Stefan Kozlov is back (or finally arriving)

[Forgive Me Father]

He was once toutet as a big talent, making 2 Junior Grand Slam finals and finishing #3 in the ITF Junior combined rankings.

In 2015 he got a WC to an ATP tournament at 15 years.

But the progress to more took a while and/or he could not quite deal with the expectations.

He couldn't do anything on the ATP tour yet, and permanently played challengers... along the way things got so bad he dropped out of the top 500 and played Futures. Even there he had trouble getting wins.

He's now back inside the top 200 for the first time since 2018, and has won 2 Challengers in the last 3 tries, 3 CH titles in 5 tournaments, 4 CH finals in 5 tournaments (yeah, Griekspoor/Rune/Bonzi/Kozlov have really owned the CH scene this year).

I've noticed strong progress when he beat an in-form Eubanks in Cary in July. He then backed that up and beat Eubanks again a week later. Along the way he's beaten many good names / players.

Victims of his onslaught have been: Cressy, Eubanks, Kruger, Torpegaard, Wolf, Purcell, Gomez, Kovacevic, Fratangelo, Vukic, many several times..

I'd say he's one to watch out for 2022. You might hear of him in ATP tournaments.

 

[Goof]

Glad to hear it. I remember back when he and Tiafoe were neck and neck as the top US juniors. Most people even considered it a little bit of an upset when Tiafoe beat him in a heated close 5-setter to win junior nationals.

 

[atatu]

That's good to hear, I love his backhand slice.

 

[Keizer]

An extremely talented ballstriker, especially off the backhand wing. He barely moves his feet but is able to get everything back and change directions very easily. Honestly, if not for his motor and mentality, I’d say he should have been top 100 long ago. I followed him since 2012 and always liked his style. Honestly, his touch on the backhand reminded me of a young Murray.

 

[James P]

He won the competition for the wild card in the Australian Open main draw, so no qualifying necessary.

Source: https://www.tennis.com/baseline/art...lov-picks-up-australian-open-main-draw-ticket

 

[Forgive Me Father]

Kozlov eases into R2 of the Australian Open after straight-setting Vesely without a tiebreak...

Very impressive.

He will compete with Berrettini (or Nakashima, should he turn around the deficit).

 

[RF_fan]

Glad to hear it. I remember back when he and Tiafoe were neck and neck as the top US juniors. Most people even considered it a little bit of an upset when Tiafoe beat him in a heated close 5-setter to win junior nationals.

I was there in Kalamazoo watching it. These kids weren’t ready to play 5 sets.

 

[borgbjorn]

Looked great in beating Vesely, forehand and serves are now a weapon, very confident feisty demeanor. Also he had six raving cheering yelling arm waving guys supporting him the whole match every point, it really seemed to help his focus and intensity, Vesely seemed annoyed and deflated. Great win, he will give Berrettini trouble 2R.

 

[BumElbow]

Kozlov played well against Vesely. Granted, Vesely is not the fastest player and does not have a huge forehand but is dangerous on fast surfaces especially grass. I was glad to see Kozlov win a first round match but I don't like his chances in the next round.

 

[Forgive Me Father]

Kozlov with a dominant win over Steve Johnson.

1 point from a bagel.

 

[Fabresque]

Maybe he can crack Top 50 this year. I think the way he’s going top 100 can be a guarantee.

 

[Jokervich]

10+ slams in any other era

 

[Forgive Me Father]

Kozlov wins an epic(?) against Dimitrov in Acapulco!

 

[aldeayeah]

May get his first taste of Big 3 tyranny in Acapulco R2. He's set to play Nadal (assuming that Nadal beats fellow LL Kudla)

 

[Forgive Me Father]