indiana wrote:

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Re "flashes of brilliance", such as big individual wins as well as challenger titles, that is something I look to at an early age probably much more than consistency. A question I pose is "how good is their best ?", consistency can be developed. That is one reason that Laura has for so long excited me in that her best has been very good indeed.

And I'd say Kyle is not doing badly on that front. At his best he has already competed well with and indeed beaten top 100 players. We all agree, I think, that while still developing the consistency is likely to still be an issue and it has been. But big matches, sometime just sets, have been there, encouragingly so.

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It's true. Some "moments" in there for Kyle, I guess. Looking forward to many more over the years.....

.....agree with the "how good is their best?" question which in my eyes would indicate Laura has the potential to be a worldbeater. I also think there's a "are they serial tournament winners on the way up", which unfortunately would rule her out almost 100%, but certainly not Kyle.

It's a shame for Kyle that (with respect to everyone else in GB men's/boy's tennis) IMO there's pretty much no one else we can readily identify who might help him share the load over the coming years at the top end of the game......although if the "let them come through at their own pace" mantra which everyone seems to repeat might suggest there could be lots in the wings. Not!

 

indiana wrote:

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I'd say that the back end of the year will be interesting for Kyle, but not vital. Then again I have associate membership of The Every Player Develops At Their Own Pace Society.

Kyle has still been rising well, is in the 230s in the rankings ( 5th highest ranked teenager in the world, basically behind the four names you fixed on, korriban ), high enough himself to have been in US Open qualifying, although his overall schedule including missing out on the US Open leaves be baffled in parts whatever posts come from the Kyle and team can do no wrong corner.

I'd certainly agree winning challengers is clearly better than not ( and he's not been particularly close yet ) and would be very encouraging for the future. Time is still very much on his side with however an important couple of years coming up.

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 Elias Ymer (SWE) Y Nishioka (JAP) H Chung (KOR) are all younger than Kyle and all ranked higher as well as of this week. All 3 attempted USO qualies as well.......does beg question as per other threads as to strategy. It's a long haul, of course, but when you see every other young up and coming player go down one route (all advised by top coaches and associations) and yet Kyle goes down another route (minus his coach too!) it seems a trifle odd.

I've no idea really, and it'll probably make no difference in the long run . . . but - just to throw my hat into the ring - I agree: really odd not to go to the US qualies.

And it's an easy journey - just one regular flight, and to a 'standard' Grand Slam i.e. I'd understand a top Argentinian youngster not thinking it worthwhile coming if he'd just scraped into qualifying for Wimbledon qualies, on grass.

But New York is straightforward, journey, surface, everything . . .

I assume Kyle is with someone else out in Asia i.e. someone else is standing in for Greg. I can't believe the LTA has 'sent' him on his own (although I may well be wrong). James Ward had the other bloke 'looking after him' while his coach went and did some family time.

Yes, I see that if you look at post US Open "in running now" rankings, before Kyle adds any points ( hopefully ) from his challengers over the coming two weeks, these other 3 teenagers younger than Kyle ( and I believe a further 1 older than Kyle ) are now a bit ahead of him.

Not greatly here not there for me ( says he looking into it and writing a few lines about it ), since although the stats interest me, in my "they develop at their own pace" mode the actual significance of the current comings and goings I don't see as much of an issue. Kyle is progressinging well.

Re Kyle's current trip, I didn't realise that Greg was not there ( why not ? ). Curiouser and curiouser choice, especially bearing in mind the points about convenience and support network ( quite apart from the experience ) CD and korriban make about the US Open.

I am not disagreeing about the value of a run of challengers, having gone on about such as that not happening in the first half of the year, just his year overall does look a bit confuddled to me.

Hopefully, it does go well.

In women's tennis, you know it's a weird week when your last two women standing are Anna Brogan and Mirabelle Njoze !