Week 44 - Challenger ($75,000) - Charlottesville, VA, USA (hard)

Salmon · Tennis legend

RE: Week 44 - Challenger ($75,000) - Charlottesville, VA, USA (hard)

Spectator · All-time great

Fair enough! Actually, having looked it up, I think what it may prove best is the efficacy - in the case of quite a good player - of the dreaded WC. Jenkins started off after graduation playing futures (RU, W). But he got WCs into the Washington qualies, the USO qualies, three challengers (Winnetka, Binghamton and Sacramento) and earned an SE into Tiburon via Sacramento. He then got a WC into Charlottesville, too. In the meantime, he played one more futures tournament (RU). So six WCs later, by my calculation he'll be at least up in the 330s/340s (and would only need to win one more match to be at 310/320). Which in turn means that if he wants to, he should soon be able to get into the weaker challengers as a DA.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

QF: David Rice & Sean Thornley CR 560 (232+228) vs Alex Kuznetsov & Rhyne Williams (USA/USA) CR 381 (214+167)

A tough one for Dave & Sean... cry

Salmon · Tennis legend

Spectator wrote:
Fair enough! Actually, having looked it up, I think what it may prove best is the efficacy - in the case of quite a good player - of the dreaded WC. Jenkins started off after graduation playing futures (RU, W). But he got WCs into the Washington qualies, the USO qualies, three challengers (Winnetka, Binghamton and Sacramento) and earned an SE into Tiburon via Sacramento. He then got a WC into Charlottesville, too. In the meantime, he played one more futures tournament (RU). So six WCs later, by my calculation he'll be at least up in the 330s/340s (and would only need to win one more match to be at 310/320). Which in turn means that if he wants to, he should soon be able to get into the weaker challengers as a DA.

Well, it does look he loves his WCs as much as his friend Donald. He didn't enter himself for the Knoxville tournament, so he'll probably take the WC even if he beats Russell today.

indiana · Tennis legend

Certainly Jenkins has made much better use of / much more justified all the WCs ( and thrashings ) Donald Young used to routinely receive.

Young has turned into a generally very solid player, if not really the star that many in the US hoped / expected. But I think being pushed on so much early on was pretty unhelpful for a while.

Jenkins, on the other hand, rightly or wrongly, has certainly been helped in moving his ranking up more quickly commersurate with his clear ability.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

First set in the bag by 7-5. smile Two service breaks to one...

-- Edited by Stircrazy on Friday 1st of November 2013 09:54:50 PM

Spectator · All-time great

Yes, I should probably have put the "dreaded" in quotes before WC, having referred to them that way because of the general ethical questions around them, not because Jenkins' use thereof seemed problematic.

In actuality, this seems like a textbook case of how WCs should be used. You have a player who is older, having been to university. He was clearly the best player of his year (and there's quite a bit of talent around in the university pool). He comes out and makes the finals of every futures tournament he plays, so clearly could gain points that way ... but equally has demonstrated that he might well be able to handle challengers. And he doesn't have the kind of time for amassing points that an 18 or 19 year old would have; it would be good to get him moving up the rankings quickly. So you give him a block of WCs; he makes the best use of them; and lo and behold, by the end of four months or so, he's ready to strike out on his own (though I wouldn't be surprised if he got a few more WCs into the ATP level tournaments next year, if it looks as if he's ready to take the next step up).

Sounds pretty sensible, actually, given that WCs exist ... though not fair to players like Grigelis, who don't have the luxury of lots of national tournaments with WCs to hand out.

Salmon · Tennis legend

I agree. And I think wild cards at Tour/Challenger level are a terrible idea tactically unless you are good enough to win 3 main draw matches.

For example, if Llodra loses his first match in Queen's and thinks that he needs more time on grass courts, it's not a good idea to appear in Eastbourne qualies, because if he makes it to the semis, he'll have played 6 matches by then and it'll leave him shattered.* That's not the case with someone like Edmund, who probably has no realistic chance of winning 2-3 main round matches in Chennai. So why not qualify and get the 12 points that come with it? If you're not good enough to qualify, you wouldn't be winning a main draw match, either, in most cases.

Jarmere, as you say, is good enough to go deep in Challengers, so he'd actually harm his prospects if were to play qualies. But that's not the case for the bigger events, where (unfortunately) I think he'll be accepting WCs instead of appearing in qualies.

* and the points earned in qualifying will normally make a negligible impact for top 100 players

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Don't forget Dimi in the WC debate! wink

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I agree, Spectator. And using the WC like that not only benefits Jenkins but also all the normal future players because if someone is clearly under-ranked then it's unfair to the guys they get drawn against in the first and second round of the futures - the national federations have a duty to them as well.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
Don't forget Dimi in the WC debate!

Indeed. Unfortunately organisers will always queue up with WCs in front of people like Dimitrov because they are seen as stars of the future. Ultimately, no organiser believes that people will be overly eager to watch a foreigner ranked 200, but it's a good idea to develop a bond with these guys from a young age. Who knows... they'll probably prefer your tournament over others when they are multiple Slam winners.

It's not very easy to ... ahem... "convince" the top players to take part in your event. So it makes sense to be in their good books, I suppose.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

There was a sweet story quite a few years back about a player (Ancic ? someone simliar?) who, as an unheralded youngster, was given a WC to a tournament in the east of France. Did very well. Set him off.
He continued to come back and support the tournament when he could. Outgrew it.
Tournament officials were having big financial problems. 'Ancic' (query) came back to play. Won it. And gave all the money back to the tournament, thanking them for their faith when he was a kid.

indiana · Tennis legend

Great to hear, CD. Well done to Ancic or whoever.

The top players get a heck of a lot of money, but at least there are some like the much missed Andy Roddick that "get it". Sort of thing I could have seen him doing.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Certainly Jenkins has made much better use of / much more justified all the WCs ( and thrashings ) Donald Young used to routinely receive.

Speaking of which, not a thrashing as such, but he's currently ranked 104 & seeded fourth here, but was beaten earlier in three sets by the unseeded Canuck, Peter Polansky (WR 165).

Miriambee · Futures level

Rice and Thornley started, 2-2* now.