Boys & Girls: Zentiva Czech Junior Open - Grade 2 (Week 36)

DavidC · Tennis legend

RE: Boys & Girls: Zentiva Czech Junior Open - Grade 2 (Week 36)

indiana · Tennis legend

DavidC wrote:

SF

Kyle Edmund (GBR) d. (1) Denys Mylokostov (UKR) 6-1 6-2

A stunning scoreline against a player who has come out on top against Tom Farquharson, Chris Simpson and Ashley Hewitt this year. It will take Kyle into the top 200 and I think he will become the top ranked 1995 boy

Final

Kyle Edmund (GBR) v (3) Vladyslav Manafov (UKR)

As we know Kyle didn't go on to win the final, but he has indeed become the top ranked 1995 boy ( at 181 )

Additionally, Liam is the 2nd ranked 1994 boy ( at 57 ) and Oli the 5th ranked 1993 boy ( at 17 ).

I note that there are actually only just over 3 months between Oli and Liam's dobs, Oli having dob 29/09/93 and Liam 04/01/94. Kyle is another early year dob, 08/01/95, but still fine achievements this year.

-- Edited by indiana on Monday 13th of September 2010 12:05:49 PM

Akhenaten · Pro player

indiana wrote:

As we know Kyle didn't go on to win the final, but he has indeed become the top ranked 1995 boy ( at 181 )

Though the top ranked 1996 boy is actually ranked higher than Kyle. Ronit Singh Bisht (IND) is ranked 114.

indiana · Tennis legend

Akhenaten wrote:

indiana wrote:

As we know Kyle didn't go on to win the final, but he has indeed become the top ranked 1995 boy ( at 181 )

Though the top ranked 1996 boy is actually ranked higher than Kyle. Ronit Singh Bisht (IND) is ranked 114.

I must admit that I hadn't noticed that. 6th April 1996. Rather impressive !

Akhenaten · Pro player

It seems extremely good going though to have the No.1 1995 boy, the No.2 1994 boy & the No.5 1993 boy. smile

Luke Bambridge is the No.7 1995 boy too.

Tennis36 · Masters Series Champion

dont read to much into bisht's ranking, indian tournaments are very week, altough it is still impressive

The Knight · Challenger qualifying

ITF says Kyle started tennis at age 10, a very fast development if that's true!

indiana · Tennis legend

Thta' very encouraging is that it really does tend to suggest he has a natural talent and aptitude for the game as opposed to much of the basics been drilled in over the last 10 years.

James · Satellite level

Tennis36 wrote:

dont read to much into bisht's ranking, indian tournaments are very week, altough it is still impressive

Very true however his ITF Mens record 'suggests' (it does seem difficult to believe) that he took a top 700 player to 3 sets in an Indian Futures. In addition he also recorded a respectable loss to two top 500 players in the doubles at the same tournament. I'll be keeping an eye on this kid..

DavidC · Tennis legend

We should be able to evaluate Bisht's current ability level better at the end of the month, as he is part of the Indian Junior Davis Cup team heading for San Luis Potosi, and will have to play stronger players there than in Indian junior events.

thegingerlightbulb · Lower Club Player

James wrote:

Tennis36 wrote:

dont read to much into bisht's ranking, indian tournaments are very week, altough it is still impressive

Very true however his ITF Mens record 'suggests' (it does seem difficult to believe) that he took a top 700 player to 3 sets in an Indian Futures. In addition he also recorded a respectable loss to two top 500 players in the doubles at the same tournament. I'll be keeping an eye on this kid..

Has he got a British grandparent or anything. We should look to steal him for ourselves

Spectator · All-time great

The rankings suggest good things -- but I think how all three players are performing against their top peers is even more important. I'm very struck by the fact that a lot of the really good adult players didn't play many ITFs (Djokovic made this point about himself and Nadal in his final interview), but just appeared at some of the Grade A/Slam events to test themselves. Actually, Jack Sock would be a similar case (though we have no idea how his talent will translate into the adult game) -- unranked, needing a wild card, but thrashing some of the top-ranked players on his way to the US Open title. As many people on these boards have noted, it seems too easy for players to build up rankings with weak tournaments, then underperform when the competition is tough. So Golding's recent runs, the performance of Edmund and Bambridge in top-level competition, etc are the more encouraging elements.

This is all part of a wider reflection (from someone admittedly with no "real" connection to tennis) about what "matters" in junior training. Clearly juniors need to get used to competition -- but does it need to involve jetting about the world to tiny tournaments in remote venues? Leaving aside the environmental and financial costs, maybe for some people the experience of winning a minor tournament can be an impetus to keep going and to improve. But is there a danger that people jet hither and thither in pursuit of rankings (at considerable environmental and financial cost), rather than learning the basics and being realistic about their talent? I don't know -- it's genuinely just a question.

But the things that seem to keep coming up in good players' interviews as the things that shaped them are (a) character and willingness to work really, really hard, rather than coasting on talent (b) focusing on improvement, not rankings, (c) having a good coaching relationship and good people to train with, so that you regularly spur each other on, (d) learning to move well on a variety of surfaces, and (e) being mentored by one of the really, really good players.

Am glad to see more UK players going to university, as it would seem that this can help with at least some of the above: it may not be right for some, but for others teams can really help with character, coaching, spurring on, etc.

But, as noted, all these are reflections from someone with no sense of "reality" whatsoever, so may be totally off!