George Turner
Hall of Fame
-Andrey Rublev. Was rubbish at the sunshine double (though he has reached the Miami doubles final) but clay is his best surface and has shown significant improvement in the last six months. Can the clay season ignite another breakthrough? His lackluster serve can hide on this surface.
-Nicolas Jarry. Looking forward to seeing if he can back up his recent results in bigger clay court tournaments. Hits every shot with big power, he's got the weapons to be ranked much higher than he is.
-Hyeon Chung. Chung has not achieved any significant results on clay. However he showed some promise last season at Barcelona and the FO. He's upped his game since and is starting to generate consistent results, something that has eluded most of the next gen up till now. In theory has a game that can do well on the surface, though "baby Djoko" still prefers hardcourt.
-Diego Schwartzman. Like any short guy he gets teased for his height but clay is by far his best surface. After reaching the QF and 4R of the last two majors (his deepest runs at that level) He could be ready for a big run at Roland Garros. He isn't going to beat a fully fit Nadal but for most other players he will be a threat. He needs to avoid Baghdatis who double bagelled Diego on clay two years ago.
-Borna Coric. Having appeared to stagnate after his 2015 breakthrough, Coric suddenly had good runs at the sunshine double, thrashing players like RBA and ARV and winning an exciting next gen match against Shapo. Unlike Chung he put in a very impressive performance against Fedr aswell. Clay is his best surface, if he continues this form he should have a deep run or two this year.
-Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas has struggled to make the transition to ATP level but at challenger/future level the bulk of his wins have come on clay. At some point he will have a big run in an ATP tournament and it could come this clay season. Needs to avoid Medvedev.
Any other dark horses?
-Nicolas Jarry. Looking forward to seeing if he can back up his recent results in bigger clay court tournaments. Hits every shot with big power, he's got the weapons to be ranked much higher than he is.
-Hyeon Chung. Chung has not achieved any significant results on clay. However he showed some promise last season at Barcelona and the FO. He's upped his game since and is starting to generate consistent results, something that has eluded most of the next gen up till now. In theory has a game that can do well on the surface, though "baby Djoko" still prefers hardcourt.
-Diego Schwartzman. Like any short guy he gets teased for his height but clay is by far his best surface. After reaching the QF and 4R of the last two majors (his deepest runs at that level) He could be ready for a big run at Roland Garros. He isn't going to beat a fully fit Nadal but for most other players he will be a threat. He needs to avoid Baghdatis who double bagelled Diego on clay two years ago.
-Borna Coric. Having appeared to stagnate after his 2015 breakthrough, Coric suddenly had good runs at the sunshine double, thrashing players like RBA and ARV and winning an exciting next gen match against Shapo. Unlike Chung he put in a very impressive performance against Fedr aswell. Clay is his best surface, if he continues this form he should have a deep run or two this year.
-Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas has struggled to make the transition to ATP level but at challenger/future level the bulk of his wins have come on clay. At some point he will have a big run in an ATP tournament and it could come this clay season. Needs to avoid Medvedev.
Any other dark horses?