A Rocking Rackets Dynasty (NOW WORLD 6)

[law90026]

So, after following Brian's excellent dynasty and slowly getting more into the game, I finally succumbed and signed up for a VIP package for 3 months. Since I'm actually paying money now, what better way to kill my liking for it than to start a dynasty and burn out quickly!

It's the start of year 319 so it's a good time to start chronicling the careers of my players. This is on World 2 and I believe Britrock and Ntndeacon both have players here as well.

The players:

Teo Rask (age 22): Currently ranked 68th in the world. He has super high endurance (4.5) but is probably only about average from an athletic perspective (strength 2.7 and speed 3.3). Skill is at 4.7 and serve is at 3.7. He struggled his first year in the top 200 but has made steady progress since and is consistently making at least the semi-finals of the challenger events he takes part in. The goal for this year will be to break into the top 50 (stretch goal would be top 30 but that seems highly unlikely).

His next tournament is undecided at this time. He's going to be unseeded at all the challengers and 250s for week 2 based on current sign-ups but I'm currently contemplating taking part in a 250 if that's the case. He seems to have trouble handling top 50 players at this time so it's pretty much going to be a crapshoot for any tournament he takes part in next week.

Daniel Cole (age 18): Currently unranked as he just finished his junior career (ranked 77th). This is a pick-up from the free agency pile and he was created by another player in the world via credits. His strength is his .. strength (4.4) but he has slightly below average speed (2.3). Endurance is decent (3.8) and he has a skill of 3.3 and service of 1.6.

He's taking part in an amateur tournament this week and is cruising so far (into the QF so far without dropping a set).

Ghazi Mehmett (age 15): 280th ranked junior. I'm not entirely sure where Ghazi ends up at this stage. He hasn't won a junior tournament yet but it's early days. He maxes out around 3.3 for strength and 3.2 for speed and around 3.8 for endurance so he looks ok from a physical perspective.

Lots of training for him this year and tournaments just to maintain his form.

Iker Gauba (age 31): 109th in the world. The old man of the group is a recent pickup and is being groomed to be a trainer. 4.3 skill, 3.8 serve and 3.6 doubles. The intention is to quickly reach 7500 xp then decide when I want to convert him into a trainer.

His tournament schedule is going to be a challenger schedule with an emphasis on doubles (he's currently 79th in the world). I should probably find him a partner to see if it's possible to get the former world no. 30 some late career success.

[britrock88]

I keep Mendez/Lebyedenko fresh in the dead period before the Aussie Open with doubles FTs. Don't even bother with the week 2 challengers myself.

[britrock88]

And with Gauba, make sure to do the math on his trainer score... though that's a little complicated.

The best way to compute this that I've come up with is:

TrainerRating = [(4*SkillBalls + 3*ServeBalls + (4/3)*DoublesBalls)/(2.3*Age%)]

[law90026]

Think he is supposed to be a 4.4 ball trainer right now. Will see if I can improve that by year end.

Do feel free to post updates on your guys here if you want!

[law90026]

Week 1 draws to a close. Teo Rask and Iker Gauba spent the week training while Ghazi Mehmett had the week off because of fatigue.

Daniel Cole took part in the Praetoria amateur tournament, which was played on a hardcourt, and did well, reaching the semi-finals for both the singles and doubles draws. It’s only 3 ranking points each but that puts him at 2128th in the world for singles and 3325th for doubles.

Both Ghazi and Daniel were able to put 1 point each into their service ability.

In week 2, Daniel will be training (and will be doing this until week 5 or 6), while Ghazi is representing France in the Junior Team Cup Playoffs. Teo and Iker will be taking part in the Sao Paulo CH1 tournament (played on hardcourt) and will be playing together in the doubles. For Teo, he should be able to make the 2nd round at least, where he is expected to face Behzad Kiani, the world 56th player. Behzad has a better serve but is slightly less athletic so it should be close’ish but I suspect Behzad wins in straight sets. If Teo is able to make it to the 3rd round, he will face former world number 3 (currently 37th) Kelvin Burgess and that should be the furthest he can go.

[law90026]

Week 2 is over and it shows you what I know about this game.

Daniel Cole had a practice week and I think he earned about 460xp in total.

Ghazi Mehmett represented France in the JTC Team Cup Playoffs and played 2 singles matches against Denmark. Unfortunately, the 9th ranked French team was beaten 3-2 overall and it didn’t help that Ghazi lost both his matches, one against 55th ranked junior J. Paulsen (6-1, 6-4, 6-0) and the 2nd against 390th ranked J. Palsson (6-2, 6-4, 6-4). Poor performance overall and a semi-wasted week considering he only got 2 matches in along with some friendlies. Or maybe not, since he did manage to pick up about 500+ XP and that allowed him to pick up another point in skill.

On to Teo Rask and Iker Gauba. The 2 played singles and doubles in the CH1 tournament in Sao Paulo. Iker lost in the first round of the singles, which wasn’t unexpected, to world #71 Andrei Ripanu (6-1, 6-3). More disappointingly, Teo lost to world #156 Daniel Croce (6-7(8), 6-4, 6-4), a match that was close (110 points by Croce to 104 by Iker). Teo’s inability to break serve was probably the difference as he only converted 2 of 9 breakpoints while Croce converted 4 of 6. To be fair, Croce is a former world #21 and he did manage to reach the semi-finals, knocking off the 1st and 8th seeds along the way.

For doubles, Teo and Iker won their first match (6/2, 6/4) but lost to South African 4th seeds Martin Ebbert and Jeff Sellars in the QFs (7/6(2), 7/5), in a very close match. That gives the pair 18 doubles ranking points but this was really only meant to try and get Teo match fit.

In Week 3, Teo and Iker will be taking part in the Sydney 250. Teo will have entry into the first round but Iker will need to play qualifiers. They will also have to play qualifiers for the doubles event.

[Brian Swartz]

Yay!! If you don't mind, I'll provide a little 'color' at least to start in this thread. I'm intrigued by the idea of taking a look at a completely new(to me) universe, and I can do whatever I want with the 'free' worlds since I only actively play on my VIP one(rr1).

Slap me if you think I'm taking over or any such nonsense. It's your thread and all.

[law90026]

By all means! Would love to have your thoughts and insights on this world.

[Brian Swartz]

First impression would be, as a fast gameworld it's the opposite of what I do. Generally they have more competition in terms of other managers, but I would expect the players themselves to not be as perfectly developed, since it's a bit more difficult to micromanage a player on 40 minutes per game day than 4 hours per!(understatement alert).

On my 10-point scale, here's how the Top Ten currently looks.

1. Antonio Filho(27, ESP) -- 9.89. Very strong, as good a serve as I've ever seen.

2. Nikolai Balk(28, UZB) -- 10.23. Not sure I've ever taken notice of a player from Uzbekistan before! Worthy of discussion as being among the all-time greats with 10 Slams and 21 Masters. I think he should be #1, interesting that he won the last two Slams and lost early in the two before that. Despite his age and declining skill, all-around excellent athlete and strong mental game also. Could well seize the top spot from Filho.

3. Valentino Dotto(24, ITA) -- 10.05. Best technical player I've ever seen, mine included. Serve's as good as Filho and better rally, but not the athleticism. Still ought to be a future #1, incredible player for his age.

4. Svetislav Jarenovic(SRB, 27) -- 9.61. Another great server but is pretty slow and doesn't have the mental game to reach the top.

5. Gianluca Baruffaldi(ARG, 25) -- 10.03. Excellent technical player with very strong mentality as well. Weakness is athleticism but another fantastic player.

6. Raimundo Banuelos(BOL, 28) -- 9.5. Merely very good, not up to the same standard as those ahead of him.

7. Francisco Olbera(BOL, 27) -- 9.2. Skilled and speedy, but not all that strong and his resolve is as firm as milk unfortunately. In a close match with another top player, he's likely to fade almost every time.

8. Havel Gondzur(SVK, 28) -- 9.62. Although not as severe, another player for whom the mental game limits his potential.

9. Adel Adkins(ESP, 29) -- 9.57. Not the best baseline technique, but the bigger problem here is playing like his feet are stuck in cement. Of course, he's starting to get up there; it happens to everyone.

10. Mario Avendano(ARG, 26) -- 10.23. As good as anyone, very strong, excellent serve, fantastic mental game. A bit weak off the ground but only compared to the best. Avendano should be ranked a lot higher! I can't figure out why he hasn't had better results.


Impressions

So, I'm glad I'm not playing in this world. Overall level of competition seems to be considerably tougher -- I'm really impressed by how many truly elite players there are. There must be a lot of obscenely dedicated managers; I thought I was a psycho-addict.

Teo Rask has a funny-looking nose! :P. In all seriousness, I grade him as an 8.77. Definitely peg him as a challenger-level player. At peak, maybe he gets to Top 30 but I don't think this year. That's my prediction, for whatever it's worth or not. Don't burn out though, I'm interested to see how he and the others do.

[CrimsonFox]

what is this game?

[law90026]

Cool analysis. I was hoping to have Teo try and emulate Valentino to be honest, a player with strong skills but only ok'ish athleticism. Let's see how that goes!

@crimson: it's an online browser tennis management game called rocking rackets. Should be easy enough to Google the link.

[CrimsonFox]

yeah just did. so is this something where I could start a team or character in your world or is it strictly solo? aka could I do something in your "world" to affect things?

[law90026]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

yeah just did. so is this something where I could start a team or character in your world or is it strictly solo? aka could I do something in your "world" to affect things?

Could definitely affect things. Everyone creates their own players and they can potentially face off in the tournaments. One of my guys faced one of Britrock's and his won that match. No graphics though, it's really more of a sim.

[CrimsonFox]

understood. So would you allow me to make a character in your game world and join in this dynasty with commentary?

[digamma]

There are several of us playing in various worlds. I believe Alf and I are both in World 11.

[law90026]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

understood. So would you allow me to make a character in your game world and join in this dynasty with commentary?

Haha no need to ask for permission! Feel free to contribute, a community effort would be cool.

[digamma]

I'm contemplating using my second world to play around here. Would be fun to have a bunch in the same world.

[CrimsonFox]

what world?

[digamma]

World 2

I hired two Hungarians to play around with. 16 year old Gyorgy Annus and 26 year old Guyla Artali.

Argali doesn't have the endurance I'd like, but he was the oldest best player I could find to move to trainer at some point.

Annus has a form of 0.1, so we'll be hitting the junior circuit hard.

[law90026]

Originally Posted by digamma

World 2

I hired two Hungarians to play around with. 16 year old Gyorgy Annus and 26 year old Guyla Artali.

Argali doesn't have the endurance I'd like, but he was the oldest best player I could find to move to trainer at some point.

Annus has a form of 0.1, so we'll be hitting the junior circuit hard.

Love the name

[CrimsonFox]

And.....we're waiting for things to happen...

[law90026]

Week 3 was another disappointing week overall.

Ghazi Mehmett and Daniel Cole both spent the week training and up'ed their respective serves by another point each.

Teo Rask and Iker Gauba took part in the Sydney 250 to try and get their form up. Iker lost in the second qualifying round to 32 year old Luka Lano but managed to pick up 5 ranking points. Teo was more disappointing, as he was drawn against world #22 Andrey Rhyzov in the 1st round and was summarily dispatched 6/1 6/2. 0 ranking points for Teo again and the year starts poorly for him.

In doubles, the pair were knocked out in the first qualifying round so that was another wasted effort.

One thing I realised is that I've been a little too aggressive at the start of the year and that's costing Teo Rask. I need to go back to the more conservative approach that got him to the top 60s in the world, rather than trying to push for results in the bigger tournaments.

Week 4 will be a practice week for both Teo Rask and Daniel Cole. Ghazi will be taking part in a JG5 tournament in Basel while Iker will be playing doubles in the Australian Open.

[law90026]

Week 4 was a mixed bag.

Both Teo Rask and Daniel Cole were training and Teo is close to having enough xp to place another point into his skill.

Ghazi Mehmett played decently in the JG5, reaching the semi-finals before losing to 2nd seed (and 17 year old) Davy Garten 6/1 6/2. In the first 2 rounds, Ghazi played 2 3-setters, including an upset win over the 3rd seed in the QFs.

Iker Gauba was in the Australian Open doubles maindraw, where he was paired with 18 year old Jerramy Larrance. They won easily in the first round but were crushed by the 8th seeds 6/2 6/0 in the 2nd round. That's 90 doubles ranking points for Iker, which should put him around 70th in the world for doubles.

Week 5 will see Teo Rask return to action in a CH1 at Heilbronn and he will be hoping for a top 4 seeding (it looks like he's no.2 at the time I'm posting this). Britrock's Andrei Lebedyenko (#92) and Sean Mendez (#100) are also participating it appears.

Iker Gauba will take part in a CH3 in Honolulu, both singles and doubles.

Daniel Cole and Ghazit Mehmett are both training but there's a possibility Ghazit may be called up to play for France in the U-16s JTC again.

[britrock88]

If you're poking around, Brian, would you size up my current pair?

[Brian Swartz]

Well as far as Artali goes, I'd say you just want to him to earn some points so you can get a real trainer candidate. Like, say, this guy:

Lago Souza

who is in the 4.7-4.8 range right now.

As far as Annus goes, in general that's a bit old to hire a player, but I didn't do a search to see who else might be out there. I'm going to be a bit hard on him(you asked) -- I think you should be able to do better. He's already been largely ruined since he's only played 4 singles and 4 doubles matches in over two years of being active(that means he's had low form and therefore low experience the whole time basically). Also had considerable doubles training which is a waste. Talent is outstanding(4.6), endurance is not horrible at 3.3 max but far from ideal as well. Strength max at 3.2 and 3.0 speed are definitely credible.

So basically, if somebody had jumped on this guy right away and handled him right, he could have been a good player. Definitely at least Top 100 at his peak I think. But it's too late now IMO.

I changed my mind and looked through a few players I might pick(but be fast, because if lots of people are playing in this thread, they might beat you too them or someone else might ) All in the age-14 section.

Rafael Nadal(once he becomes available). Recently fired and looks like a created cast-off(such original names, always). If you can live with that though, will max at 3.4 endurance, 4.9 str, 3.2 spd, 4.3 talent. Not overwhelming but with strength that high he can be a very good player.

Lukas Schell. At 103% aging won't have a super-long pro career. 4.1 talent, 3.5 endurance and should be a good juniors player. 3.9 str, 3.4 speed at max, so good athleticism. Generally I go against players with high aging but he's got enough to make it worth losing the extra couple years at the end of the career that it costs you.

Those are the best athletes by far which is more important I would think in a faster world. After that the players are more flawed. I'd be tempted at that point to go after players like this one:

Valery Chernov -- 2.7 str, 3.2 spd is at least solid, marginal in terms of talent(4.0), endurance(3.0/3.1) and solid mentality(2.9). I might take a guy like this, there are a few other similar, and then regularly look for better options more like the guys listed above to replace them with.

[law90026]

Weeks 5 and 6 are done.

Teo Rask took part in a CH1 tournament in Heilbronn and he was seeded 2nd. The expectation was at least a semi-final appearance but he fell short, losing to unseeded 26 year old Evgeni Minkowski in 3 sets (6/3, 3/6, 6/2) in the QFs. A disappointing result but Teo is not in the green zone in terms of form at this time and I’m going to need to get him going again. It’s been a disappointing start to the year for Teo thus far. Evegeni did make the finals though, losing to the #1 seed Rudolf Joachimsthal (world #52) there.

Iker Gauba was in Honolulu for a CH3 tournament. In the singles, he was not surprisingly beaten in the first round, losing to #8 seed Marcelo Borsellino (world #94). He did better in the doubles though, reaching the finals with Rene Nimek but they lost to Logan Hammer and Alrik Agardh in the finals (6/2, 7/5).

Both Daniel Cole and Ghazi Mehmett spent the 2 weeks training and Daniel up’ed his serve by another point while Ghazi up’ed both skill and serve by 1 point each.

At the current XP gain, Iker will be in line to become a trainer in about 5-6 weeks, which is a little earlier than expected. It’s been good carrying out this dynasty because I’ve actually been monitoring the players’ xp gain and am getting a better sense of how quickly they can improve.

Week 7 will be a training week for Teo, Iker and Ghazi and Daniel is headed to an amateur tournament in Lumut.

[law90026]

Weeks 7 and 8 are over.

Daniel Cole took part in 2 amateur tournaments and reached the semi-finals of both, picking up another 6 ranking points and reaching a singles ranking of 1558. Unfortunately, I dropped him in week 9 as I identified (correctly I hope) a prospect that looks to be better than all of my players. That update can come in the next one.

Teo Rask took week 7 off to train and then headed to Bergamo (a CH2 level tournament) in week 8. His doubles entry was really just to get him form up slightly and he lost in the 2nd qualifying round. Mission accomplished though as he got his form above 15 before the singles main draw. For the first time this year, Teo played well. Seeded 7th, he cruised through the first 2 round before facing 3rd seed Behzad Kiani (world #52) in the QFs. Teo had beaten Behzad previously in a CH2 finals a year ago and he continued his winning streak here, dominating Behzad 6/1, 6/0. In the semis, Teo faced world #56 Mark Edberg and won in 3 sets, 6/1, 6/3, 7/5. Edberg actually won 81 points to Teo’s 80 but Teo squeaked out the win. The run ended in the finals though as Teo was beaten comfortably by the top seed, Kelvin Burgess (world #40, former world #3), 6/3, 7/5. Still a nice run for Teo and he picks up 55 ranking points and that pushes him back up to 65th in the world.

Ghazi Mehmett also trained in week 7 and then headed for a JG4 event in Zacara for week 8, where he reached the semi-finals as the #2 seed. Disappointingly, he lost to #3 seed Andy Raab there but it was understandable as Ghazi’s fatigue had hit 750+ by then, not helped by 2 long 3-setters he had to play that week.

Iker Gauba continued training in week 7 and then went to Bergamo as well for singles and doubles. He wasn’t paired with Teo Rask (deliberately broke up that partnership). He lost in the first round of singles but reached the quarter finals of the doubles main draw, where he lost 3/6, 6/2, 10/7, to Julian Rublev and Behzad Kiani (yes the same one Teo beat in singles).

Week 9 will be a tournament week for Teo Rask as he heads to a 250 and Iker will be heading to a CH2 to play singles and doubles again. Ghazi will be resting as he is completely exhausted.

[CrimsonFox]

Jonathan Kemp, the man, the myth, The Bruce!

Australian tennis player extraordinaire.

Has stuggled on and off the court. He drives a honda of all things...
A civic.

He won several practice friendly matches but hasn't made any splash in tournaments yet. He completely failed in his first two attempts.

But now he's kicking butt and taking names.

In the Australian F3 Futures Match he showed excellent control and power.

In the Singles Tourney he Made it into Round 2 before getting knocked out.

But in Doubles....a skill he has not shown any promise and very low skill, he made it to the FINALS! It's miller time!

Or rather...Foster's!

[CrimsonFox]

Now drafting 14 year old David Haarland from Sweden!
okay that's pump those stats up pal!

[law90026]

Weeks 9 and 10 update:

Ghazi Mehmett rests completely in week 9 and has a practice week in week 10 so it's been a lull period for him. He's going to play singles and doubles in a JG4 in week 11 to get his form up. Managed to improve his skill by another point.

Iker Gauba showed that there is still some life in his "old" bones as he managed to win a singles match in a CH2 at Meknes, before losing 6/3 6/4 to top seed Andres Montoya (world #58). Doubles was a semi-final appearance, where they lost to the eventual winners. Iker will be taking part in Indian Wells in week 11 as I'm testing a system where I let the minimum form be 20 at all times.

Then on to the new guy, Claude Curtayne, a 14 year old from France. He potentially looks to max out at 2.9 strength and 3.2 speed but he has a 3.4 mentality and max 3.9 endurance. I suspect he is probably my best player potentially if I develop him right but let's see how it goes. Week 9 was just friendlies as I signed him mid-week but week 10 was a JG5 to get his form up and he exited early in both singles and doubles. Week 11 will be another JG5 to get his form up as well.

On to Teo Rask, who just had 2 excellent weeks. Week 9 was the Open 13 in Marseille, a 250 level tournament. His entry here was opportunistic as sign-ups for the tournament were poor enough that he was seeded 5th even though he was ranked in the 60s. I expected at best a QF appearance for Teo but he was determined to prove that he was getting into form.

The first 2 rounds were easy, as he dropped just 6 games in 4 sets against unranked players. That set up a QF against old archrival Tom Liekmar. As backdrop (and this was before I picked up Teo), Teo had faced off against Tom 11 times in the juniors and lost every single time. When they turned pro, Teo had lost 2 more times. However, Teo finally managed to win one against Tom in a CH2 finals late last year and he was able to maintain the winning streak, beating Tom 7/5 3/6 6/2, to advance to the SFs.

In the SFs, Teo was up against Rozomir Lapcevic, 2nd seed and world #26. On paper, this was a match Teo shouldn't win 99 times out of a 100 because Rozomir is more athletic, stronger mentally and slightly more skillful than Teo. Somehow though, Teo won convincingly 6/3 6/2! Not sure how it happened but Teo will take it.

The finals was against world #22 Jun Radwanski. No fairy tale ending here though as Jun won 6/3 6/4. But for Teo, it's his best ever performance in a tournament and he picks up a hefty 150 ranking points.

In week 10, Teo continued with his good form, taking part in a CH2 in Cherbourg. His new ranking of #60 meant he was the top seed and he held up his end of the bargain, winning the tournament to pick up another 90 ranking points. It was a very dominant win too, as he didn't drop a set in 5 rounds and only lost 14 games in total. With that, he goes up to world #54.

Teo will be taking at least 2 weeks off and potentially as many as 4 weeks off, depending on which tournaments are available during this period. A break well deserved.

[ntndeacon]

Do we have 4 people in world 2?

[britrock88]

Looks that way.

[digamma]

5 I think

[britrock88]

Right you are! I've added each of you as a buddy so that we can peek at each other's stables more easily.

[law90026]

Week 11 and 12 update:

Quiet weeks for Teo Rask as he basks in his recent successes. The practice sessions allow him to up his skill another point. Week 13 will see Teo enter a CH2 event at Rimouski as the top seed and he will hope to maintain his recent good run. Currently ranked world #55.

For Iker Gauba, retirement into trainer mode is coming ever closer but he had a decent showing at the Indian Wells Masters. He was knocked out in the first qualifying round for doubles but surprised some in the singles tournament, making it through 3 qualifying rounds to reach the main draw, where he lost to 22 year old American Tony Archer (world #60). Week 13 will be a CH3 event in Bath for Iker.

Ghazi Mehmett took part in 2 back to back JG4s and the performance was mixed. He reached the QFs for both tournaments along with 1 doubles SF but he’s not quite ready to win at JG4 level yet. Managed to up 2 points in skill and 1 in serve. Week 13 will be a practice week for Ghazi.

Claude Curtayne took part in a JG5 in week 11, where he won the doubles tournament and lost in the first round of the singles tournament. Week 12 was a practice week for Claude and week 13 will be as well.

Quarterly Update:

As roughly 1 quarter of the season has passed, it’s a good time to evaluate where the players are right now.

Teo Rask (#55) is finding his stride with a string of good tournament performances. It feels like he’s at the next point in his career progression because he’s good enough to win challengers if he has a high seeding but his ranking isn’t high enough to assure him of a good run in a major tournament yet. The intention is to play him in a tournament when his form is around 19-21 and then take 2 weeks off after, unless there is an opportunity to steal a high seed in a bigger tournament. It looks like reaching the top 50 is a question of time now.

Iker Gauba is really just winding down his career but it’s nice to see him perform decently in recent matches.

Both Ghazi Mehmett and Claude Curtayne continue to develop. It’s hard to tell where they will end up in the juniors but I have decent hopes that they will have good careers.

[law90026]

World 2 Year 319 1Q Update:

The first quarter of the season is just about over so let’s see what has happened so far.

The Australian Open was won by 24 year old Valentino Dotto, the world #2 (at the time of this post). He beat world #8 Mario Avendano in the finals and it was a close one (7/6(3), 6/7, 7/6(6), 6/7(5), 6/3).

The first Masters of the year was at Indian Wells and the winner was Valentino Dotto again. This time the finals was against world #6 Adel Adkins but it wasn’t close, 7/5, 6/2.

4 500s have been played and they have been won by Valentino Dotto, world #4 Gianluca Baruffaldi (x2) and world #24 Morgan Tallemach.

13 250s have been played and the winners are Valentino Dotto, world #3 Nikolai Balk, world #7 Havel Gondzur, world #14 Eddy Pratt, world #18 Ramon Zandio, world #19 Ippolito Berti, world #20 Adrian Genel, world #21 Jun Radwanski (x3), world #25 Ene Colon, world #37 Tin-jong Cao and world #49 Magui Pitillas. One notable absence in the list of winners is current world #1 Antonio Filho, who has played a relatively light schedule so far (just 5 tournaments and 2 WTCs).

Current top 10:

1. Antonio Filho, 27 years old – 11,900 points
2. Valentino Dotto, 24 years old – 10,470 points
3. Nikolai Balk, 29 years old – 9,160 points
4. Gianluca Baruffaldi, 26 years old – 6,740 points
5. Svetislav Jarenovic, 27 years old – 6,020 points
6. Adel Adkins, 29 years old – 4,520 points
7. Havel Gondzur, 28 years old – 4,350 points
8. Mario Avendano, 26 years old – 4,010 points
9. Francisco Olbera, 28 years old – 3,445 points
10. Jose Morrone, 28 years old – 3,070 points

[law90026]

Weeks 13 – 15 update:

Teo Rask entered the CH2 event in Rimouski with confidence and the #1 seed and he lost only 13 games enroute to the finals, where he faced off against #4 seed Steven Comley. Somehow though, Teo lost the finals 1/6, 7/6(6), 6/2, despite winning 105 points to Steven’s 95 points. It was likely Teo choking on the day as he only managed to convert 3 out of 12 break points. Steven also managed to blast 15 aces. A tough one to understand but at least Teo reached another Challenger finals. Teo then took week 14 off and the intention was to take week 15 off as well. Unfortunately, Sweden called Teo up to represent them in their group match against Switzerland.

Good thing they did too as Teo, despite being the lesser ranked singles player (Sweden’s #1 is Alvar Freudenthal, world #33), led them to victory by winning both his singles matches. Alvar split his singles matches and the Swede doubles team also lost. It all came down to day 5 where Teo overcame former world #1 Jean Marie Brochet (now world #160) 6/7(3), 4/6, 6/3, 7/5(5), 6/3, coming from 2 sets down to win it. Way to overcome the choke in Rimouski! The mildly annoying thing is that Teo didn’t get enough of a break and I’m going to have to decide whether to push for another CH1 in week 16 where there are some favourable seedings available or to rest another week.

Iker Gauba took part in his last professional tournament in week 13 where he lost in the singles 2nd round and was the runners-up in the doubles. 2 weeks after that, Iker became a trainer and is looking to work to develop Teo a lot more. At his current training level, he gives Teo 19 xp per session at the cost of 23 fatigue.

Ghazi Mehmett had a really tough practice session in week 13, so tough that he had to take the whole of week 14 off to recover. Week 15 was another JG4 where he again reached the QFs before losing. He’s going to take a week off and then will go down 1 level to a JG5 to see how that goes.

Claude Curtayne spent weeks 13 and 15 training. In week 14, he took part in a JG5 and was knocked out in the first round for singles and the QFs for doubles.

[law90026]

A bit of a heftier update now as we cover weeks 16 to 22.

Teo Rask
Teo played in a CH1 tournament in Johannesburg in week 16 and was the 2nd seed. As has been the case in recent times, he cruised through his first 2 rounds and faced off against #5 seed Mark Edberg in the QFs. The 2 had faced off some weeks before in a CH2 SF which Teo had won but Edberg crushed Teo convincingly here (6/3, 6/1). Disappointing result for Teo.

Next up was a 250 in Munich in week 19, where Teo was the #5 seed. The first 2 rounds went easily again but the draw was unlucky for Teo as he faced off against #1 seed Hugo Brunner (world #28) in the QFs. Teo had his chances in the first 2 sets, winning the first 7/5 and being up 3/1 in the 2nd before losing focus and just falling apart to lose the 2nd 6/3. The 3rd set was an easy romp by Brunner, 6/2.

Week 20 was a CH2 in Fergana and once again Teo fell short in the QFs, despite being the #1 seed. This was probably the worst loss of the lot as he lost to world #112 Gineto Scalvini, a match he shouldn't lose on paper. It went to 3 sets but Scalvini won it 6/3, 6/7(4), 7/6(4). Scalvini did reach the finals where he lost to Mark Edberg but that really feels like it should have been Teo progressing.

Week 23 will be Teo's first ever grandslam as he takes part at the French Open. Hopefully he gets a decent draw as the world #47.

The Juniors:
Rather than go into detail about the juniors, who largely spend their time practising and playing low level junior tournaments, here's the quick overview.

I picked up a new youngster, Gregorio Calantanazor. Try typing that quickly 6 times. He grades out as having 3.1 strength and 3.7 speed with a 4.3 mentality so I have high hopes for him. His weeks were spent getting his form up and he took part in 4 consecutive tournaments to get out of the red zone. His best singles performance was a SF appearance in a JG5 and 2nd place in a doubles at a JG5.

Ghazi Mehmett took part in 2 JG5s over this period and did well in both. He reached the SFs for both singles and doubles at La Plata and he went a little further in the next JG5 at Den Haag, coming in 2nd in the finals and winning the doubles. I will be moving him up to the JG4 levels again after this sequence of results.

Claude Curtayne was also at La Plata and Den Haag but he fared worse. He was knocked out of the first round of singles in La Plata and Den Haag although he did manage to make the doubles SFs in La Plata. He also played another JG5 in Lisbon in week 22 but lost in the qualifying rounds for both singles and doubles.

[law90026]

Week 23 – 26 update

Teo Rask
Teo has been in a bit of a rut recently since he broke into the top 50 and he needs to get his game back in order. Week 23 was the French Open and Teo was knocked out in the first round, losing to world #64 Danilo Maiotti (6/3, 6/3, 6/1). Not a good performance at all. He followed that up with an appalling 2nd round loss to world #194 Cestmir Romanyak in a CH+ tournament and there was another early exit in the 2nd round of a CH1 tournament. He’s playing well below his level and took week 26 off to refocus. Hopefully the break will pay off as he heads to Montevideo to play a CH2 in week 27. My gut feeling is that his serve (3.7) is holding him back at the higher levels because he’s often giving his opponents the opportunity to break. Let’s see how that goes over time.

Ghaza Mehmett
Ghaza played in 2 tournaments over this 4 week period. He tried to move up to a JG4 but was knocked out in the QFs of the singles draw. Taking a week off, he headed to a JG5 in week 26 and was the runner-up for singles and a semi-finalist for doubles. He seems to be just slightly not ready for the JG4 at this level but we will keep pushing through that. He turns 16 in week 30. Currently ranked #332 in juniors.

Gregorio Calantanazor
Henceforth known as GC. He’s around the same level as Claude Curtayne so I’ve decided to pair them up for doubles for now. GC played in 2 JG5s and reached the QFs of both for singles and a QF and a SF for doubles (the SF appearance came in his first pair-up with Claude). Currently ranked #794 in the junior circuit.

Claude Curtayne
Claude also managed to reach the QFs of 2 JG5s during this period and a SF in doubles with GC. Ranked #875 in juniors, his main drawback is the high fatigue he gets after a few matches.

[law90026]

Week 27 update

I wasn’t going to post another update so soon but the results of Teo’s last tournament was riveting enough that I figured I should (for my own record at least).

For the juniors, Ghazi was having a practice week while GC and Claude were off to Kiev for a JG5. There, they reached the doubles SF. Claude reached the singles QFs while GC reached the SFs. GC had crazy fatigue by the end of the week, he was at 950+ at his worst.

Teo headed to Montevideo for a CH2 on clay, seeded 2nd. The first round saw a relatively routine win over qualifier Magui Rubio (7/6(6), 6/2) and the 2nd round win over Ivan Alvear was even easier (6/2, 6/2). The QFs was where Teo was first tested as he eked out a close win (4/6, 6/3, 6/3) over 5th seed Viesturs Nasr. The semi-finals was a more routine affair, straight sets over 6th seed Romain Flor (6/3, 6/3). That set up a final with a surprising finalist, #8 seed and world #106 Arnaldo Pirovano. To be completely honest, I was pretty sure Teo would lose the finals. Arnaldo is very well trained at age 21 (4.8 skill, 3.9 serve) and a serious clay court specialist, as well as possibly slightly more athletic than Teo. Only area he was marginally weaker was in terms of mentality.

The finals was a super tight affair. The first set went to Teo, 7/5, who didn’t crumble when his serve was broken early. The 2nd set was just as close but Arnaldo won it 7/5. This set up the 3rd set where Teo was constantly under pressure. At 5/4, on Teo’s own serve, he faced 2 match points but managed to save both to hold for 5 games each. Then, at 6-5, he again staved off another matchpoint on his serve and set up a tie-breaker. In the tie-break, I thought it was over when Arnaldo went 5-4 up on his serve but that’s when Arnaldo choked, allowing Teo to win the next 3 points to claim the title. Arnaldo probably deserved to win, he won 129 points compared to Teo’s 118 but it was good to see Teo rebound to playing good tennis again.

[digamma]

I fired the Hungarians and picked up a 24 year old American Nicholas Woodger and a 14 year old Swiss mister named Hein Siedler. Siedler is athletic and talented, but raw and has a high aging factor, so we'll run him up through the youth ranks and see what happens.

[law90026]

Whew being busy in real life means that world 2 has moved on very quickly. Time for an update.

Weeks 28-40

The Juniors

Ghazi Mehmett played in 4 JG4s over this period and showed enough that I will be moving him up to JG3 for his next tournament. He managed to win 1 tournament, was 2nd in another and a semi-finalist in a 3rd (2nd round exit was his worst performance in the 4th). He also managed to win 1 doubles tournament during this stretch. Currently ranked #281.

GC also showed enough to suggest that he can move up from JG5 to JG4, winning both singles and doubles in the last 2 JG5s that he played. Ranked #432.

Claude Curtayne benefited from GC's strength as he won the 2 doubles tournaments as GC's partner. In terms of singles, he may be less ready to move up but he will try a JG4 the next cycle just to see how it goes. He was a runner up in singles in the last JG5 (losing to GC) and was also a semi-finalist in another JG5. Ranked #590.

Our lone senior

Teo Rask has been up and down the past weeks. He played 6 tournaments during this period, starting with a CH+ in Bogota where he was the 2nd seed. Unfortunately, he was beaten by 8th seed Benjamin Clavero in the QFs although, to be fair, Clavero was probably a slightly better player than Teo.

Next up was Astana, a CH1 tournament. This time, Teo reached the finals as the #2 seed and he was pleased to see that #1 seed Bill Comfort had been knocked out. Unfortunately, his opponent was Arnold Jarvilaturi, someone he had a 2-4 record against in junior tournaments, although this was their first meeting in the pros. It was a routine 6/3 6/3 win for Arnold and, again, not an unfair result as Arnold is a better player than Teo. Still, it was good to see Teo reach a finals.

Then there was a disappointing CH2 in Binghampton, where Teo was seeded #1 but lost in the QFs to unseeded Nikolaos Metaxas 6/4, 7/6. This was a disappointing result because Teo is the better player but Nikolas is a HC specialist and that probably allowed him to outperform Teo on the day.

All this was meant to be a precursor to the US Open but Teo was drawn against #28 seed Tony Archer, who trounced Teo 6/0, 6/1, 6/1. I'm not even kidding when I think Tony Archer is going to be a future world #1 because, at age 22, his rating (using Brian's formula), is 9.93. He has crazy athleticism (4 strength, 4.5 speed) and a 4.2 mentality. Still, it sucks to be out early in only Teo's 2nd Grand Slam.

Teo used that as motivation though and he did well in a CH+ at Scezecin, where he beat Britrock's Sean Mendez in a close 3-setter in the semi-finals (4//6, 6/4, 6/3) and then #1 seed Stephen Peters in the finals (6/3, 3/6, 6/3). The 2 players are roughly around the same level so it was always going to be hard to predict who would come up on top but Teo pulled through on the day.

As part of my attempt to rejig Teo's court preferences, I also signed him up for an easy CH3 in Recife but he choked there, losing in the QFs as the #1 seed to #6 seed Davy Roope. It was a match that Teo shouldn't have lost as he is clearly the better player so this was a very disappointing result.

Overall, Teo managed 1 CH+ win, 1 CH1 runner-up, 3 QFs CH appearances and a first round loss in the US Open during this period. Personal view is that it's an overall disappointment because at least 2 of those QF losses should not have occurred. Still, Teo is ranked #46 in the world so he meets the Top 50 target if he is able to maintain his position, although I suspect he will find it hard-going to improve on that.

[law90026]

What happened in world 2 since week 12? Let's see.

Grand Slams
The French Open was won by Gianluca Barrufaldi, the current world #3. This is the grand slam that Gianluca really focuses on as he is a clay court specialist and he beat world #1 Valentino Dotto in straight sets in the finals before facing off against legend Nikolai Balk in the finals, where he prevailed in 3 easy sets as well. This is Gianluca's first ever grand slam title.

Wimbledon was won by world #2 Antonio Filho, who beat Gianluca Barrufaldi in the finals in 4 sets. It's his 3rd grand slam title, following 2 previous French Open titles. Remember Tony Archer? He reached the semi-finals here before Antonio beat him, while Gianluca beat Valentino Dotto in the other semi-finals again.

The US Open was won by world #1 Valentino Dotto, which makes it his 2nd grand slam of the year (he had won the Australian Open) and his 3rd overall (he won the US Open 2 years ago as well). He beat world #7 Adel Adkins in the finals, who had beaten Gianluca Barrufaldi in the semis. Valentino must have been glad not to see Gianluca in the semis of another grand slam and he gleefully crushed world #6 Mario Avendano in straight sets in his semi-finals.

Masters
Valentino Dotto won Miami, beating world #6 Mario Avendano in the finals.

World #5 Svetislav Jarenovic won Monte Carlo, beating Gianluca Barrufaldi in the finals.

Antonio Filho won Madrid, beating Adel Adkins in the finals.

Valentino Dotto won Rome, beating Svetislav Jarenovic in the finals.

Canada was won by Valentino Dotto, who beat Antonio Filho in the finals.

Valentino's run was broken by Nikolai Balk in Cincinnati though.

500s
500s were won by world #2 Antonio Filho, world #12 Morgan Tallemach and world #13 Javier Juan Ricardos.

250s
250s were won by world #4 Svetislav Jarenovic(x2), world #8 Havel Gondzur, world #10 Jean Paul Demercastel, world #11 Indrek Sarv (x2), world #14 Eddy Pratt, world #15 Josh Morrone(x4), world #16 Ene Colon(x2), world #18 Timmy Toy, world #19 Glenn Southwell, world #22 Rozomir Lapcevich (x2), world #26 Rudolf Joachimsthal(x2), world #28 David Villa, world #29 Stepan Durocsinszky, world #34 Alberto Gallas, world #37 Danil Mamine, world #39 Hugo Brunner and world #47 Jong Heng-zong.

Top 10

1. Valentino Dotto, 25 years old – 12,680 points (up 1 place)
2. Antonio Filho, 27 years old – 9,680 points (down 1 place)
3. Gianluca Baruffaldi, 26 years old – 8,735 points (up 1 place)
4. Svetislav Jarenovic, 27 years old– 6,455 points (up 1 place)
5. Nikolai Balk, 29 years old – 5,955 points (down 2 places)
6. Mario Avendano, 26 years old – 5,580 points (up 2 places)
7. Adel Adkins, 30 years old – 5,175 points (down 1 place)
8. Havel Gondzur, 28 years old – 4,790 points (down 1 place)
9. Anatoly Cherny, 24 years old – 3,210 points (new)
10.Jean Paul Demercastel , 27 years old – 2,915 points(new)

[Brian Swartz]

I'm not even kidding when I think Tony Archer is going to be a future world #1 because, at age 22, his rating (using Brian's formula), is 9.93.

Egads! He's almost 23, but yeah ... he's pretty much ridiculous.

[law90026]

Weeks 41 to 44:

The Juniors

Ghazi Mehmett took part in a JG3 during this period and it showed that he wasn’t ready yet. First issue is that he had to qualify for the maindraw of both singles and doubles so he needs to improve his #280 ranking first. He did qualify for the singles maindraw but he was tired by the time the main tournament started and he was knocked out in the 1st round. Back to JG4 then and he will now be paired with GC for doubles.

GC took part in his first JG4 during this period and he reached the semi-finals of the singles main draw and the QFs for doubles. This looks like a good fit for him right now.

Claude Curtayne on the other hand showed he was out of his depth for JG4 and will be moving back down to JG5. He lost in the first round of JG4 singles although he reached the QFs of doubles with GC in their last pairing together for now. He took part in a JG5 tournament and he managed a runner-up position for doubles but only a QF appearance in singles.

Our Senior

Teo Rask put the disappointment of Recife behind him by coming in 2nd in the Mons CH+ tournament. This is the first time I’ve really seen the advantage of playing to a homecourt advantage as it was indoors, which is nominally Teo’s preferred surface (he’s pretty evenly split between all the surfaces). However, most of his opponents have very little preference and I think it showed. Teo was seeded #1 and dropped just 6 games in the first two rounds, setting up a tricky QF tie with #6 seed Julien Rublev. I wasn’t confident Teo could win but he eked out a close match, 6/7(5), 7/6(5), 6/3. The semi-finals was against #4 seed Andrei Lebydenko, Britrock’s other player, but Teo managed to beat him comfortably 7/6(4), 6/3. On paper I think Andrei is better (9.05 or so rating compared to Teo’s 8.95 or so) but the difference in this case could be that Andrei only has an 8% preference for indoor courts. The finals was against old foe Tom Liekmar, who was the #2 seed and had beaten Britrock’s Sean Mendes in the other semi-final. Teo and Tom are incredibly close in terms of ability and that proved to be the case as there was very little to differentiate the 2 players but it could again be the fact that Tom’s indoor preference (32%) is higher than Teo’s, allowing him to win 6/4, 6/7(3), 7/6(5). Good tennis all round and not disappointed here.

After a week off, Teo took part in the Stockholm Open, a 250 event. Teo was only the #7 seed but I figured it was worth trying it out because it was indoors and also in Sweden, Teo’s home country. Round 1 was an easy win over a qualifier, 6/0, 6/1. Round 2 was a slightly tougher challenge against Mathieu Trotter, 7/5, 6/0, a player Teo had defeated earlier in the year at the WTC. This was pretty much where I expected Teo to reach and any further progress would be a bonus.

The QF was against #1 seed and world #16 Morgan Tallemach and Teo beat him handily, 6/3, 6/2! The semi-finals was against #4 seed and world #28 Stepan Durocsinzsky and Teo won again, 6/4, 7/5, setting up a finals appearance against #3 seed and world #20 Rudolf Joachimsthal. Could Teo win the title in front of the home fans? The answer was yes as Teo won 7/6(4), 6/3. Teo’s first ever major title and not a single set dropped through 5 rounds.

The cool thing about this is that all of the players Teo had beaten are all winners of 500-level and 250-level events this year so hopefully it’s a sign Teo is ready to make the next step up in the coming year. With this win, Teo reaches a new record ranking of #37 in the world.

[law90026]

Weeks 45 to 48

The Juniors

Ghazi Mehmett played 1 JG4 during this 4 week stretch, reaching the SFs of the singles and the QFs of the doubles. Otherwise, he was just training.

GC played 2 JG4s during this period in order to maintain his form. His singles form was patchy, being knocked out in the 1st round at Manila and the QFs in Oulu. Doubles was slightly better, reaching the QFs in Manila (with Ghazi) and was runner up in Oulu.

Claude Curtayne played a JG5 and reached the SFs for both singles and doubles, which is a good result for him I think.

The Senior

In a bid to keep Teo’s form high before the end of the season break, he played in 2 tournaments. The first was a CH1 in Ortisei on indoor courts and he romped through the first 3 rounds, dropping just 9 games. He had a real test in the SFs as he beat unseeded David Carpaccio 6/4, 3/6, 6/3, setting up a finals with #1 seed Gianni Macciocchi (Teo was #2). The finals was easy though as Teo crushed Gianni 6/4, 6/0, allowing Teo to pick up his 5th title of the year. This cements Teo’s position as world #37 so mission accomplished.

The other tournament was a CH3 in Cancun on clay. Maybe Cancun wasn’t the right place because Teo switched off in the SFs and lost 6/7(5), 6/1, 6/4, to #5 seed Gregorio Yapo. A little disappointing but this tournament was not critical in the grand scheme of things and it’s time for Teo to take a break.

End of season review coming up next.

[law90026]

End of Season Review

Not much to say about the juniors for now as they continue to train and practice. Ghazi Mehmett and GC both turn 17 in the course of the next year so I have some hopes they can continue to progress to the JG 2/3 level. I suspect I might cut GC loose if another talented junior comes along (or if I want to create a player) because Brian is right, losing a year of training is a huge disadvantage (I picked GC up when he was 15). His skills are only about the level of Claude Curtayne, who is a year younger.

For Teo, he achieved his primary goal of reaching the top 50, finishing the year as #37. I wasn’t convinced it would happen midway through the season but he ended his season quite strongly. Overall, he finished the year 66-19. His biggest achievement was the 250 win in his homeland of Sweden and he also managed to win 4 challenger level singles titles. His overall tournament performance as follows (not counting the Grand Slams):

1st round: 2
2nd round: 2
QFs: 7
SFs: 1
Runner Up: 5 (including 1 250 event)
Winner: 5

The results kind of show Teo’s erraticness overall, with 11 early’ish exits and 10 finals. In terms of his ability, Teo grades out around an 8.95 but that actually puts him around 54th out of the current top 60 in the world, so he might be over-achieving slightly. I’m not sure whether he will be able to break into the top 32 this year but that is going to be very dependent on strategic management of his tournament appearances, which is something I clearly didn’t have a good handle on at the start of the year.

So the goals for Teo:

a) To reach the top 32;
b) To win the 2 Swedish 250s available;
c) Better performances in the Grand Slams.

Key things I need to remember will be to watch his seeding for tournaments although that has become easier with his relatively high ranking because he tends to be seeded #1 or 2 for challenger level events now, as well as to focus his training more on specific court-types. I’m still debating whether to go for a hardcourt/clay/indoor balance, or to focus on either hardcourts or clay and the 2nd preference being indoor. Why indoor? Doing a count of the 250 level and up events, there are actually quite a few indoor tournaments and that tends not to be a preference for most players it seems, which gives Teo a slight advantage I feel (as evidenced by his strong end of the year run). Hardcourts are the most common surface but a lot of players focus on it so it would be difficult to get any real significant advantage there.

Onwards to year 320!

[BishopMVP]

I can't look into World 2, and I don't have as good a grasp on older players as I'm on my first mid-career player, but I doubt you'll be able to change court pref's much at this point. Particularly as Teo gets into the Top 30/Sweden's top 2 and his schedule is basically dictated to him (and is quite varied between the 4 surfaces.)

[Brian Swartz]

That's basically true. The older a player gets the longer it takes to make a significant change. By about age 20 I would say it's no longer feasible to make a major adjustment, unless you want to take years to do it. You can still push him a little in one direction or another of course.

[law90026]

Ah good to know!