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Brian Swartz · 07-12-2018, 12:48 AM

Q3 Rankings Update

1. Mateo Kaspar(31, FRA) - 12,230

Mateo made a quality run to the RG SF, then regained the top spot by taking the title at Wimbledon for his unprecedented 30th Slam title. 10th straight year in the final, but he's lost the last two to Dudwadkar. He lost one set each in each of the last three rounds, but never trailed in any of them. Most revealing stat I think is that he played seven tiebreaks in the fortnight ... and won six of them. Which is what champions do. And so the King's assault on history continues.

2. Ritwik Dudwadkar(30, SRI) - 11,370

Dudwadkar was up two sets to none on Karl Kaspar in the RG final ... and then fell apart, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 in the last three. It would have been his second title on the clay. A streak of two straight Wimby titles and four finals in a row was also broken by the Black Prince, in a compelling four-set semi that saw the first three sets go to tiebreaks. Ritwik won just one of them. After winning 17 of their first 18 meetings, Dudwadkar has last the last three in a row to the younger Kaspar. It's a trend. Here's a quirky fact though; he was still #1 until the end of Wimbledon, meaning that he's the first player I've ever seen to spend more time at the top ranking after his 30th birthday(7 weeks) than before it(3 weeks).

3. Karl Kaspar(25, FRA) - 10,400

After defending his RG title(having done basically nothing on clay going into it) and making the Wimbledon final, Karl is the de facto top challenger and part of a legit Big Three. I think he's probably year-end #2(having not looked at the numbers yet) behind the King and takes the top spot next season. It's taken a bit longer than expected but it's his time if he keeps performing like he has in the past month.

4. Hamal Sbai(27, MOR) - 7,225

Sbai has gradually strengthened his grip on the #4 spot, and it's now quite secure. QF at RG, SF at Wimbledon in a strong but unspectacular spring.

5. Stuart Pargeter(27, USA) - 5,370

Another spot that's pretty well locked down. Hard to see him moving in either direction, at least for the rest of this year. He's had too many early defeats to be a serious threat to those above him.

6. Gregory Mackenzie(29, USA) - 4,380

Starts to get a lot more fluid here.

7. Sushant Chiba(24, SRI) - 3,900

Made the fourth round at Roland Garros, where he'd won two tight breakers against Dudwadkar before giving up that lead. A four-set win over Pargeter at that same stage in Wimbledon is the biggest win to date of his career, and got him to a QF for the first time ... where he lost to his countryman once more, again in a tight four. He's close to becoming Sri Lanka's top player, but not quite there yet. The H2H is 6-0 against him. Still, that run on the prestigious grass has him in strong position to make the WTF and he'll also see more favorable draws the rest of the year, which should aid his ascent.

8. Gilberto Chinaglia(27, ITA) - 3,615

QF at Roland Garros, but otherwhise he's done basically nothing this year.

9. Tristan Allende(26, USA) - 3,610

10. Hugo Cordova(26, USA) - 3,605

It's closely packed here, and Blake is just a hundred points further back. 8-11 could very well switch places a lot in the coming months, and Mackenzie could also fall down into this group. Chiba and the Top 5 should be able to stay above this fray comfortably.

12. Brian Meikeljohn(22, IND)

The young Indian is several hundred points further back. He's inching upwards but may not make a serious run at the Top 10 until next year. He's on the other side of that scrum at the bottom of the first page. Fourth round at each of the last two slams, where he lost competitively to Sbai and K. Kaspar. If he gets a bit more favorable draw over the summer in a couple events, don't count out a quicker push. He's got the goods.

13. Chad Duncan(25, GBR)

Back up to his career high after slipping to 20th last year.

14. Veini Aikio(26, FIN)

He was close, up to 11th in the spring, but has faded a bit and might be on the downside now.

15. Kenneth Brasher(25, GBR)

Briefly made it to 10th earlier, but it was apparently a happy accident.

17. Ugljesa Svajnovic(24, CRO)

Up 10 spots already this year. He may not be around long, but he's making something of his opportunity here. And as I write this I notice he just claimed a 250 clay title, beating #10 Cordova in the final.

18. Ali Kaihep(26, ALG)

Who are all the great Algerian players you know?? Me neither. Kaihep was 34th at the start of the year. Safe to say he's the most-improved shoo-in right now.

19. John Hart(22, IRE)

The young ones just keep on coming. Hart is up from 35th. So maybe Kaihep isn't a sure thing.

20. Tomas Guadiana(25, ARG)

Gradual improvement here, from 25th.

21. Seamus Hughes(22, IRE)

Good to be a tennis fan in Ireland.

22. Stanley Edleman(24, USA)

Almost back to his career high.

26. Chalerm Prachuab(24, THA)

Fourth member of the Chiba class was 18th last year, so he's not doing so hot.

27. Benjamin Abanades(23, ESP)

Like Kaihep, he's made a name for himself with some big upsets. Up from 38th.

29. Mike Rhodes(22, PHI)

Seems like he's been around here forever, despite his youth.

31. Barry Molyneaux(22, USA)

Stop the presses; it's another good young American player.

32. Willy Bochette(23, FRA)

Make that five from the Chiba class. Moving up gradually.

93. Constantino Gonzoles(19, ARG)

Latest to make the Top 100 as a teen. Very good athleticism, elite mental game and crowd favorite. Long way to go but he's got a top-quality manager. I wouldn't bet against seeing him the Top 10. Looks to be possibly the next great clay-courter.

648. Anil Mehul(44, SRI)

267th doubles. More importantly he just finished his final skill training. Still looks like it'll be a little before the end of the year when he's ready to go trainer. I've decided to let him stick around to the WTC Final to head up our doubles efforts again, should we make it that far. The draw looks friendly for that to happen; France-USA is a brutal QF matchup on the other side of things.

9(J). Amrik Kasaravalli(18, SRI)

Well whaddya know. Kasaravalli was strong at the junior RG, aided by the fact that I increasingly favor clay proficiency in young players. He won the title in doubles, and made the SF in singles, losing to the lastest dominant junior Ollie Haas of the Netherlands. And then I forgot to enter him in Wimbledon, overlooking the fact that it occurs two weeks before the senior event. Still, he's having a strong year particularly by his standards, with four JG2 titles now bolstering his points. We'll see what happens in the big events the rest of the year but it certainly looks like he's ready to make the jump to the senior tour.

3. Manager Ranking -- 27.7k. I've held in the upper 20k range for several years now, and don't figure that to change until I start getting some production out of the new youngsters I'm going to acquire in the Reaping.

07-12-2018, 12:48 AM	#816
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Q3 Rankings Update 1. Mateo Kaspar(31, FRA) - 12,230 Mateo made a quality run to the RG SF, then regained the top spot by taking the title at Wimbledon for his unprecedented 30th Slam title. 10th straight year in the final, but he's lost the last two to Dudwadkar. He lost one set each in each of the last three rounds, but never trailed in any of them. Most revealing stat I think is that he played seven tiebreaks in the fortnight ... and won six of them. Which is what champions do. And so the King's assault on history continues. 2. Ritwik Dudwadkar(30, SRI) - 11,370 Dudwadkar was up two sets to none on Karl Kaspar in the RG final ... and then fell apart, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 in the last three. It would have been his second title on the clay. A streak of two straight Wimby titles and four finals in a row was also broken by the Black Prince, in a compelling four-set semi that saw the first three sets go to tiebreaks. Ritwik won just one of them. After winning 17 of their first 18 meetings, Dudwadkar has last the last three in a row to the younger Kaspar. It's a trend. Here's a quirky fact though; he was still #1 until the end of Wimbledon, meaning that he's the first player I've ever seen to spend more time at the top ranking after his 30th birthday(7 weeks) than before it(3 weeks). 3. Karl Kaspar(25, FRA) - 10,400 After defending his RG title(having done basically nothing on clay going into it) and making the Wimbledon final, Karl is the de facto top challenger and part of a legit Big Three. I think he's probably year-end #2(having not looked at the numbers yet) behind the King and takes the top spot next season. It's taken a bit longer than expected but it's his time if he keeps performing like he has in the past month. 4. Hamal Sbai(27, MOR) - 7,225 Sbai has gradually strengthened his grip on the #4 spot, and it's now quite secure. QF at RG, SF at Wimbledon in a strong but unspectacular spring. 5. Stuart Pargeter(27, USA) - 5,370 Another spot that's pretty well locked down. Hard to see him moving in either direction, at least for the rest of this year. He's had too many early defeats to be a serious threat to those above him. 6. Gregory Mackenzie(29, USA) - 4,380 Starts to get a lot more fluid here. 7. Sushant Chiba(24, SRI) - 3,900 Made the fourth round at Roland Garros, where he'd won two tight breakers against Dudwadkar before giving up that lead. A four-set win over Pargeter at that same stage in Wimbledon is the biggest win to date of his career, and got him to a QF for the first time ... where he lost to his countryman once more, again in a tight four. He's close to becoming Sri Lanka's top player, but not quite there yet. The H2H is 6-0 against him. Still, that run on the prestigious grass has him in strong position to make the WTF and he'll also see more favorable draws the rest of the year, which should aid his ascent. 8. Gilberto Chinaglia(27, ITA) - 3,615 QF at Roland Garros, but otherwhise he's done basically nothing this year. 9. Tristan Allende(26, USA) - 3,610 10. Hugo Cordova(26, USA) - 3,605 It's closely packed here, and Blake is just a hundred points further back. 8-11 could very well switch places a lot in the coming months, and Mackenzie could also fall down into this group. Chiba and the Top 5 should be able to stay above this fray comfortably. 12. Brian Meikeljohn(22, IND) The young Indian is several hundred points further back. He's inching upwards but may not make a serious run at the Top 10 until next year. He's on the other side of that scrum at the bottom of the first page. Fourth round at each of the last two slams, where he lost competitively to Sbai and K. Kaspar. If he gets a bit more favorable draw over the summer in a couple events, don't count out a quicker push. He's got the goods. 13. Chad Duncan(25, GBR) Back up to his career high after slipping to 20th last year. 14. Veini Aikio(26, FIN) He was close, up to 11th in the spring, but has faded a bit and might be on the downside now. 15. Kenneth Brasher(25, GBR) Briefly made it to 10th earlier, but it was apparently a happy accident. 17. Ugljesa Svajnovic(24, CRO) Up 10 spots already this year. He may not be around long, but he's making something of his opportunity here. And as I write this I notice he just claimed a 250 clay title, beating #10 Cordova in the final. 18. Ali Kaihep(26, ALG) Who are all the great Algerian players you know?? Me neither. Kaihep was 34th at the start of the year. Safe to say he's the most-improved shoo-in right now. 19. John Hart(22, IRE) The young ones just keep on coming. Hart is up from 35th. So maybe Kaihep isn't a sure thing. 20. Tomas Guadiana(25, ARG) Gradual improvement here, from 25th. 21. Seamus Hughes(22, IRE) Good to be a tennis fan in Ireland. 22. Stanley Edleman(24, USA) Almost back to his career high. 26. Chalerm Prachuab(24, THA) Fourth member of the Chiba class was 18th last year, so he's not doing so hot. 27. Benjamin Abanades(23, ESP) Like Kaihep, he's made a name for himself with some big upsets. Up from 38th. 29. Mike Rhodes(22, PHI) Seems like he's been around here forever, despite his youth. 31. Barry Molyneaux(22, USA) Stop the presses; it's another good young American player. 32. Willy Bochette(23, FRA) Make that five from the Chiba class. Moving up gradually. 93. Constantino Gonzoles(19, ARG) Latest to make the Top 100 as a teen. Very good athleticism, elite mental game and crowd favorite. Long way to go but he's got a top-quality manager. I wouldn't bet against seeing him the Top 10. Looks to be possibly the next great clay-courter. 648. Anil Mehul(44, SRI) 267th doubles. More importantly he just finished his final skill training. Still looks like it'll be a little before the end of the year when he's ready to go trainer. I've decided to let him stick around to the WTC Final to head up our doubles efforts again, should we make it that far. The draw looks friendly for that to happen; France-USA is a brutal QF matchup on the other side of things. 9(J). Amrik Kasaravalli(18, SRI) Well whaddya know. Kasaravalli was strong at the junior RG, aided by the fact that I increasingly favor clay proficiency in young players. He won the title in doubles, and made the SF in singles, losing to the lastest dominant junior Ollie Haas of the Netherlands. And then I forgot to enter him in Wimbledon, overlooking the fact that it occurs two weeks before the senior event. Still, he's having a strong year particularly by his standards, with four JG2 titles now bolstering his points. We'll see what happens in the big events the rest of the year but it certainly looks like he's ready to make the jump to the senior tour. 3. Manager Ranking -- 27.7k. I've held in the upper 20k range for several years now, and don't figure that to change until I start getting some production out of the new youngsters I'm going to acquire in the Reaping.