Too early to call for me, I'd like to see how he does in Challengers before deciding whether he's worth a MDWC or not. I'd say he deserves a QWC if he doesn't completely embarrass himself at Challenger level, and a MDWC if he shows an ability to compete with players around the top 100 level.
Done really well at Futures level these last few months and should soon be moving up to Challengers but I think I'd err on the side of caution and give it another year before playing Wimbledon MD. Not convinced he's quite ready yet or whether it's the right surface for him.
I'm a fan of wildcards, we don't have any natural candidates i.e. guys in the 100-200 range, and I've seen Jay play on grass and, though it was a while ago, he was good.
I realise it's not hugely fair to those ranked higher but France always gives their top young hope a wildcard so why not?
Too early to say yet as he has not played challengers. The gulf between futures and main tour is huge and one that only Evo and Kyle have managed to bridge in recent years.
I guess he's trying to get his ranking high enough (250 - 300) so he can go straight into the main draw of a lower prize money challenger rather than having to go through three qualifying rounds which leave you out of pocket if you fail, this is the logical thing for him to do anyway.
There's always a worry that a Wimby WC too soon and a heavy defeat against a top player could dent his confidence.
So, if he plays a few challengers and claims a few scalps then yes give him a WC. If he stays on the futures I would still give him a qualy WC, he deserves that as of now.
I've seen him play a few times, he seems a grounded lad supported by a decent family. His maturity on court when things aren't going his way puts some of our older players (no names) to shame.
Lets face it he is the only one who is doing anything at the moment, Lloyd will come good again, he's just in a bad spell at the moment, all players have them. Can't comment on his social media but that won't help him and will only prove to be a negative distraction if he is overdoing it. The rest of our age 22+ guys are just stagnant at best / going nowhere.
I assume the Ward that Vandenberg mentioned is Jimbo and not Alex, if so, anyone is more deserving of a WC than Jim.
QWC absolutely and MD why not, Kyle got one while still playing juniors and their ranking at the time of their first wildcard should be pretty similar.
I would give Jay the opportunity to sample the level of the main tour/atmosphere/pressure of playing a slam. Realistically he is good enough to avoid bakery products regardless of his opponent, I can't see it being anything but a positive experience.
-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Monday 20th of March 2017 12:25:14 AM
At the moment i'd say shoe in for a QWC. Let's see what he can do above futures level first. Id suspect he'll get a few WC's during the grass season to show where he's at.
I think the real thing here is the stark gap we have between the 3-4 players that will get direct entry (Andy, Dan, Kyle and Aljaz if current rankings are maintained) and then a massive drop to well below the normal place that WC's are comfortably offered without lots of umming and aaghing.
Looking at the players below 200, ie all of the rest, I think it is probably correct to suggest only Cam and Jay are playing to the sort of level where people will get excited by their results and drum up some support for a wild card. The rest of the players are largely going through inconsistent periods, although Brydan has picked up a little. Marcus it is impossible to tell and it is quite conceivable he would get a wild card based on last year alone. For the Daily Mail contingent.
But in reality, I suspect we will need to wait til we are two weeks into the grass season before we get a real sense as to where the wild cards might go...
