Former College players in Australia/NZ 250s/AO

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jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
Thought this would be a fun thread to start. It's not just D1 players either. Saw that Kiranpal Pannu, top D2 player from Columbus State in GA a few years back, defeated Finn Reynolds of Ole Miss to get the NZ MD WC into the 250 that starts on Sat; Finn gets WC into Qualis. Rinky Hijikata (164), formerly of UNC, qualified into Adelaide 1 but lost in 3 in 1st rd to Shapalov (18). Unfortunately Ben Shelton lost in the Qualis to Duckworth who Rinky beat to qualify for MD. Cressy, formerly of UCLA, lost 6-7 6-7 to Kokkinakis in 1st rd. The 2nd weekend pre AO tourneys should be tougher as more players are in Australia. Also some guys played United Cup vs 250s. Former male college players at United Cup: Michail Pervolarakis (Greece-Portland), Alexander Ritschard (Switzerland-VA), Borna Gojo (Croatia-Wake), Rinderknech (France-Texas), and Norrie (Britain-TCU). I could have missed a few with 18 teams. While Britain lost 1-4 to US in United Cup, Norrie beat #9 Fritz in 3 in singles.
 
J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
https://www.wearecollegetennis.com/...ms-taking-part-in-australian-open-qualifying/ 13 former male collegians in AO Qualifying draw. 2 of them played for their college teams in 21/22: Diallo of Kentucky, Walton of Tennessee, Players from 20/21: Kovacevic of Illinois, Galarneau of NC State. Amazing that less than 2 years out of college, they are playing in a Slam Qualifier. Of course young Ben Shelton of Florida will be in MD along with JJ Wolf. Walton has already won his 1st Qualifying match. Diallo plays Vukic (Illinois 18) at 1am.Ritschard has lost, but Brandon Holt (USC 20) is on serve in 3rd set vs the 3 seed. Shelton, Wolf, and Eubanks are playing the Auckland 250 tomorrow. D2 standout Kiranal Pannu will play the Frenchman Gasquet. Rinky Hijikata (UNC) lost in 1st rd of Qualis for Adelaide 2.
 
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jrstrat

Rookie
Shelton losses to a french player, Quentin Halys. I was looking forward to a Shelton vs Brooksby quarterfinals match up but now it will be Halys vs Brooksby. Sic'em Jenson..
 
S

Sureshot

Professional
jrstrat said:
Shelton losses to a french player, Quentin Halys. I was looking forward to a Shelton vs Brooksby quarterfinals match up but now it will be Halys vs Brooksby. Sic'em Jenson..
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Ben didn’t serve well. 8 aces to 7 doubles. Also pts won on first serve of 66% to 94% for Halys. He can do better
 
S

Sureshot

Professional
J Shang just beat the big serving German Otte in four sets for his first slam MD win. Ditto Diana Shnaider who got through in straights. Exciting talents
 
M

mikej

Hall of Fame
Sureshot said:
J Shang just beat the big serving German Otte in four sets for his first slam MD win. Ditto Diana Shnaider who got through in straights. Exciting talents
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still such a tragic story - shang having to grind out grand slam wins as a 17 yo because bob couldn't convince the college coaches watching him play in college park to give him a scholarship

the kid has some serious game
 
S

Sureshot

Professional
McDonald over Nakashima in a five set thriller. Eubanks also through in five over Kwon who won the Adelaide warm up tournament as a lucky loser. Borges out in 4 to Sonego. Norrie beat ‘21 junior French champ Van Assche in three.

Looking forward to Ben’s AO debut
 
S

scmyers

New User
Marcos Giron from UCLA is a bit older than most of these guys (29) and has most definitely reached his plateau. But he has been done dirty in his last 3 first rounds at AO. Zverev, Nadal, and this year Medvedev. Ouch. He looked bewildered and beaten before he even stepped on court last night.
 
M

mikej

Hall of Fame
scmyers said:
Marcos Giron from UCLA is a bit older than most of these guys (29) and has most definitely reached his plateau. But he has been done dirty in his last 3 first rounds at AO. Zverev, Nadal, and this year Medvedev. Ouch. He looked bewildered and beaten before he even stepped on court last night.
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terrible matchup for a guy who wins with his legs and consistency

you cannot out-move and outlast Medvedev

Giron has come a long way in past couple years, but yeah, never in the cards for him to be a top 10 guy
 
J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
mikej said:
Wolf and Shelton both win (Shelton in 5th set TB)
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What an incredible 5th set for Shelton. I started watching 2-2 in 5th-went to bed last night while matches were suspended, checked scores when I woke up and saw it was still on. Shelton saved a break and matchpoint on a 2nd serve to force the TB then came out blazing for the TB. Played very aggressive which worked-2 of his 1st 3 points just clipped the sideline. He forced Zhang to run up to returns and then passed him. Only mistake was one missed OH at net. He had so much energy still after 3 hours of play. His opponent was the Chinese #1 with a great serve. I think this is the 1st year or the first in a long time that there has been a Chinese man in top 100, and AO is the Pacific Slam-you know the Chinese top players were getting major support from their nation. Ben had his small crew of supporters. Z Zhang was #89 with fellow countrymen right on his tail-Yibing Wu at 109 and young Shang at 150 who won his 1st AO round. The Chinese contingent of fans was rowdy, but Ben was able to shut down them out, focus, and earn the win. Well done. Was that Fritz cheering on Ben or someone that looked liked him?

Glad to see Wolf pulled through too. He had a tough match in playing an Australian. Both guys pulled through despite most fans rooting for their opponents.
 
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J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
silentkman said:
American tennis is looking good.
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Out of 16 US players in live top 100, all but injured Reilly played AO-13 are in MD. Out of those 9 have won, 2 lost (one to Med, one to fellow American), and Isner and Cressy are still playing plus Brandon Holt #215 came through Qualis, is 1-1 on sets and up 4-2 in 3rd in suspended match. Amazing results. Out of the 14 who made it to MD, 10 are former collegians....
 
S

silentkman

Hall of Fame
jcgatennismom said:
Out of 16 US players in live top 100, all but injured Reilly played AO-13 are in MD. Out of those 9 have won, 2 lost (one to Med, one to fellow American), and Isner and Cressy are still playing plus Brandon Holt #215 came through Qualis, is 1-1 on sets and up 4-2 in 3rd in suspended match. Amazing results. Out of the 14 who made it to MD, 10 are former collegians....
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Was McEnroe the last collegian to win a major? As long they they stay in top 125 or so, they can make a decent living.
 
L

Lazuras_Long

Rookie
Recognizing that this thread is implicitly only about male collegiate players, but Current NC state freshman Diana Shnaider (WTA #106, but live rankings 89) is giving Sakkari a serious scare right now.
 
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mikej

Hall of Fame
Lazuras_Long said:
Recognizing that this thread is implicitly only about male collegiate players, but Current NC state freshman Diana Shnaider (WTA #106, but live rankings 89) is giving Sakkari a serious scare right now.
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wow, she actually going to play for them through this year?
 
J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
mikej said:
huge opportunity for Wolf to make the quarters

he’ll be the favorite next two rounds, and even winning just his next match would take him inside top 45
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With so many seeds falling at AO, lots of opportunities for young hungry post collegians. No wonder USTA/ITF now want to sponsor ITA... Outside of the 17yo males who can reach SF of Challengers, college is the most cost effective way and fun way (playing with team with access to coaching and trainers vs grinding alone at Futures/CH) to get a fast start on the Tour (e.g. Diallo from ATP 900 to low 200s in a few months, Shelton from mid 500s to 89 in <8 months). While many of the collegians in the top 100 may never reach the top 20, if they can play the sport they love and earn a decent living at 20-100 for a decade, that's a win for tennis. Plus guys like Shelton have a good shot at top 20.

Excited for Shelton's next round-he plays Popyrin the young Aussie who took out Fritz in 5. You know AO will give their hometown hero an arena court, and Ben will have his chance to shine. Ideal draw for Ben as the the cheers for his opponents motivates him. That will be one fun match to watch and hopefully draw new tennis fans. With all these young guys, maybe the AO arena will have the energy of a tight top 20 college match.
 
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silentkman

Hall of Fame
jcgatennismom said:
With so many seeds falling at AO, lots of opportunities for young hungry post collegians. No wonder USTA/ITF now want to sponsor ITA... Outside of the 17yo males who can reach SF of Challengers, college is the most cost effective way and fun way (playing with team with access to coaching and trainers vs grinding alone at Futures/CH) to get a fast start on the Tour (e.g. Diallo from ATP 900 to low 200s in a few months, Shelton from mid 500s to 89 in <8 months). While many of the collegians in the top 100 may never reach the top 20, if they can play the sport they love and earn a decent living at 20-100 for a decade, that's a win for tennis. Plus guys like Shelton have a good shot at top 20.

Excited for Shelton's next round-he plays Popyrin the young Aussie who took out Fritz in 5. You know AO will give their hometown hero an arena court, and Ben will have his chance to shine. Ideal draw for Ben as the the cheers for his opponents motivates him. That will be one fun match to watch and hopefully draw new tennis fans. With all these young guys, maybe the AO arena will have the energy of a tight top 20 college match.
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I understand your point but but where would these new tennis fans be coming from? I just want the players between 100 and 200 to make a decent living too. You have players that are making 300K on tour in ten years. That's poverty wages. I must admit the screaming after every point is annoying in college tennis. The only way to make a decent living in tennis is to pay or attempted to qualify for the Majors.
 
J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
silentkman said:
I just want the players between 100 and 200 to make a decent living too. You have players that are making 300K on tour in ten years. That's poverty wages...The only way to make a decent living in tennis is to pay or attempted to qualify for the Majors.
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I agree that it would be great if players 100-300 could support themselves with just tournament play. However, if they plan their year, they can offset tournament weeks with coaching and/or playing prize $ tourneys. Here is a great article on the subject https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/35414286/the-stunning-financial-reality-high-cost-pro-tennis
Kiranpal Pannu, former top D2 player from Columbus State in GA, is quoted several times. One of his training bases is Atlanta GA where we live. A few years back he played an under the radar charity tournament where he earned $7K beating a UGA player in the finals. This article mentions that he tries to earn $800/wk during coaching weeks-that seems really low. Seems like he should earn at least $60/hr. The guys in the 150+ range make use of their connections-find free places to stay at least in US, share rooms with other players elsewhere. If they love the sport and are single, it may be worth it to give it a try and travel the world for a few years. KP has come along way. My son who used to dabble in Futures in the summer and in Nov after fall college play once traveled with a group of ATL based guys including Pannu to a Future, 3-4 guys sharing an Airbnb (before they were so expensive). Pannu lost in the 1st rd of that Qualifer and now he has gotten into at least two 250 Qualis (including one year in aTL via WC tournament) plus played in Challengers. YOLO It may not be a career but for those guys at least they wont regret that they didnt try and give it their all. Makes sense to do max for a couple of years if they can break even on costs with coaching on the off weeks. Son had another friend who had earned a couple of ATP points while in college. Post college coached as much as he could for 6 months to save $ then went off to Europe and MidEast (Tunisia, Egypt have a lot of tourneys) for 6 months and didnt earn another point. You dont know until you try. The margins are getting slimmer between players-last night the 113 beat the 8 seed, one lucky loser is in the 3rd round. Diallo was 900 a few months ago-maybe next year he will be the 113 guy in Qualis who knocks off a seed in the Slam.

Maybe the guys who want tennis for a career could switch gears to UTR PTT where it is fairly easy to win $1000-$3000/ a week since it is RR then playoffs-almost half the guys earn $1000ish+ for 12-15 hours of play. Play twenty of those a year and coach for several years before switching to FT coaching. There are guys with business degrees who graduated magna cum laude but they can't stand a desk job. Or they can go to Europe and play club tournaments or leagues. More options to making $ playing tennis than ATP tour.
 
S

silentkman

Hall of Fame
jcgatennismom said:
I agree that it would be great if players 100-300 could support themselves with just tournament play. However, if they plan their year, they can offset tournament weeks with coaching and/or playing prize $ tourneys. Here is a great article on the subject https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/35414286/the-stunning-financial-reality-high-cost-pro-tennis
Kiranpal Pannu, former top D2 player from Columbus State in GA, is quoted several times. One of his training bases is Atlanta GA where we live. A few years back he played an under the radar charity tournament where he earned $7K beating a UGA player in the finals. This article mentions that he tries to earn $800/wk during coaching weeks-that seems really low. Seems like he should earn at least $60/hr. The guys in the 150+ range make use of their connections-find free places to stay at least in US, share rooms with other players elsewhere. If they love the sport and are single, it may be worth it to give it a try and travel the world for a few years. KP has come along way. My son who used to dabble in Futures in the summer and in Nov after fall college play once traveled with a group of ATL based guys including Pannu to a Future, 3-4 guys sharing an Airbnb (before they were so expensive). Pannu lost in the 1st rd of that Qualifer and now he has gotten into at least two 250 Qualis (including one year in aTL via WC tournament) plus played in Challengers. YOLO It may not be a career but for those guys at least they wont regret that they didnt try and give it their all. Makes sense to do max for a couple of years if they can break even on costs with coaching on the off weeks. Son had another friend who had earned a couple of ATP points while in college. Post college coached as much as he could for 6 months to save $ then went off to Europe and MidEast (Tunisia, Egypt have a lot of tourneys) for 6 months and didnt earn another point. You dont know until you try. The margins are getting slimmer between players-last night the 113 beat the 8 seed, one lucky loser is in the 3rd round. Diallo was 900 a few months ago-maybe next year he will be the 113 guy in Qualis who knocks off a seed in the Slam.

Maybe the guys who want tennis for a career could switch gears to UTR PTT where it is fairly easy to win $1000-$3000/ a week since it is RR then playoffs-almost half the guys earn $1000ish+ for 12-15 hours of play. Play twenty of those a year and coach for several years before switching to FT coaching. There are guys with business degrees who graduated magna cum laude but they can't stand a desk job. Or they can go to Europe and play club tournaments or leagues. More options to making $ playing tennis than ATP tour.
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All valid points, but I don't see how a player can get the max out of his or her ability when they are playing and coaching. I've always thoght players at Challenger tournaments should have a per deim based upon where they play. I think doing for a couple years is great and if your family can bankroll them even better. I remember Jennifer brady said that 3 girls would share a room sometimes. Playing professional tennis is brutal at the lower levels. If you can get to the point of qualifying for a major, that's a big deal. I think the first round of qualifying at the AO is $20K. You have to love tennis as much as Andy Murray to deal with the lack of financial resources.
 
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J

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
mikej said:
Wolf and Shelton both win (Shelton in 5th set TB)
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If these guys both win in 3rd round, they play each other in 4th. Hard to believe Wolf played 10 Challengers in 22 (Jan-July), only reached the SF in 3 of them, and lost in the 1st round in 3 of them (including loss to Kovacevic). This week he wins 2 Grand Slam matches in straights after a better 2nd half of the year playing ATP events. Shelton played 11 challengers in 22 from May-Nov, including losing in Orlando in 1st round to Rinky and Diallo in 2nd rd in Fairfield but winning his last 3 of the year and reaching finals of 3 others. Of course he too had summer/fall success in ATP level events.

US Challengers are hard-reach finals and you are ready for Grand Slams. LOL...Really good news that ATP will be giving ITA top 20 WCs into Challenger MDs and Qualis (if you missed the announcement, someone has posted in another thread)

Most of the Netflix Break Point stars pulled out or have lost out at AO (only Sakkari and Felix remaining but Felix had to come back from 2 sets and a matchpoint down). Maybe NF should have focused on these guys instead; for your amusement here is a short clip from My Tennis life of buddies Shelton, Wolf, and Kovacevic joking during Orlando Challenger practice (too bad AK lost 6-7 6-7 in 1st rd AO Qualis-he had beaten JJ and Ben in 22 but lost to Shelton last time they played). Kovacevic teases Wolf about being washed up (this is after his weak Challenger run). Wolf has the last laugh now... Skip to 1:52 https://www.tennis.com/news/videos/my-tennis-life-episode-18-wolf

Will be a popcorn match if Wolf and Shelton play in 4R.
 
S

silentkman

Hall of Fame
jcgatennismom said:
If these guys both win in 3rd round, they play each other in 4th. Hard to believe Wolf played 10 Challengers in 22 (Jan-July), only reached the SF in 3 of them, and lost in the 1st round in 3 of them (including loss to Kovacevic). This week he wins 2 Grand Slam matches in straights after a better 2nd half of the year playing ATP events. Shelton played 11 challengers in 22 from May-Nov, including losing in Orlando in 1st round to Rinky and Diallo in 2nd rd in Fairfield but winning his last 3 of the year and reaching finals of 3 others. Of course he too had summer/fall success in ATP level events.

US Challengers are hard-reach finals and you are ready for Grand Slams. LOL...Really good news that ATP will be giving ITA top 20 WCs into Challenger MDs and Qualis (if you missed the announcement, someone has posted in another thread)

Most of the Netflix Break Point stars pulled out or have lost out at AO (only Sakkari and Felix remaining but Felix had to come back from 2 sets and a matchpoint down). Maybe NF should have focused on these guys instead; for your amusement here is a short clip from My Tennis life of buddies Shelton, Wolf, and Kovacevic joking during Orlando Challenger practice (too bad AK lost 6-7 6-7 in 1st rd AO Qualis-he had beaten JJ and Ben in 22 but lost to Shelton last time they played). Kovacevic teases Wolf about being washed up (this is after his weak Challenger run). Wolf has the last laugh now... Skip to 1:52 https://www.tennis.com/news/videos/my-tennis-life-episode-18-wolf

Will be a popcorn match if Wolf and Shelton play in 4R.
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That Wolf is a big kid. Thank God he cut that mullet. I do think the Challenger group would have been more interesting for me. I'm still not sure why Netflix would get involve with Tennis in the first place.
 
J

jrstrat

Rookie
What a time to be a fan of young US tennis players. Wolf has such an odd stocky build for a tennis player but he can really bring that forehand. Shelton is really talented but I think Wolf takes him. I think Paul takes down Agut and it will be Wolf vs Paul in the quarters. Winner more than likely gets to play Joker or Rune in the semis.

Who do you think will be the highest ranked US player at the end of this year? Fritz or Tiafoe are the obvious top two but I think it might be Korda. He has a complete game and is really putting it all together.
 
S

Sureshot

Professional
jrstrat said:
What a time to be a fan of young US tennis players. Wolf has such an odd stocky build for a tennis player but he can really bring that forehand. Shelton is really talented but I think Wolf takes him. I think Paul takes down Agut and it will be Wolf vs Paul in the quarters. Winner more than likely gets to play Joker or Rune in the semis.

Who do you think will be the highest ranked US player at the end of this year? Fritz or Tiafoe are the obvious top two but I think it might be Korda. He has a complete game and is really putting it all together.
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I’ll go with Shelton over Wolf but wouldn’t be surprised if it went the other way. Also think Fritz will be the top American at year end
 
M

mikej

Hall of Fame
silentkman said:
Wolf is at 45 and Shelton is up to 65. exciting stuff.
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gotta say, my much-maligned (by bob) prediction years ago that Wolf would have a better pro career than Kudla, I think has turned into a near-certainty unless Wolf runs into a lot of injury troubles in his remaining years on tour

Kudla:
career high singles ranking - 53
best GS singles result - 4th round (Wimbledon 2015)
Challenger singles titles - 8
ATP singles titles - 0
ATP singles record - 67-124

Wolf:
career high singles ranking - 45 or better following AO
best GS singles result - 4th round or better following AO
Challenger singles titles - 5
ATP singles titles - 0
ATP singles record - 18-20

(with much respect to Kudla, who maximizes his potential and I always have enjoyed watching)
 
S

Sureshot

Professional
mikej said:
gotta say, my much-maligned (by bob) prediction years ago that Wolf would have a better pro career than Kudla, I think has turned into a near-certainty unless Wolf runs into a lot of injury troubles in his remaining years on tour

Kudla:
career high singles ranking - 53
best GS singles result - 4th round (Wimbledon 2015)
Challenger singles titles - 8
ATP singles titles - 0
ATP singles record - 67-124

Wolf:
career high singles ranking - 45 or better following AO
best GS singles result - 4th round or better following AO
Challenger singles titles - 5
ATP singles titles - 0
ATP singles record - 18-20

(with much respect to Kudla, who maximizes his potential and I always have enjoyed watching)
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Good call. Care to predict who between Shelton and Wolf will have the better career? Maybe that’s an easy one. Perhaps the better question is who between Wolf and Shang will have the better career? Btw from what I saw Shang needs to amp up his serve. 100 mph or thereabouts ain’t gonna get it done
 
S

silentkman

Hall of Fame
mikej said:
gotta say, my much-maligned (by bob) prediction years ago that Wolf would have a better pro career than Kudla, I think has turned into a near-certainty unless Wolf runs into a lot of injury troubles in his remaining years on tour

Kudla:
career high singles ranking - 53
best GS singles result - 4th round (Wimbledon 2015)
Challenger singles titles - 8
ATP singles titles - 0
ATP singles record - 67-124

Wolf:
career high singles ranking - 45 or better following AO
best GS singles result - 4th round or better following AO
Challenger singles titles - 5
ATP singles titles - 0
ATP singles record - 18-20

(with much respect to Kudla, who maximizes his potential and I always have enjoyed watching)
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Impressive that you had the belief in Wolf with the injury history. Kudla is a good dude and he's from the DMV area so I root hard for him. I'm picking Shelton in a match tiebreaker.
 
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