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Brian Swartz · 06-12-2018, 10:58 AM

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1. Mateo Kaspar(81%, 8.78, -0.09)

Four years into the decline phase, the King is still the best player in the world. It's not out of the question that he might reach the absurdly unthinkable milestone of a decade spent at #1(443 weeks right now, almost a year better than previous record-holder Gorritepe). 30 Slams(he has 28) seem likely. These are the kinds of unfathomable records that are the questions now; just how patently absurd will his legacy get before his throne finally is taken.

2. Ritwik Dudwadkar(85%, 8.63, -0.04)

Still good enough to be a threat on an off-day for King Kaspar.

3. Karl Kaspar(94%, 8.50, -0.01)

I ran the numbers twice to make sure. This is not encouraging for Karl. His pedestrian mental game could well keep him in the #3 spot for another year. No matter how you slice it, in terms of development this is a major disappointment after he saw good gains in the previous season.

4. Hamal Sbai(91%, 8.73, +0.10)

Nice improvement last year, and he may have a little more in him but he should be basically at the apex. On paper, the second-best player in the world and capable of challenging anyone. Whatever he's going to do in tennis, it's going to happen in the next year or two. Carpe Diem.

5. Stuart Pargeter(90%, 8.40, +0.07)

This is probably as good as it gets for Pargeter. After the struggles and bad luck of previous years though, it's nice to see him reach his potential here. Pushing any higher is too much to ask, but you never know who might have a bad season and open the door.

6. Gilberto Chinaglia(88%, 8.29, +0.02)

Strong mind and serve are keeping him relevant, but for how much longer?

7. Tristan Allende(91%, 8.29, -0.01)

Second straight small decline for a player who should be improving. Gotta chalk his poor technical development up to poor management. It looks like Allende may never become the Top-5 player he should have been.

8. Dick Blake(86%, 8.28, -0.04)

9. Gregory Mackenzie(86%, 8.36, +0.05)

Well that's surprising. A bit of mini-renaissance here. Nonetheless, look at how tight the scores are here for 5-9. You can see why it was so competitive for the WTF qualification; there's barely a sheet of paper between them. 8.3 is a real bellwether right now; you've got to surpass it to have any chance of breaking through.

10. Hugo Cordova(91%, 8.18, +0.02)

It seems to be mostly luck that Cordova managed to get this close, up from 17th a year ago. I'm not sure he sticks.

11. Sushant Chiba(96%, 8.50, +0.24)

Another strong year of improvement, and he should be able to make his share of QFs in the big events this year. It wouldn't be an actual upset for him to beat half the players ahead of him. Has to make the Tour Finals this year at a minimum.

12. Veini Aikio(92%, 8.10, -0.02)

Still has the best serve in the game, and not nearly enough to go with it.

14. Kenneth Brasher(94%, 7.96, +0.16)

Poor man's Aikio, though the gap there is definitely closing.

15. Brian Meikeljohn(99%, 8.41, NA)

The fastest player in the world. Ever, so far as I know. There's still work to do, but he's Top-10 quality at 21. Meikeljohn basically assures that Chiba will be hard-pressed to ever get to #1; the Black Prince ahead and this guy behind, he'll have to settle for probably third most of his peak years. India has never had a player in the Top 10, so Brian here is going to break all of their records, and likely spend an extended stretch at #1. It's just a matter of time while he works on his technique. Somewhat overbalanced on the serve side, but I would be too if I had that kind of speed to blunt opposing servers.

18. Chalerm Pracuab(95%, 8.15, +0.12)

I'd expect his progress to continue, but slow. Probably ends up in the 12-14 range this year.

20. Chad Duncan(93%, 8.02, +0.08)

Might inch up a bit more.

21. Adam Hagans(95%, 7.97, +0.11)

Duncan and Hagans seem destined to basically copy each other. Really virtually no difference, year after year, between these three Brits.

22. Stanley Edleman(95%, 8.15, +0.07)

Definitely had to be hoping for a little more of a boost, but he's good enough to push in another circle(Top 16 this year I'd say).

25. Tomas Guadiana(94%, 8.08, ??)

Solid all-around but technically behind the curve, and mostly a clay-court player.

27. Uglesa Svajnovic(96%, 8.01, ??)

Kind of strange here. Spent a bit of early time on doubles which is never a good idea. Weakish from the back but already has the serve of a Top 10 player. Slower even than Chiba though. So strengths and weaknesses, but he should be at least Top 20, perhaps more.

31. Jacek Andrejova(96%, 8.23, ??)

Another newcomer to the rundown, and surpringly good despite behind-the-curve technical skills. That's because of his outstanding mental toughness and physical strength. Already dumped some of his potential into doubles, so there's basically a big question mark all over this talented Czech. Could flame out, but he should be a Top 10, quite possibly Top 5 player.

32. Mike Rhodes(99%, 7.77, +0.30)

Rhodes is now arguably good enough to be ranked this high. Still going all-in on serve, power, and clay-court expertise. The kind of guy who could one day dominant the dirt and do nothing anywhere else. His baseline play is always going to be a joke. It'll be interesting to see whether management tries to remedy that to any significant degree. Extreme players are both frustrating and interesting to follow. Definitely making big strides overall though, even if his ranking is exactly what it was a year ago.

540. Anil Mehul(53%, 6.15, -0.18)

Even futures competition is now mostly superior to him. First-round exits in his last two events. The trainer projection, currently at 5.42, is the most important number for him.

20(J). Amrik Kasaravalli(84%, 5.09, +0.98)

Still lagging behind the normal pace.

06-12-2018, 10:58 AM	#807
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2060 Preview 1. Mateo Kaspar(81%, 8.78, -0.09) Four years into the decline phase, the King is still the best player in the world. It's not out of the question that he might reach the absurdly unthinkable milestone of a decade spent at #1(443 weeks right now, almost a year better than previous record-holder Gorritepe). 30 Slams(he has 28) seem likely. These are the kinds of unfathomable records that are the questions now; just how patently absurd will his legacy get before his throne finally is taken. 2. Ritwik Dudwadkar(85%, 8.63, -0.04) Still good enough to be a threat on an off-day for King Kaspar. 3. Karl Kaspar(94%, 8.50, -0.01) I ran the numbers twice to make sure. This is not encouraging for Karl. His pedestrian mental game could well keep him in the #3 spot for another year. No matter how you slice it, in terms of development this is a major disappointment after he saw good gains in the previous season. 4. Hamal Sbai(91%, 8.73, +0.10) Nice improvement last year, and he may have a little more in him but he should be basically at the apex. On paper, the second-best player in the world and capable of challenging anyone. Whatever he's going to do in tennis, it's going to happen in the next year or two. Carpe Diem. 5. Stuart Pargeter(90%, 8.40, +0.07) This is probably as good as it gets for Pargeter. After the struggles and bad luck of previous years though, it's nice to see him reach his potential here. Pushing any higher is too much to ask, but you never know who might have a bad season and open the door. 6. Gilberto Chinaglia(88%, 8.29, +0.02) Strong mind and serve are keeping him relevant, but for how much longer? 7. Tristan Allende(91%, 8.29, -0.01) Second straight small decline for a player who should be improving. Gotta chalk his poor technical development up to poor management. It looks like Allende may never become the Top-5 player he should have been. 8. Dick Blake(86%, 8.28, -0.04) 9. Gregory Mackenzie(86%, 8.36, +0.05) Well that's surprising. A bit of mini-renaissance here. Nonetheless, look at how tight the scores are here for 5-9. You can see why it was so competitive for the WTF qualification; there's barely a sheet of paper between them. 8.3 is a real bellwether right now; you've got to surpass it to have any chance of breaking through. 10. Hugo Cordova(91%, 8.18, +0.02) It seems to be mostly luck that Cordova managed to get this close, up from 17th a year ago. I'm not sure he sticks. 11. Sushant Chiba(96%, 8.50, +0.24) Another strong year of improvement, and he should be able to make his share of QFs in the big events this year. It wouldn't be an actual upset for him to beat half the players ahead of him. Has to make the Tour Finals this year at a minimum. 12. Veini Aikio(92%, 8.10, -0.02) Still has the best serve in the game, and not nearly enough to go with it. 14. Kenneth Brasher(94%, 7.96, +0.16) Poor man's Aikio, though the gap there is definitely closing. 15. Brian Meikeljohn(99%, 8.41, NA) The fastest player in the world. Ever, so far as I know. There's still work to do, but he's Top-10 quality at 21. Meikeljohn basically assures that Chiba will be hard-pressed to ever get to #1; the Black Prince ahead and this guy behind, he'll have to settle for probably third most of his peak years. India has never had a player in the Top 10, so Brian here is going to break all of their records, and likely spend an extended stretch at #1. It's just a matter of time while he works on his technique. Somewhat overbalanced on the serve side, but I would be too if I had that kind of speed to blunt opposing servers. 18. Chalerm Pracuab(95%, 8.15, +0.12) I'd expect his progress to continue, but slow. Probably ends up in the 12-14 range this year. 20. Chad Duncan(93%, 8.02, +0.08) Might inch up a bit more. 21. Adam Hagans(95%, 7.97, +0.11) Duncan and Hagans seem destined to basically copy each other. Really virtually no difference, year after year, between these three Brits. 22. Stanley Edleman(95%, 8.15, +0.07) Definitely had to be hoping for a little more of a boost, but he's good enough to push in another circle(Top 16 this year I'd say). 25. Tomas Guadiana(94%, 8.08, ??) Solid all-around but technically behind the curve, and mostly a clay-court player. 27. Uglesa Svajnovic(96%, 8.01, ??) Kind of strange here. Spent a bit of early time on doubles which is never a good idea. Weakish from the back but already has the serve of a Top 10 player. Slower even than Chiba though. So strengths and weaknesses, but he should be at least Top 20, perhaps more. 31. Jacek Andrejova(96%, 8.23, ??) Another newcomer to the rundown, and surpringly good despite behind-the-curve technical skills. That's because of his outstanding mental toughness and physical strength. Already dumped some of his potential into doubles, so there's basically a big question mark all over this talented Czech. Could flame out, but he should be a Top 10, quite possibly Top 5 player. 32. Mike Rhodes(99%, 7.77, +0.30) Rhodes is now arguably good enough to be ranked this high. Still going all-in on serve, power, and clay-court expertise. The kind of guy who could one day dominant the dirt and do nothing anywhere else. His baseline play is always going to be a joke. It'll be interesting to see whether management tries to remedy that to any significant degree. Extreme players are both frustrating and interesting to follow. Definitely making big strides overall though, even if his ranking is exactly what it was a year ago. 540. Anil Mehul(53%, 6.15, -0.18) Even futures competition is now mostly superior to him. First-round exits in his last two events. The trainer projection, currently at 5.42, is the most important number for him. 20(J). Amrik Kasaravalli(84%, 5.09, +0.98) Still lagging behind the normal pace.