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Top Ten Rankings Update
1. Antonin Iglar(24, CZE) -- 15,870
An early loss in Canada was a bit disappointing, but Iglar has clearly righted the ship. His third straight US Open title -- with more definitely anticipated -- gives him 6 Slams, one more than Benda and equalling Alastra. His 9 Masters Shields are one more than either as well, making him as least as accomplished a player as the game has seen since Eric Gorritepe's reign ended. And of course, he's still at least a year, probably somewhat more than that away from even reaching his peak.
2. Bjorn Benda(27, DEU) -- 10,690
He'll be the clear #2 at least well into next year, but the writing is on the wall; off of clay, he's clearly not the force he was a season or two ago.
3. Anil Mehul(25, SRI) -- 6,200
Leapfrogging the absent Almagro, he reaches a new career high -- but moving up from here is a tall order.
4. David Alvarez(28, ESP) -- 6,200
Not sure what the tiebreaker is here. Alvarez continues to surprise, having diversified his game to produce better consistent hardcourt results than I thought he would achieve.
5. David Almagro(30, ESP) -- 5,950
If he comes back to the game he can still be a significant factor, but at his age that window is rapidly closing.
6. Perry Hogue(27, USA) -- 5,630
Hogue's success has always been based on being a good enough hardcourt player to have great results there balance out weaknesses elsewhere. He was a finalist in Cincinatti, proving that he still has what it takes to produce at least on occasion.
7. Viktor Goncharenko(28, RUS) -- 5,040
I had him buried before the season, and here he comes back again. Goncharenko was a USO finalist, along with a semi in Wimbledon and consistent Masters results. A bit of a career renaissance here has once again made him into a player that is not safely overlooked.
8. Cestmir Marcek(27, CZE) -- 4,760
The question here is whether Marcek has peaked. His rise appeared to stall over the summer, but after producting his first-ever Slam quarterfinal he may yet have more to say.
9. Julian Hammerstein(25, AUT) -- 4,600
Two semis and two quarters in the Slams this year: Hammerstein has been more consistent this season, and could yet move up significantly before it ends.
10. Evgeni Topolski(27, RUS) -- 3,170
Ever the underachiever, Topolski's absence has him about to tumble out of the Top 10.
There's not a huge gap right now in the 3rd-9th positions, which have separated themselves by a big margin from those following. Pretty much what I expected early in the year in general, but with specific players Goncharenko moving back up and Elder/Almagro/Topolski essentially surrendering was not expected.
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