Week 42 - ATP World Tour 250 - Vienna, Austria - Hard (JW)

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

RE: Week 42 - ATP World Tour 250 - Vienna, Austria - Hard (JW)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I agree with RJA that only James, Evans and Kyle have clear top 100 potential (with emphasis on 'potential'). (You can put Liam in if you want - not sure I would, but fine).

And, yes, on an absolute basis, this is pretty poor.

However, my point was that the state of men's British tennis is definitely better than it was 12 months ago (which is maybe just saying it was, on an absolute basis, REALLY poor 12 months ago, but nonetheless . . . ).

And the comment that Andy's exploits are masking the poor performance of men's tennis is misleading as it is Andy who has underperformed and practically all the others who have performed well. And if (IF) the guys who are currently in the 200s could push on (which, statistically, they should. if they are going to peak at age 27-28) then a whole bunch at WR 100 - 150 wouldn't be bad, even if they never made the top 100.

I also happen to think that depth is key.

As a tennis federation, having one or two superstars does nothing (apart from maybe keep the journalists off your back). Hence the problems in the UK despite Tim's success and then Andy's success.

Depth of players means more clubs involved, more coaches needed, more younger siblings taking up the sport, more of everything that matters to making tennis a thriving nationwide sport, as opposed to a once-a-year Wimbly-fest.

LouieG · County player

Does Kyle really have CLEAR top 100 potential? I feel he's a bit mollycoddled on here, yes he'll probably make the top 100 but especially this year he hasn't really done a lot. Maybe that's due to his schedule and playing too many tour events early on, although I guess it's not his fault he received so many wildcards...

paulisi · Tennis legend

top 100 male players don't grow on trees.

The aim should be to build a large base and then we have more chance of getting players to progress.

I would say the men's game is at it's best level for sometime.

Andy in top 100 and James almost there.

There are a whole host of players capable of breaking into the top 200 in the next 12 months and then there are a few more ready to move up and break into the 300-450 category.

If we keep progressing at this level the future for GB tennis is rosier than it has ever been, but it will take time.

korriban · Challenger level

Well I do agree that we now have a reasonable cadre of top 300 players, which is very encouraging, and many of those could be top 200 players in time. And 1 or 2 (and it really is 1 or 2) could be top 100. But at this point in time, do we see ATP tournament winners among them, or those who are top 10-25 potential? Because outside of people like us, that's what it takes to be recognised as a top tennis player. A Murray, a Henman, a Rusedski.

I thought Kyle could be up there one day, and perhaps he still can be, but this year suggests he might be very good, but not great. Outside him, I can't name a single prospect who ticks all the boxes. And there are almost no junior names coming through on the boys side who are being feted as future stars either. As Golding, Edmund, Broady were at various times.

It's increasingly about weapons, backed up with physicality, consistency and winning patterns. A year ago Kyle had a vicious forehand, which now appears to have lost 2 yards of pace. Broady has improved tremendously, but still lacks penetration off the ground vs many of his peers, and Golding is doing whatever he is doing. The rest are all solid Futures players, who might do alright at CH when on form.

Sorry to be a bit cup half empty when there have been genuine jumps in performance this year, and players are clearly getting the rewards for hard work, but in 2013 Dan Evans appeared to break through to ATP level at times, but injury/his demons have put paid to that.........in 2014 I see no break throughs to world level anywhere, nor much promise of where they might co e from. cry

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Bit puzzled by some of the comments, I can't see how 2014 could have been much better given Andy was coming back from a career threatening injury and for a number of years it has been clear that our no. 2 has never had the mindset to match his talent. Andy is now almost back in the top ten, Evo has predictably slipped back but Wardy pushed on to be close to the top 100, and is definitely no longer considered an easy touch in Davis cup tennis. Two of our potential stars of the future have taken at least 130 places off their ranking and graduated to competitive challenger players, still a lot to learn but a substantial improvement on 2013 for the young guys. The others who have either followed the US College route or just taken sometime to squeeze into the top 400 have all performed at a level consistent with a dedicated approach to the game and their talent level. Oli Golding has obviously had his difficulties this year but generally speaking I feel British tennis has moved forward, hopefully we will see another crop of younger players emerge in the next 2-4 years from the juniors, but realistically we should sit back and enjoy the progress of Kyle and Liam and enjoy the performances of Andy and Wardy who are close to their peak . Bring on 2015

TMH · Futures qualifying

LouieG wrote:
Does Kyle really have CLEAR top 100 potential? I feel he's a bit mollycoddled on here, yes he'll probably make the top 100 but especially this year he hasn't really done a lot. Maybe that's due to his schedule and playing too many tour events early on, although I guess it's not his fault he received so many wildcards...

Without a doubt.

indiana · Tennis legend

Oakland2002 wrote:
Bit puzzled by some of the comments, I can't see how 2014 could have been much better given Andy was coming back from a career threatening injury and for a number of years it has been clear that our no. 2 has never had the mindset to match his talent. Andy is now almost back in the top ten, Evo has predictably slipped back but Wardy pushed on to be close to the top 100, and is definitely no longer considered an easy touch in Davis cup tennis. Two of our potential stars of the future have taken at least 130 places off their ranking and graduated to competitive challenger players, still a lot to learn but a substantial improvement on 2013 for the young guys. The others who have either followed the US College route or just taken sometime to squeeze into the top 400 have all performed at a level consistent with a dedicated approach to the game and their talent level. Oli Golding has obviously had his difficulties this year but generally speaking I feel British tennis has moved forward, hopefully we will see another crop of younger players emerge in the next 2-4 years from the juniors, but realistically we should sit back and enjoy the progress of Kyle and Liam and enjoy the performances of Andy and Wardy who are close to their peak . Bring on 2015

Yes, to my mind it has been a pretty good year on the men's side. While of course we look for top stars, depth is something we hugely need to improve and has been a long term problem, so a big positive has been the number of players entering or threatening to enter the top 300. Also the progress of our now clear no 2 has been very good to see.

However, I'd still say that 2014 could have been better in a number of areas, with Andy not having a great year ( if in many ways understandably so ), Evo's fall away ( however much many may not be greatly surprised by it ), Oli leaving the scene at least for now and the lately reducing number of top 500 players ( the previous big number of players in the WR 301 to 500 range have been largely leaving that range in both directions, though I definitely think the number entering the top 300 is the particularly notable matter, which is a large component of it being on balance a pretty good year ).

-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 14th of October 2014 01:30:17 PM

EddietheEagle · County player

One of the encouraging signs is the degree of participation in non-UK based tournaments. There seems to be more going on although I have no facts to confirm that either way. Playing in relatively tougher circumstances overseas deepens a player's experience and shortens the learning curve. After all, life on the main tour is just that - a tour - and the adaptation to its demands is a necessary part of a pro player's learning journey.