[Brian Swartz]

2042 Final Top Ten Rankings

1. Antonin Iglar(CZE, 26) -- 15,680

I ran out of superlatives to describe Iglar's play a while back. This was his best year ever, an 86-5 overall record which is slightly better than his best two years ago in which he lost six times. It's roughly the 5th-best season ever, and the only man he's looking up to in that regard is Gorritepe. He did not lose a single hardcourt match all year long. In the record-book chase, he's 7th in weeks at #1(110), 5th in Slam titles(9), tied for 5th in WTF titles(2), and 5th as well in Masters Shields(16). He's in his prime, at the peak of his powers, and he's not even going to begin to go anywhere for at least a couple of years. He's got a ways to go before he can think about cracking the money list, but that too is just a matter of time.

2. Anil Mehul(SRI, 26) -- 10,990

A fabulous year without question: Mehul has emerged as the only significant thorn in Iglar's side as he won Wimbledon and the Tour Finals. Those are the only two times that the Czech legend lost off of clay this year. His previous high of 64 singles victories was annihilated with a 77-13 mark this year, and the record was 75-5 against other players.

3. Bjorn Benda(DEU, 28) -- 9,440

The only significant flaw in another good year for Benda was losing the RG final to Iglar. Aside from that, he led Germany to the WTC crown and kept his clay kingdom intact. His gradual decline will continue, but it doesn't look like there anyone who can take away the #3 spot from him.

4. Perry Hogue(USA, 28) -- 5,700

It's another big gap down to here. Hogue faded the second half of the year, but his career has been full of rises and falls. It looks like he's finally done and the slide will continue, but it's not yet certain.

5. David Alvarez(ESP, 30) -- 5,550

Alvarez has done better than I thought for longer than I thought. Having said that, life on the far side of 30 is never kind to a tennis player.

6. Pierce Gaskell(USA, 26) -- 5,240

I picked Gaskell to be Top-5 by the end of the year; well, I was a little off the mark, but not much. He continues to overplay, but flattened all previous achievements in an 80-win season. Pierce is the only vaguely viable threat to Mehul and Benda, and he should bypass Hogue and Alvarez fairly easily.

7. Cestmir Marcek(CZE, 28) -- 5,040

Marcek actually posted his best year this season at 61-19, just a hair better than the last two. The lack of many compelling upcoming threats has made him just good enough to forestall the advance of time, but he's no longer a thorn for the top players.

8. Perry Mockler(USA, 26) -- 4,590

Mockler could replace Hogue on the US WTC squad this season. Either way he's had himself a banner year, highlighted by his first Tour Finals and a semifinal appearance at the US Open.

9. Thiago Herrera(PER, 25) -- 3,445

I'm not sure what Herrera's ceiling will be. He was the surprise #2 on clay this year, bumping Alvarez out of that position, and will look to continue his assault on the top players. Results elsewhere were very underwhelming though, he's a one-trick pony at the moment.

10. Roger Federer(SUI, 26) -- 3,355

Federer did very well in the small events, but failed to make a single quarterfinal in either Masters or Slam play. Unless he does better on the bigger stages, he won't be taken seriously by the top players.

11. Girish Girsh(SRI, 23) -- 2,975

A little '+1' here to show that he's closing in on the Top 10. A big finish to the year at the Paris Masters in reaching the semifinals and knocking off Benda has him aiming for big things next year.