Best Developing Young Player

[noeledmonds]

Which of these relatively young guns on the ATP tour is most likely to make it to the top of the rankings?

Baghdatis:

For- Highest ranked on the list. Great grand slam performances this year with a final at the AO and a semi-final at SW19. Won his first title beating Ancic in the final. Has beaten Murray, Monfils, Hewitt, Berdych, Roddick, Ljubicic and Nalbandian this year.

Against- Ranking points dependant on a few tournaments. Will lose many ranking points if he fails to defend his AO final. Still only has one tournament victory


Berdych:

For- Won a masters series last year showing he can perform on the big occasion. Holds the advantage over Nadal with 3 wins against him including 2 this year, and only won loss.

Against- No tournament victories this year and did not make it past round 16 in any of the Grand Slams.


Djokovic:

For- Won 2 tournaments this year. Has beaten other young guns Murray, Gasquet and Monfils this year.

Against- Has just one Grand Slam quarter final to his name, has yet to perform at the bigger events.

Murray:

For- His first full year on tour and into the top 20. Won first tournament beating Roddick and Hewitt in succession. One of only 2 players to defeat Federer this year.

Against- Relatively poor record against other young guns, lost to Djokovicic, Gasquet, Baghdatis, Monfils and Berdych. Yet to really perform in a grand slam.

Gasquet:

For- Won 3 tournaments this year, more than any other player on the list. Good record against other young players. Masters series finalist this year.

Against- No big performances in Masters Series or Grand Slams outside his final. Did not make it past round 16 of any tournament not mentioned in the For class.

Monfils:

For- Has proved he can perform on Grass and Clay by winning both Junior FO and Junior SW19 in the same year. Tournament finalist this year.

Against- Relatively low down the rankings this year. No tournament victories or really big performances at big events.

 

[noeledmonds]

poll should say ".....make it to the top of the rankings?"

 

[CanadianChic]

Berdych - he has the talent, the stamina and the drive. Where is Dancevic? Hmmm... lol

 

[noeledmonds]

Berdych - he has the talent, the stamina and the drive. Where is Dancevic? Hmmm... lol

I recon Gasquet is the most tallented, have you seen his cramping shots at the US Open?

 

[david22]

Gasquet.
apart the titles he won,the most impressive result for me was his final at Toronto
i was especially impressed to see how he outplayed Federer in the first set.
i've never seen Federer being outplayed that much on hard court this season.

i was also impressed by his attitude against Hewitt at USOPEN,especially when he began to have cramps

 

[Duzza]

Tough question but I say Berdych.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

marcos and richard !
a pity multiple choice is not allowed...

 

[Bjorn99]

I am thoroughly unimpressed with all these players except for Berdych, and his movement is obviously a huge concern. The other guys are wannabees, and will NEVER get to number one, unless Federer decides to take up golf on a full time basis.

 

[Turning Pro]

Gasquet imo is the best all rounder,although Baghdahtis is very close behind.Could be a decent rivalry along with Nadal for 2008 onwards.

 

[splink779]

I am thoroughly unimpressed with all these players except for Berdych, and his movement is obviously a huge concern. The other guys are wannabees, and will NEVER get to number one, unless Federer decides to take up golf on a full time basis.

And Berdych will? I won't hold my breath.

 

[Bjorn99]

Perhaps we are a little spoiled by Federer, who seems so phenomenally beautiful to watch, but the rest of these guys are all so lacking in comparison. I love watching Berdych's serve, it is what I am developing in my two students. Berdych/Kraijcek, just pure, unadulterated smoke. And simple motions. With a toss way out in front, so you don't blow out your back like Edberg.

But yeah, Berdych, is not very fast, and Federer is grease lightning in a bottle. Grease.

 

[fuzz nation]

Even if Murray was in a match against Hewitt or Kiefer, I don't think I could bring myself to pull for him-and I can't stand those two guys! Hopefully Mr. Gilbert will give him a big clue.

One guy I'm watching is Sam Querrey. The next two or three years will be very telling in terms of how he develops against the establishment and he seems to have plenty of potential. Also seems like a pretty good guy.

 

[Feña14]

Murray, Gasquet and Berdych are the best developing players. In that order.

Berdych needs to sort it out mentally as his game is pretty much there already. Gasquet too is kind of mental. Murray has the most scope to improve such as fitness, mental, first serve, volleys.

 

[sureshs]

After Fed and Nadal, these players don't seem worth talking about. If those two were not around, we would be deep in discussion about these guys. It is almost like they don't matter right now.

 

[McStud]

i think that the key to berdych's success will be his coach. berdych can hit any shot in the book and if a coach can get him to construct points a little better and to be more consistent then tomas can be as good as he wants to be. he's got balls too, for him to beat nadal IN madrid really says something about him. i cant wait to see how he does in 2007.

 

[david22]

After Fed and Nadal, these players don't seem worth talking about. If those two were not around, we would be deep in discussion about these guys. It is almost like they don't matter right now.

on hard court ,i certainly wouldn t bet against Gasquet or Berdych if they met Nadal.

 

[Big Fed]

Gotta go with Gasquet he has improved pretty fast and now hes pretty tight.

 

[Kid Carlos]

Juan Martin Del Porto, and Gastao Elias, coming soon!

 

[power_play21]

you forgot a young gun who is already in the top 10, ancic.

 

[CanadianChic]

you forgot a young gun who is already in the top 10, ancic.

Very good point. I am still thinking Berdych (okay toss in a little Ancic) if we are considering new talent and not comparing them with Nadal or Fed. All right, I'm still waiting for someone to give Dancevic an honorable mention. He made it into the top 100 and that's great news for us Canucks.

 

[ken1d]

Juan Martin Del Porto, and Gastao Elias, coming soon!

This kid is a beast.

 

[Ljubicic for number1]

Super Mario too old for the poll?????

 

[noeledmonds]

Super Mario too old for the poll?????

I decided Ancic was too old for the poll. I did it on 21 and under, a bit arbitaruy i know, but you have to draw a line somewhere. Also Ancic is already in the top 10 so he is in a slightly different suitation. Nadal is also young, but he is already number 2 so he was not included.

 

[david22]

I recon Gasquet is the most tallented, have you seen his cramping shots at the US Open?

yep,he's got that extra-magic that the other youngsters just don t seem to have.

 

[brayman9]

i think Gasquet all the way he has good variety and is a rebal to not paint his racquet even though head said he should for big cash.

He is also the best i think out of them at the moment

 

[BlackSheep]

Baghdatis is the man!

 

[Mortifier]

For the first time I looked searched for threads with a five-star rating, and this headline came up. I thought that there couldn't be no harm in looking at the predictions and it is actually quite funny how wrong many of us were.

I'm not criticizing or anything, I'm just pointing out how hard it is to tell what's to come. Interesting stuff!

 

[Devilito]

After Fed and Nadal, these players don't seem worth talking about. If those two were not around, we would be deep in discussion about these guys. It is almost like they don't matter right now.

this guy got it right