Rocking Rackets Dynasty--World 3

[1738]

Inspired by law and Brian Schwartz's Rocking Racket Dynasties, I have decided to post about my players in Game World 3, and their careers. I have hired two promising youngsters, one from Germany and the other from Argentina.

Paul Kreukel (17y18w, 89%, 5.63 rating, 42nd (J)): TE: 7.5, SS: 8, M: 4.2

An interesting young player who projects to only 4.1 talent and 3.4 endurance, but is an elite athlete who projects to 3.5 strength, 4.5 speed, and 4.2 mentality. Year 301 is his second to last year in juniors. Nearly all of his singles points come from JG2 tournaments, with 1 win and 4 runners up finishes. His final points come from a solid 3rd round showing at Roland Garros. Poor aging factor fo 102% will hold him back from being elite.

Victor Zhirov (15y47w, 71%, 3.05 rating, 453nd (J)): TE: 8.7, SS: 7.5, M: 3.8

A high potential young player who is far behind the curve as current Strength and Skill go, but a kind aging factor (97%) offer him back that extra time to grow. Never breaking the top 400, even with only 2 full years left of juniors, may seem like he is too far behind to make up, but his stats are elite. Zhirov projects to 4.5 talent and 4.2 endurance, with strong 3.7 strength, 3.8 speed, and 3.8 mentality. Zhirov may not have a successful junior career, but he should be a late bloomer who can have success on the senior tour.

[1738]

Weeks 31-38: Year 301

Victor Zhirov (#451):

Zhirov reached the singles semifinals of a JG4 in Lisbon and the 2nd round of a JG4 in Esch, jumping from 630th to 453rd in the Junior World. Rankings are not an issue now for Zhirov, so he is focusing on just playing enough tournaments to keep his form up in order to have as productive practice as possible.

Paul Kruekel (#42):

Kreukel entered two JG2s in this timespan, and finished second in both tournaments, notching a win in doubles as well. Kreukel then entered the Junior US Open, hoping to build on his Round of 16 finish at the French, but lost a rough 3-setter in a tossup match in the first round to Vincent Caccini (25th).

[law90026]

Zhirov’s stats are crazy!

[Brian Swartz]

Inspired or depressed by?

Good luck!

[1738]

Very inspired by! I enjoyed them very much! Zhirov is the stud here. Really, because he's roughly 40 weeks behind on development, he plays more like a 101% aging factor with those stats. I will jump to get rid of Kreukel if I find someone better.

[1738]

Weeks 39-45: Year 301

Victor Zhirov (#451 to #384):

Zhirov entered 4 tournaments in these 7 weeks, as the final 2 of them were in his home country, and at the JG5 level, home court advantage is very important. Zhirov finished with 2 semifinals and 2 runner up finishes, helping him jump 70 places in the rankings. As his form is near 30 now, he will now get about 8 weeks of practice in a row as the form dips down. He also notched 2 wins and 2 runners up finishes in doubles. I am still focusing on getting as much practice time for Zhirov, as he has no chance to make the WTC next year. Development is obviously what matters here.

Paul Kruekel (#42 to #36):

Kreukel entered a single JG2 in this timespan, and as it was during the Osaka JGA, he was able to win the whole tournament to jump from 42nd to 33rd in the rankings at that time, including to 7th among players who will still be junior eligible in Year 302. He never lost more than 1 game in a set because of the week field and was aided by the defeat of exhausted 2 seed and nemesis Jirí Kasparkov (84th). He then focused on practice the next 6 weeks and was able to gain 2 skill points and a service point in the short time.

[1738]

Weeks 46-52: Year 301

Victor Zhirov (#272):

Zhirov only entered 1 JG5 tournament in this timespan, as he let his form dropped down following the Argentina stretch. He reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles. As the Class of '01 aged out of juniors, Zhirov jumped to #272 in the world.

Paul Kruekel (#6):

Kruekel entered 3 JG1 and 1 JG2 tournament in this timespan, and overall, they were not a success. Kruekel did not get a single win in singles or doubles in the JG1 during the Orange Bowl, after another early loss in a JG1 the following week, decided to drop down to a JG2 during the Casablanca Cup. The tournament started off well, but Kruekel ended up losing a shocking final to Stefano Chiono (#7), a player who Kruekel was previously 3-0 against, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Although the goal was originally to be a Top 4 seed at the Junior Aussie Open, Kruekel now is just looking to stay Top 8. He has a massive JG1 Tournament to ensure he does not drop to the 9th Ranking as a tuneup for the Australian.

[1738]

Year 301 Review

Paul Kreukel (17y34w, 92%, 5.63 (Week 36) to 5.96, 42nd (J) to 6th (J)):

Titles: 2 Singles (2xJG2), 1 Doubles (JG2)
Best Singles Result: Win @ JG2 x2: 100 Points
Majors Results: 2nd Italian, 3rd French, 1st Wimbledon, 1st US Open

Victor Zhirov (16y11w, 73%, 3.05 (Week 36) to 3.39, 453nd (J) to 272nd (J)):

Titles: 3 Doubles (JG4, 2xJG5)
Best Singles Result: RUP @ JG5 x2: 20 Points