(19, IRE) Fitz continues to lead the pack of ex-juniors. His futures results now include one title, two runner-up finishes, and a SF. He's kept himself busy, but now seems to be taking a breather for practice. 655. Nasir Chittoor(18, SRI) One futures event under his belt, he'll take a crack at another soon. Might be ready to move up to FT2 soon, but Guha is not and the pairing isn't ready in doubles yet either. So for now, he'll take another tournament or two in FT3. There's no harm in being patient so long as practice continues to be profitable, and Chittoor is taking his medicine at least as often as not right now. If anything, he's slightly overranked - seems to be playing at a level of around 700th-800th. 842. Ritwik Intodia(18, SRI) Made it to a futures semi recently, and is the 2-seed in another event this week. I expect Intodia to grab his first title at this level soon. 865. Rakesh Kayeeda(18, SRI) One futures QF to his credit so far. Also gradually working his way up. 1309(D). Satyajit Guha(19, SRI) Guha's singles ranking is climbing, but still in the 1500s so it's somewhat behind his doubles yet. That boost is due to him getting his first Amateur title.