College players in US summer Futures and Challengers

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
Congrats to Ethan Quinn on the Champaign title. Downed Dostanic. He’s already beaten the cream of college tennis (other than Shelton). And he’s yet to play for UGA!
Do you think he'll go to UGA or turn pro? Tommy Paul was a UGA commit who decided to turn pro instead. Quinn was on campus last year as a redshirt.
 

silentkman

Hall of Fame
Do you think he'll go to UGA or turn pro? Tommy Paul was a UGA commit who decided to turn pro instead. Quinn was on campus last year as a redshirt.

Didn't know about Tommy Paul. it's funny to watch Brooksby do adds for the Challeger circuit. i think he was on the challenger circuit for a week or so. LOL
 
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Sureshot

Professional
Do you think he'll go to UGA or turn pro? Tommy Paul was a UGA commit who decided to turn pro instead. Quinn was on campus last year as a redshirt.
I think he will. But if he does well at the All Americans and/or Fall Nats, and perhaps at some Challengers, he might reconsider. I am thinking he can follow Ben’s path. No need to rush it
 

Sureshot

Professional
qualifier then isner if he wins - most of the qualifiers are pretty tough draws, with Donald Young being probably the qualifier you’d most like to draw (but even then it’d be a matchup of two lefties and Ben might face a more difficult time holding than he’s used to)

Brooksby gets the ultimate grump Benoit Paire, hope he drives the Frenchman crazy and a few racquets lose their lives
Ben plays Ramnathan (#196) of India first up (Tuesday). He qualified by beating Kozlov 0&1 and Draper in three
 

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
Ben plays Ramnathan (#196) of India first up (Tuesday). He qualified by beating Kozlov 0&1 and Draper in three
Ben should have a good shot at a win. Against common opponents, they are both 4-3: Yasutaka Uchiyama, Max Purcell, Michael Mmoh, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Stefan Kozlov. Obviously they have played some opponents twice.
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
Ben plays Ramnathan (#196) of India first up (Tuesday). He qualified by beating Kozlov 0&1 and Draper in three

amazing opportunity, about the best you can hope for in the main draw of a 250

looks like he's in good form the past couple days, but still
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
amazing opportunity, about the best you can hope for in the main draw of a 250

looks like he's in good form the past couple days, but still
college dude Kovacevic had had butt handed to him by Yibing who won the US open. This is how high the level is with axel
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
i love the point at the 6:00 mark when Axel is mindlessly bashing while taking himself out of position, and Wu just casually guides the backhand twenty feet out of his reach for an insurance break and points to his box like 'i got this scrub'

the prelude to their differential trajectories over the next couple years
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
Wu won 67(10),76(13),63. That’s pretty darn close. Good run by Kova

brutal, i'm assuming in that case that kova had some match points, anyone know?

editing as i watch the replay:
1st match point - Wu serving 5-6, ad out, Kova gets a 1st serve return in play nice and deep, Wu earns it w punishing groundies
2nd match point - Kova serving 6-5 in TB, makes a big 1st serve, tries to end it w next ball, a big inside-out forehand that sails
3rd - Wu serving 6-7 in TB, 2nd serve must have been a centimeter from being long and ending the match, Kova misses a backhand after a solid point by Wu
4th - Wu serving 8-9 in TB, he hits a forehand that slides off the baseline as Kova hopes for the call, a cm from ending the match again, Kova looks over to the sideline like he's done with this ****
5th - Wu serving 10-11 in TB, kicks a second serve to the Kova backhand and Kova floats it long, have to get that point started
6th (and final) - Wu serving 12-13 in TB, kicks a second serve to Kova backhand again, pounds the BH with the next three groundies as he moves up in court and finishes w a smash


that was rough to watch, kova must be losing a little sleep tonight - he had 25 aces in the first two sets, couldn't shut the door, then started suffering (physically w some leg cramps, and i'm sure mentally as well) in the third and finished with only one additional ace
 
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jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
@mikej So Ben Shelton posted on twitter that he is looking for someone to take over his lease in Gainesville... Maybe I am reading too much into it...If he was just looking for a new apt or different rooming situation in Gainesville, why would he wait to late July? Maybe it just means he is definitely taking fall off. I dont follow Ben but he asked people to retweet and a tennis person I follow did. You'd think these tennis players would have a private and public social media, e.g. twitter public, IG privates for friends and associates. You wouldnt want some crazy who lost a bet trying to figure out where you live or to pretend to be interested in a sublease...Meanwhile if you know somebody, look for his twitter online...you live in Gainesville-right? The Blue Devil who adopted Gators as his team?
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
@mikej So Ben Shelton posted on twitter that he is looking for someone to take over his lease in Gainesville... Maybe I am reading too much into it...If he was just looking for a new apt or different rooming situation in Gainesville, why would he wait to late July? Maybe it just means he is definitely taking fall off. I dont follow Ben but he asked people to retweet and a tennis person I follow did. You'd think these tennis players would have a private and public social media, e.g. twitter public, IG privates for friends and associates. You wouldnt want some crazy who lost a bet trying to figure out where you live or to pretend to be interested in a sublease...Meanwhile if you know somebody, look for his twitter online...you live in Gainesville-right? The Blue Devil who adopted Gators as his team?

i wouldn't read too much into it - lot of reasons for wanting to change apartment situations besides going pro - new apartment complex sprouts up every day in GNV

the profile of Ben, and even more so the profiles of his friends and girlfriend on the track team have exploded over the last few months - all of them are now NCAA champions / several high profile world championship competitiors / even world championship medalists - might me looking for some new / more private digs
 
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Do you think he'll go to UGA or turn pro? Tommy Paul was a UGA commit who decided to turn pro instead. Quinn was on campus last year as a redshirt.
Tommy Paul won the French Open Jr. Boys Singles in 2015. (defeated Taylor Fritz in final)
I believe that Paul also lost in the US Open Jr Boys singles final that same year to Taylor Fritz.
This year, Ethan Quinn lost in the final round of qualifying trying to get into the French Open Jr. Boys singles main draw.

I think that Quinn is very good. We will see how he does at Kalamazoo and at the US Open Juniors.
I expect That Ethan Quinn will be at UGA in the fall and in the spring. His wins over Holmgren, Dostanic (Twice) and Kingsley are very impressive.
 

Sureshot

Professional
Tommy Paul won the French Open Jr. Boys Singles in 2015. (defeated Taylor Fritz in final)
I believe that Paul also lost in the US Open Jr Boys singles final that same year to Taylor Fritz.
This year, Ethan Quinn lost in the final round of qualifying trying to get into the French Open Jr. Boys singles main draw.

I think that Quinn is very good. We will see how he does at Kalamazoo and at the US Open Juniors.
I expect That Ethan Quinn will be at UGA in the fall and in the spring. His wins over Holmgren, Dostanic (Twice) and Kingsley are very impressive.
He has a good chance playing USO main draw. He’s probably the odds on favorite to win Kzoo. Granted he’ll have to fend off Michelsen, Damm, Zheng and some others but he’s hot right now
 

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
shelton wins 6-2,7-5

not impossible that his match w isner could come down to a few TB points
Will be rooting for Ben. Even tho I am an Atlantan (suburbs), my husband went to Tech. Will be exciting to have a Gator Dawg match! Ramanthan was better than I thought he would be-there was some great net play in the middle of the 2nd set and Ram's serve wasn't bad. Ben held steady after missing out on the 2 break chances in middle of set and dropping his serve; he could have gone up 5-2 but was at 4-4. Great maturity not to lose confidence as Ram fought back hard. Ram was probably playing his best this tourney as he has been around while and dont remember if he made it out of the Qs before. He had to be playing well to beat Draper. I wish my son hadnt move out West in May-he used to be a hitting partner at ATL250, and Ram was one of the guys he hit with a few years back as well as Jason Jung who used to post on this board. He got to hit with a few inside top 100.
 
We are witnessing a meteoric rise with Ben. Not quite Alcaraz-esque (yet). But quite wonderful in its own right!

joker-jared-leto.gif
 

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
And Andres Martin routines Kokinakis. Perhaps @jcgatennismom can weigh in on how that went. Martin seems to have elevated his game a lot this summer
I just watched it on TV-my deadline for watching outdoor ATL is May (watched NCAAs in Athens)-too hot in July. Andres had no nerves-had the "take care of business" look, very confident. He earned a lot of points at net, had down the line winners and painted the lines with his angle shots. Very clean, few unforced errors. Andres had great. movement, got his racquet on almost every ball. Kokk had a decent serve but uninspired return and movement. By the mid of the 2nd set, he was making more UEs and looked like he wasnt trying. Maybe Kokk didnt prepare well thinking it would be easy to beat a college kid who had only played Futures. Note: Andres and teammate received a dubs WC last year and won a round so this was not his first time on Atlanta Open courts. However, he had not even played a singles Future until this summer; he has only played 2 so far-reaching the finals of his 1st, SFs of his 2nd. Andres has a chance in his 2nd rd as he will play a LL from Qualifer. However, he doesnt have the fastest groundstrokes but he places them very well, and again he has a great net game.

Atlanta has a ladder for junior tournament players. Players like Trent Bryde, Garrett Johns (Duke #1), Tyler Stice (Auburn #1), and Andres played some years on it. There were 50-75 ea of girl and boys with at least the top 10-20 on each usually going to play D1 tennis (both P5 and MM) or top 8 D3. I used to volunteer with it, and Andres as a middleschooler was competitive with the tournament playing high schoolers; I didnt know him well but he had that belief in himself at an early age. It doesnt surprise me that he was not intimidated at all to play on ATL stadium court. I talked with his dad years later while watching a GA Tech game-very friendly. His family lived further north than most of the suburban players, and his parents would drive 30+ miles to find him competitive matches. I am reposting an article on AM now that more people may be curious about his tennis journey: https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/sp...nity-gainesville-support-professional-dreams/

While Nostradamus will jump all over this as Andres lost to Fery in 2nd rd of NCAAs singles in May, the above article says Martin turned down an offer from Stanford as well as other teams ranked high for tennis and academics.
 
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Sureshot

Professional
Thanks! Btw, GATech is nothing to sneeze at. It’s an elite academic institution especially for STEM. The MIT of the south they say. I guess in terms of tennis, they are a relative lightweight playing in a competitive ACC
 

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
Thanks! Btw, GATech is nothing to sneeze at. It’s an elite academic institution especially for STEM. The MIT of the south they say. I guess in terms of tennis, they are a relative lightweight playing in a competitive ACC
When GA Tech is on, the team can compete with the best of ACC. GA Tech lost 1-6 to Wake and then 11 days later beat Wake 4-2. GA Tech has a smaller roster than most ACC teams-just 7-8 guys in recent years. I know they forfeited line 6 at one match or more. Players dont transfer in GA Tech; other P5s can reload with grad transfers. GA Tech only had 4 guys 13+ on its roster (3 with low 13s) with a drop down then to 12.5. Tech didnt get to go to NCAAs teams as win record was <50% (10-14)
 

Sureshot

Professional
When GA Tech is on, the team can compete with the best of ACC. GA Tech lost 1-6 to Wake and then 11 days later beat Wake 4-2. GA Tech has a smaller roster than most ACC teams-just 7-8 guys in recent years. I know they forfeited line 6 at one match or more. Players dont transfer in GA Tech; other P5s can reload with grad transfers. GA Tech only had 4 guys 13+ on its roster (3 with low 13s) with a drop down then to 12.5. Tech didnt get to go to NCAAs teams as win record was <50% (10-14)
Yes that’s why I said relative lightweight because they are in the ACC. Could be more competitive in some other conferences. Also I understand why they don’t often get grad transfers. Grad school there is a serious academic pursuit and probably would compromise tennis development
 

andfor

Legend
And Andres Martin routines Kokinakis. Perhaps @jcgatennismom can weigh in on how that went. Martin seems to have elevated his game a lot this summer
I thought is was a boarder line tank job. Not to take anything away from Martin, his play was stellar! I like the match-up vs. Mannario.

Regarding U. of FL vs. UGA match up today. I smell a tiebreaker or 3. FL has a good enough service game to go deep each set. I say it's a pick'em.

BTW, #250 now and will likely be near sub 200 is almost to high to go back to school IMO for a variety of reasons. $$$'s
 

andfor

Legend
mayyybe a little early for that given the depth of this current crop of top 100 guys

but in 3 years…
Haven’t read the article but agree 3 years is more reasonable given the massive talent within the top 20. Maybe 2 years for this kid.

I’m super optimistic for his chances tonight. Often I’m too much so for the young players
 
skimmed the article. surprised the new NIL rules haven't impacted how amateur and pro are defined (based off of accepting prize money)

EDIT: if this is off-topic or "politics" I'll delete
 

andfor

Legend
skimmed the article. surprised the new NIL rules haven't impacted how amateur and pro are defined (based off of accepting prize money)

EDIT: if this is off-topic or "politics" I'll delete
No worries. Side topic and covered here often, amateurs and college players can take a portion of professional prize money to cover expenses and not impact eligibility.
 

jrstrat

Rookie
First time to watch Shelton last night and I was very impressed. His forehand is Nadal 2.0. I think he has future top 20 potential written all over him.
 

andfor

Legend
Right down to the wire and Isner squeaks by. Ben should get WCs to Citi, Cinci and Toronto. He deserves it
With more pro experience I think he wins that type of match more in a year or so. To get better returning the Isner type serve has to be done in more live match situations like last night.

Agree 100% on the WC's. At the very least Ben should get them into the rest of the US tour stops. Citi, Cinci, Winston-Salem, San Diego.
 

mikej

Hall of Fame
With more pro experience I think he wins that type of match more in a year or so. To get better returning the Isner type serve has to be done in more live match situations like last night.

Agree 100% on the WC's. At the very least Ben should get them into the rest of the US tour stops. Citi, Cinci, Winston-Salem, San Diego.

with all these suggested WCs, you guys are just trying to get him into the top 200 so he leaves UF :)
 
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