British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Week 45 - ATP Challenger 125 - HPP Open - Helsinki, Finland (indoor hard)

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

QR1: Stuart Parker WR 381 (CH = 346 in October 2022) vs (q11) Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) WR 313 (CH = 39 in February 2019)

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

QR1: Stuart Parker WR 381 defeated (q11) Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) WR 313 by 6-2 5-2 retired smile

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
QR1: Stuart Parker WR 381 defeated (q11) Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) WR 313 by 6-2 5-2 retired

Could you not manage one more game, Mr. Kukushkin?

indiana · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
Stircrazy wrote:
QR1: Stuart Parker WR 381 defeated (q11) Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) WR 313 by 6-2 5-2 retired
Could you not manage one more game, Mr. Kukushkin?

He'd just managed to save 2 BPs but on losing the 3rd one to go 2 breaks down he was apparently suddenly unable to continue ...

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
QR1: Stuart Parker WR 381 defeated (q11) Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) WR 313 by 6-2 5-2 retired

FQR: (q2) Rémy Bertola (SUI) WR 243 (= CH) vs Stuart Parker WR 381

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Stuart qualifies:

FQR: Stuart Parker WR 384 defeated (q2) Rémy Bertola (SUI) WR 239 by 3-6 6-3 7-6(0)

Didn't see that coming! biggrin

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

I think Stuart has always liked the quicker courts but this is a good result

Maybe the push by those in the level of ranking above him is starting to drag players like Stuart to move onwards as well?

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

L32: Stefano Travaglia (ITA) WR 230 (CH = 60 in February 2021) vs (Q) Stuart Parker WR 384

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
I think Stuart has always liked the quicker courts but this is a good result

Maybe the push by those in the level of ranking above him is starting to drag players like Stuart to move onwards as well?

Sorry, Jon, I don't believe in any of that smile

A lot of the British players are more friends with non-GB guys and watch their results far more than random GB players that they don't know that well

(Stuart for instance spent 10 years or so in St Malo, I believe)

Evo said he watched what his friends were doing, not what the UK guys were doing, and I've heard that from a lot of others too (although there will be some overlap, of course )

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
I think Stuart has always liked the quicker courts but this is a good result

Maybe the push by those in the level of ranking above him is starting to drag players like Stuart to move onwards as well?
Sorry, Jon, I don't believe in any of that
A lot of the British players are more friends with non-GB guys and watch their results far more than random GB players that they don't know that well
(Stuart for instance spent 10 years or so in St Malo, I believe)
Evo said he watched what his friends were doing, not what the UK guys were doing, and I've heard that from a lot of others too (although there will be some overlap, of course )

Well, ive read you saying that before and the Evo comments. If it doesnt work like this, then theres got to be something that is causing the general push forwards of the British men, and could peer pressure not be part of that?

indiana · Tennis legend

I'd imagine there must be an element of that. As CD does say, there will be "some overlap", if maybe not with Stuart, I'd suggest a fair degree of overlap re friends / other players looked at being fellow Brits. It's been pretty much an unprecedented period for the block of players now in the WR 300s.

We had 12 players in the top 400 at the end of last year, indeed still just 13 at the end of June. We now have 23 ! Remember all that time we took waiting to get 20 just in the top 500 ( now 26, probably 28 in next week's rankings ).

-- Edited by indiana on Monday 3rd of November 2025 05:35:52 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:
I think Stuart has always liked the quicker courts but this is a good result

Maybe the push by those in the level of ranking above him is starting to drag players like Stuart to move onwards as well?
Sorry, Jon, I don't believe in any of that
A lot of the British players are more friends with non-GB guys and watch their results far more than random GB players that they don't know that well
(Stuart for instance spent 10 years or so in St Malo, I believe)
Evo said he watched what his friends were doing, not what the UK guys were doing, and I've heard that from a lot of others too (although there will be some overlap, of course )
Well, ive read you saying that before and the Evo comments. If it doesnt work like this, then theres got to be something that is causing the general push forwards of the British men, and could peer pressure not be part of that?

I don't think there's got to be something causing it at all smile

The world is not that ordered

Things come and go, without having to have a specific reason

We've got a higher number of college players doing well - so maybe there were just more college players a few years ago - or maybe the LTA were meaner a few years ago so our better players went to college instead and are only now reappearing - or maybe we've just got lucky that this group didn't get injured - or maybe whatever .....

Not everything needs a reason, IMHO, and definitely not one linked to sharing a passport between some people who barely know each other (which is not to say it doesn't have a grain of relevance to some people) smile

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Or an alternate view could be (and this isnt me) - maybe some of these have a grain of truth also?! (ps totally transparency, this is Google AI being asked the question - some of it presumably has some relevance? And sorry it isnt my own work, my brain is v tired so I decided to see what it came up with!

Mechanisms of Mutual Motivation

Role Models and Emulation: The success of a prominent player from a given country can inspire a whole new generation of young athletes to take up the sport and work harder. Seeing a countryman or woman succeed on the world stage makes the highest levels of the sport seem more attainable, encouraging others to want to emulate them.

Healthy Rivalry: Direct competition with co-national players can spark motivation. The desire to "one-up" a peer can lead to enhanced effort in training and increased focus during matches. This is a form of healthy rivalry, which can push athletes to exceed their perceived limits.

Shared Training Environment: Players from the same country often come up through similar systems, share training facilities, and practice together. This regular interaction against high-quality, familiar competition helps them improve their skills.

Increased Focus and Commitment: As American tennis player Coco Gauff noted regarding the U.S. men's players, when everyone is doing well, it makes others want to do well too. She described a dynamic where players are not competing with each other in a negative sense, but rather pushing each other to improve, creating a strong, supportive dynamic that extends beyond the court.

National Interest and Support: When players from a country are successful, it increases national interest in the sport, which can lead to more investment in facilities, coaching programs, and tournaments. This creates a positive feedback loop that supports the development of more top-tier players.

In essence, the presence of successful peers from the same country fosters a competitive yet supportive environment that enhances motivation and performance for everyone involved.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

For someone who has a 'very tired brain', I do wonder why you'd want to spend the little remaining awake part pursuing AI's version of the world