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JULY/AUGUST
Mehul started in Atlanta(250) as the top seed, proceeding to get upset in the quarterfinals by Pierce Gaskell 3 and 3, the first time he's lost in four meetings. Overall, it was as bad as any loss this year and continued the trend of slumping that he's been in for a while. The next week in Washington(500) was better at least. He looked good in the early rounds, knocking Mockler aside in the quarters and losing only to champion Perry Hogue in the semis, 6-4, 6-2. The rising world no. 4 beat him by the same score earlier in the year. There's no shame in losing this kind of match, it's losing to lower-ranked players that is problematic. Heading into the first of the two pre-USO Masters, it was touch and go whether he'd be seeded or not but Mehul is ranked 16th, just on the inside at the moment.
Meanwhile, Girish Girsh is preparing for a Tier-1 challenger in Beijing, his first tournament since Wimbledon and a good opportunity to grab some points with four hardcourt challengers in the same week. Prakash Mooljee did not overwhelm in two events in Jerusalem and Sfax. He won only one singles match between the two, did ok in doubles, but is still hovering around the 600 mark in the rankings. Both losses were to better players, unusually good for this level. It's off to Egypt for him next week for his latest foray, still in the junior fifth tier and there he'll stay until he manages another good run.
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