I've been seeing his name in green late on in weeks lately on openerarankings, so I thought I'd start a thread as I'd love to find out more about him. Is he another to watch? Does he have a chance of getting right up there? What's his history etc?
I see you haven't had any takers here yet Helen. I know nothing really about Finn either, but here's a little bit of background info from 2 years ago now. Basic info is that he was born 1999 and is still only 18, went to Millfield then seems to have decided to turn pro instead of going to US college, and was at JTC, but I can't see him on their current players list...
Thanks Michael, it gives me more information. I'm not sure who mainly follows the up and coming players, Coup Droit seems to have his eye on the juniors.
So Finn has been around in the right places, which makes me wonder if he's making it deep these days whether he's just properly turning pro, and if he's been pro, why he's so low in the rankings. He's only played 17 tournaments this year too.
Helen, I don'y know a huge amount about Finn, though I've seen him play a few times.
My knowledge (for what it's worth) is the following:
he was definitely one of the LTA chosen few, much touted, and given a lot of help by the LTA. He was a strong boy for his age, not hugely tall as such, but well built, broader, and this made him stick out from the crowd as a junior. Some people noted that this could be a problem later as the others caught up and that his results were a bit skewed because of it. I saw him play one game at Roehampton (at age 16?) where he played an absolute cracker of a match, truly excellent. But, again, someone else said they'd also seen that match and it wasn't usually like that. I saw him again the next year and he was still good - nice technique, fit, much to like - but it was true that it wasn't so 'wow'.
He chose not to do college because, I guess, he thought he was good enough to go pro straight away (is this linked to being adored by the LTA?). And he's made a decent-ish fist of it, but not stand out. Personally, I think he's got the makings of a very decent player.
I can also confirm what Michael D said about him training with JTC and he has on several occasions been accompanied to overseas tournaments by Beechy (Kyle's ex coach) who is still at JTC as far as I am aware. And if you like trivia, Finn is a Spurs fan.
I can also confirm what Michael D said about him training with JTC and he has on several occasions been accompanied to overseas tournaments by Beechy (Kyle's ex coach) who is still at JTC as far as I am aware. And if you like trivia, Finn is a Spurs fan.
Currently Beechy is with Katie Boulter at the Roger's Cup in Montreal - he came on court during her match yesterday (which she lost). So not sure how much benefit Finn is getting from Beechy at the moment, and as mentioned earlier, I was surprised not to see Finn's name on the current players list when I checked the JTC site yesterday.
I can also confirm what Michael D said about him training with JTC and he has on several occasions been accompanied to overseas tournaments by Beechy (Kyle's ex coach) who is still at JTC as far as I am aware. And if you like trivia, Finn is a Spurs fan.
Currently Beechy is with Katie Boulter at the Roger's Cup in Montreal - he came on court during her match yesterday (which she lost). So not sure how much benefit Finn is getting from Beechy at the moment, and as mentioned earlier, I was surprised not to see Finn's name on the current players list when I checked the JTC site yesterday.
No Mr. Bass, but there is a Matt Beecher. No relation, I assume.
I can also confirm what Michael D said about him training with JTC and he has on several occasions been accompanied to overseas tournaments by Beechy (Kyle's ex coach) who is still at JTC as far as I am aware. And if you like trivia, Finn is a Spurs fan.
Currently Beechy is with Katie Boulter at the Roger's Cup in Montreal - he came on court during her match yesterday (which she lost). So not sure how much benefit Finn is getting from Beechy at the moment, and as mentioned earlier, I was surprised not to see Finn's name on the current players list when I checked the JTC site yesterday.
No Mr. Bass, but there is a Matt Beecher. No relation, I assume.
Last time I remember Beechy travelling with Finn was sometime last year. I have no idea if Finn is still at JTC this year or not but I get the impression that they move their coaches around among the playing group quite often.
Re Matt Beecher. Yes, this is Beechy's son. And in a twist of fate, on one occasion in a Futures qualifying last year (or may have been R1), Finn drew Matty Beecher and yet was being coached by Beechy at that time. Finn came out on top and I remember tweeting him to say it might be the one and only time when his coach was upset with him for winning.
Helen, I don'y know a huge amount about Finn, though I've seen him play a few times.
My knowledge (for what it's worth) is the following:
he was definitely one of the LTA chosen few, much touted, and given a lot of help by the LTA. He was a strong boy for his age, not hugely tall as such, but well built, broader, and this made him stick out from the crowd as a junior. Some people noted that this could be a problem later as the others caught up and that his results were a bit skewed because of it. I saw him play one game at Roehampton (at age 16?) where he played an absolute cracker of a match, truly excellent. But, again, someone else said they'd also seen that match and it wasn't usually like that. I saw him again the next year and he was still good - nice technique, fit, much to like - but it was true that it wasn't so 'wow'. He chose not to do college because, I guess, he thought he was good enough to go pro straight away (is this linked to being adored by the LTA?). And he's made a decent-ish fist of it, but not stand out. Personally, I think he's got the makings of a very decent player.
Thanks for the info. What does that mean in terms of rankings?
It's interesting that he's not gone the college route, and is only now getting to the back end of low tournaments, although I can't say that I know when the targets are for each age. (I remember someone mentioning it in terms of Jay hitting each one)
I can also confirm what Michael D said about him training with JTC and he has on several occasions been accompanied to overseas tournaments by Beechy (Kyle's ex coach) who is still at JTC as far as I am aware. And if you like trivia, Finn is a Spurs fan.
Currently Beechy is with Katie Boulter at the Roger's Cup in Montreal - he came on court during her match yesterday (which she lost). So not sure how much benefit Finn is getting from Beechy at the moment, and as mentioned earlier, I was surprised not to see Finn's name on the current players list when I checked the JTC site yesterday.
When I look at his weekly progress against all the other Brits, he often seems to be the only Brit in that tounament, which made me wonder about him and his history/associations too. This week for example he's the only one in Edwardsville.
At 790 Finn is in the top 20 Tennis players in the world not yet 19 by ATP rank, he is soon to be 19 (in September) and the 20 th spot by age in those not yet 20 is a rank of 410. Finn is therefore making some progress in transitioning but the next 12 months will give more of an idea.
Jay made enormous progress between the ages of about 18.5 and 19.5 improving his rank from 734 to 220, Finn will struggle to match that.