Hard Plains Drifters - Young Guns II

Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
How will (6th) Milos Raonic, (9th) Grigor Dimitrov, (11th) Kei Nishikori, (13th) Ernests Gulbis, (33rd) Vasek Pospisil, (51st) Jerzy Janowicz, (57th) Dominic Thiem, (62nd) Pablo Carreno Busta, (66th) Nick Kyrgios, (67th) Jiri Vesely, (124th) Bernard Tomic, (184th) Luke Saville and (285th) Alex Zverev perform on the hard courts of North America?

Feel free to suggest any new fledgling tennis player. Discuss!
 
Last edited:
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
LOL on the title! Good one! I suggested a risqué "Hard Corps Boys Of Summer" to connect American porn and baseball but an old Eastwood classic is betterer.

Hoping the North American turf will bring out the best in Wimby dubs finalists Pospisil and Sock. I'm wondering if DC will offer homeboy Tiafoe a WC (qualies or MD) and, if so, he can show his stuff? Likewise, will Peliwo get a WC in Toronto?
 
M

Midaso240

Legend
Milos Raonic will have a monster US Open series I predict. He may even win it(the series I mean). Gulbis,Nishikori and Dimitrov could do great,but I doubt the other names on that list will feature too much...
 
R

Raz11

Professional
Raonic, Dimitrov and Nishikori will most likely be the top 3 seeds at Washington. Excited to see how that will go down.

Honestly any one of those 3 could do well during the US series but I think it will go down as Dimitrov > Raonic > Nishikori.
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
stringertom said:
LOL on the title! Good one! I suggested a risqué "Hard Corps Boys Of Summer" to connect American porn and baseball but an old Eastwood classic is betterer.

Hoping the North American turf will bring out the best in Wimby dubs finalists Pospisil and Sock. I'm wondering if DC will offer homeboy Tiafoe a WC (qualies or MD) and, if so, he can show his stuff? Likewise, will Peliwo get a WC in Toronto?
Click to expand...

;) I am a self-confessed Spaghetti Western aficionado.
 
Bukmeikara

Bukmeikara

Legend
I think that Nishikori would have a rather mediocre results while Raonic and Dimitrov wull continue with their solid displays, I expect a Master 1000 final or even Us Open final for Dimitrov. The other mentioned will have some flashes but nothing special I believe, they are not quite ready and most of them need at least a year to settle in better like Kirgios and Vesely and Thiem. Janowicz is in poor mental shape and overall form so he needs some time to recharge.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Kyrgios was offered a WC for more (grass) blades of glory @Newport but has now declined it, citing a dodgy hip and fatigue.

Peliwo is up to #243 and is currently contesting a Futures in his native BC (Kelowna). He made finals in his latest Canadian Futures (l. to American Dennis Novikov last week...Matt, r u reading this?). A chance for revenge there...they both play SFs today.

Denis Kudla attempts a double title in the Winnetka Challenger. He's in the singles final vs Dustov and has paired with the other Aussie Special K, Kokkinakis for the dubs. American Double Mac, Mackenzie McDonald, qualified but lost in the SFs (Matt, r u reading this?).

The others above aren't "splashy" yet but do represent some respectable potential for jumping up this summer on home turf. Add in GRANITECHIEF pride, Collin Altamirano and Jared Donaldson (3 Futures tourney win-streak currently).
I'll try to keep everyone up with info from this level if you're interested.
 
Last edited:
M

Midaso240

Legend
Wonder if Dimitrov/Raonic will start getting night sessions at the US Open this year on their own merits on the back of their impressive showings at Wimbledon?
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
Midaso240 said:
Wonder if Dimitrov/Raonic will start getting night sessions at the US Open this year on their own merits on the back of their impressive showings at Wimbledon?
Click to expand...

I said it in the previous thread. Of the three that achieved the most at SW19 (Milos, Grigor and Nick), I reckon Raonic will be the one most likely to carry his good form over to the North American hard court swing. He will make some night sessions for sure.
 
Last edited:
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Add in Alex Zverev...he just won the Braunschweig Challenger and has a WC into the Stuttgart 250 to play Rosol 1R. Not bad for a 17-year-old!
 
jaggy

jaggy

Talk Tennis Guru
Nice that we are discussing Cincy (the only tourney that matters) during a Wimbly final
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Russeljones said:
Added. 17 years old and world # 665 to boot. Searching for the next Kyrgios, Tom? ;)
Click to expand...

Always looking for torchbearers to carry the game into the 20's.

It's a little early to be optimistic about American tennis but nice to see the boys' final was an all-USA affair!
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
stringertom said:
Always looking for torchbearers to carry the game into the 20's.

It's a little early to be optimistic about American tennis but nice to see the boys' final was an all-USA affair!
Click to expand...

Apart from Grigor, who else, in the 'up and comers category, has won it?
 
firepanda

firepanda

Professional
You guys forgot Carreno Busta and Luke Saville. Unlike the players you mentioned above, these two actually made significant progress last year.
 
R

reaper

Legend
I don't know about his ranking but Saville has made significant progress. I think he won junior Wimbledon in 2012 but looked physically slight. Watching him at Wimbledon he's grown into a professional athlete's body and is ready to jump up the rankings.
 
Maximagq

Maximagq

Banned
stringertom said:
Kyrgios was offered a WC for more (grass) blades of glory @Newport but has now declined it, citing a dodgy hip and fatigue.

Peliwo is up to #243 and is currently contesting a Futures in his native BC (Kelowna). He made finals in his latest Canadian Futures (l. to American Dennis Novikov last week...Matt, r u reading this?). A chance for revenge there...they both play SFs today.

Denis Kudla attempts a double title in the Winnetka Challenger. He's in the singles final vs Dustov and has paired with the other Aussie Special K, Kokkinakis for the dubs. American Double Mac, Mackenzie McDonald, qualified but lost in the SFs (Matt, r u reading this?).

The others above aren't "splashy" yet but do represent some respectable potential for jumping up this summer on home turf. Add in GRANITECHIEF pride, Collin Altamirano and Jared Donaldson (3 Futures tourney win-streak currently).
I'll try to keep everyone up with info from this level if you're interested.
Click to expand...

Good to see Novikov and Mackie doing well. I don't think it was a good idea for Dennis to turn pro. Even though he beat Janowicz, I don't think his movement is going to cut it on the pro tour. Mackie though is the real deal. He has such great hands and tennis IQ.
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
Maximagq said:
Good to see Novikov and Mackie doing well. I don't think it was a good idea for Dennis to turn pro. Even though he beat Janowicz, I don't think his movement is going to cut it on the pro tour. Mackie though is the real deal. He has such great hands and tennis IQ.
Click to expand...

Nice to have your thoughts. Anyone else you can think of for us to track?
 
Maximagq

Maximagq

Banned
Russeljones said:
Nice to have your thoughts. Anyone else you can think of for us to track?
Click to expand...

The obvious American star is Stefan Kozlov, but keep an eye out for Noah Rubin who beat Kozlov today in the junior final, and Taylor Fritz, a lanky San Diego native with huge firepower on the serve and forehand.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Maximagq said:
The obvious American star is Stefan Kozlov, but keep an eye out for Noah Rubin who beat Kozlov today in the junior final, and Taylor Fritz, a lanky San Diego native with huge firepower on the serve and forehand.
Click to expand...

I'll say...NY Times article claims a 133mph bomb from Fritz in the Wimby boys, where he lost in the SFs to eventual champion Rubin.

Fritz is 16 and unsure if he goes the pro or college route. Kozlov has already turned pro. Rubin is college bound (Wake Forest or UVA).

Meanwhile, Novikov lost his SFs in the Canada Futures to eventual champion, Aussie Ben Mitchell. Ben beat Filip in the final.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Russeljones said:
You mean one of them shot up 700 places in the rankings ala-Kyrgios?
Click to expand...

PCB has jumped but in the gradual, "grinding" method with his long string of Futures titles on clay in '13. Since he made enough dent to go direct entry in ATP events, his record is mediocre...6-17. He is entered in Bastad and plays Dustin Brown 1R today.
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
I added rankings. I think we should confine it to player's who are playing ATP tournaments only. Just to keep the thread more focused. All info on the aforementioned players is appreciated, though.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Russeljones said:
I added rankings. I think we should confine it to player's who are playing ATP tournaments only. Just to keep the thread more focused. All info on the aforementioned players is appreciated, though.
Click to expand...

Many of them will bounce back into Challengers to get some momentum and gamble they can get more points for a deep run (Kudla @Winnetka, e.g.) than playing a 250. I was surprised he didn't show @Newport, where he has done OK in the past. After all, he did win 1R @Wimby.
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
stringertom said:
Many of them will bounce back into Challengers to get some momentum and gamble they can get more points for a deep run (Kudla @Winnetka, e.g.) than playing a 250. I was surprised he didn't show @Newport, where he has done OK in the past. After all, he did win 1R @Wimby.
Click to expand...

Maybe he's got a travel/accomodation schedule he has to keep.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Saville bounced by marathon man Mahut in straights. On changeovers, I wonder if he asked Luke, "Is it safe?":twisted:
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Russeljones said:
Sav's bio seems ambiguous. I didn't understand if the cousin had been a good junior or if it was Sav. Either way, thanks for clearing it up.

Why would Mahut ask that? My mind wanders. :)
Click to expand...

This from the OP of "GMOAT" thread in O&E??? I stopped visiting dentists for a while after that movie release, having seen that toothy specialist's portrayer live on stage in another role just years before!
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Russeljones said:
Zverev fell to Rosol in 2 tiebreaks. Oh sh8t. Marathon man. Duhhh!!! :lol:
Click to expand...

Speaking of Olivier, how about qualifier Renzo Olivo reaching the quarters at Bastad with upsets of PHM and Robredo??? The guy has been struggling to win matches in Futures and Challengers.
 
okdude1992

okdude1992

Hall of Fame
Nice Thread. It seems FINALLY the young guns are making progress. At Wimbledon, Grigor showed he's almost ready to win slams. Raonic I feel still has some holes in his game, but he's slowly improving. I've been expecting Krygios to come up for a year or 2 but not as quickly or dramatically as he did!
 
Last edited:
okdude1992

okdude1992

Hall of Fame
Maximagq said:
The obvious American star is Stefan Kozlov, but keep an eye out for Noah Rubin who beat Kozlov today in the junior final, and Taylor Fritz, a lanky San Diego native with huge firepower on the serve and forehand.
Click to expand...
Don't forget Francis Tiafoe. But I don't see a real pro future for any of those guys except maybe Kozlov. While talking about young Americans, someones been flying under the radar http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Do/J/Jared-Donaldson.aspx?t=pa
:shock:
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Russeljones said:
It's great to have home support at that stage of a player's career. Any thoughts on Zverev's schedule for the upcoming hard court swing?
Click to expand...

If he's smart, play another tourney or two on clay in Europe, if he can get WCs. Otherwise, he's headed over here with no guarantees of WCs and his ranking prior to this week doesn't earn direct entry into even qualifiers at some of the US Open series events.
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
stringertom said:
If he's smart, play another tourney or two on clay in Europe, if he can get WCs. Otherwise, he's headed over here with no guarantees of WCs and his ranking prior to this week doesn't earn direct entry into even qualifiers at some of the US Open series events.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought as well. Would be great for him to get into some player management program like the Mouratoglou one. These people have connections and use them, I am sure.
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
Raonic and Dimitrov still in it with a shot at making history (although it seems to me the trophy has Murray's name on it). How have the 'youngsters' done on hard courts so far?
 
Russeljones

Russeljones

Talk Tennis Guru
Gulbis has failed to carry any momentum after his epic achievement at RG this year.

I don't think there's any shame in Kyrgios losing to Murray on hard court.

Tiem is probably a convenient player for Simon, seeing as how the latter has been successful against Dimitrov as well.

Pospisil probably had his chances against Gasquet, tough luck.

Kokkinakis had a good win against Matosevic.

Feel free to contribute noteworthy performances of the young guns.
 
Supertegwyn

Supertegwyn

Hall of Fame
Russeljones said:
Gulbis has failed to carry any momentum after his epic achievement at RG this year.

I don't think there's any shame in Kyrgios losing to Murray on hard court.

Tiem is probably a convenient player for Simon, seeing as how the latter has been successful against Dimitrov as well.

Pospisil probably had his chances against Gasquet, tough luck.

Kokkinakis had a good win against Matosevic.

Feel free to contribute noteworthy performances of the young guns.
Click to expand...
I beat someone at my club, does that count?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Russeljones
(Grass) Blades of glory: Young Guns visit the 'Home of tennis'
2
Replies
63
Views
5K
stringertom
stringertom
Top