ATP Tour ranking# necessary for entry?

[jbill]

I have a question for anyone who is knowledgeable about entry into an ATP tournament.

Ryan Harrison is currently ranked #69 in the world.

This week there are concurrently happening three ATP tournaments: Aircel, Exxon Mobil and Brisbane. I believe they are all 32 man draws. I believe they all admit a certain number of qualifiers.

Ryan Harrison had to qualify to get into the Brisbane tournament. How high a ranking does a player have to have to automatically receive entry into one of these three ATP tournaments? I would think at #69 a player like Harrison would not have to go through the qualies to get entry into one of the three tournaments. So what ranking is the cut off when there are 3 ATP tournaments going on at the same time? And why does Harrison at #69 have to qualify for entry?

Jim Bill

[stotty]

I have a question for anyone who is knowledgeable about entry into an ATP tournament.

Ryan Harrison is currently ranked #69 in the world.

This week there are concurrently happening three ATP tournaments: Aircel, Exxon Mobil and Brisbane. I believe they are all 32 man draws. I believe they all admit a certain number of qualifiers.

Ryan Harrison had to qualify to get into the Brisbane tournament. How high a ranking does a player have to have to automatically receive entry into one of these three ATP tournaments? I would think at #69 a player like Harrison would not have to go through the qualies to get entry into one of the three tournaments. So what ranking is the cut off when there are 3 ATP tournaments going on at the same time? And why does Harrison at #69 have to qualify for entry?

Jim Bill

Hi Jim,

The ATP website would probably have the answers for you. tennis_chiro will know for sure...you could send him a PM.

It's one of those things I should know but don't...

[tennis_chiro]

ATP entries

I have a question for anyone who is knowledgeable about entry into an ATP tournament.

Ryan Harrison is currently ranked #69 in the world.

This week there are concurrently happening three ATP tournaments: Aircel, Exxon Mobil and Brisbane. I believe they are all 32 man draws. I believe they all admit a certain number of qualifiers.

Ryan Harrison had to qualify to get into the Brisbane tournament. How high a ranking does a player have to have to automatically receive entry into one of these three ATP tournaments? I would think at #69 a player like Harrison would not have to go through the qualies to get entry into one of the three tournaments. So what ranking is the cut off when there are 3 ATP tournaments going on at the same time? And why does Harrison at #69 have to qualify for entry?

Jim Bill

ATP main tour events used to close entries 6 weeks before the end of the tournament. They use the rankings at that time to determine the cutoff. Playing in Brisbane getting ready for Aussie Open is considered more desirable than Chennai or Doha (with almost twice the prize money and a cutoff of 85) by many players. It was actually only a 28 draw with 4 byes and 2 wild cards, so the last of the 22 players that got straight in was ranked 68. Harrison would have gotten in as a lucky loser just by reaching the last round of qualis, but he did qualify...and then lost. If you look at the bottom of the draw sheets on the ATP site you can see the listing of the last acceptance.

don

[jbill]

Thanks, Stotty and Don.

Yeah, I kinda figured this out this morning. When I went to the Exxon Mobil main draw I began to realize there were a number of players (players who didn't have to qualify) that had a lower ranking than Ryan Harrison. So I figured that Harrison must have wanted to get preparation for the Aussie Open in Australia. Even though the Brisbane tournament has more money I doubt that was a consideration for Harrison. I also noticed that the Brisbane tournament had the 4 byes which made it harder for him to get in there.

I'm not a super big fan of his although I have seen him play in person a couple of times. I remember, Don, that you reported that you saw him play last year in Indian Wells and observed that he works way to hard to get pace on his forehand. I totally agree. The coach I work with says that he doesn't release his elbow very well; it's too close to his body core on his forward swing.

Anyways, thanks for the helpful answer, Don.

Jim Bill

[tennis_chiro]

Further comments on American players

Thanks, Stotty and Don.

Yeah, I kinda figured this out this morning. When I went to the Exxon Mobil main draw I began to realize there were a number of players (players who didn't have to qualify) that had a lower ranking than Ryan Harrison. So I figured that Harrison must have wanted to get preparation for the Aussie Open in Australia. Even though the Brisbane tournament has more money I doubt that was a consideration for Harrison. I also noticed that the Brisbane tournament had the 4 byes which made it harder for him to get in there.

I'm not a super big fan of his although I have seen him play in person a couple of times. I remember, Don, that you reported that you saw him play last year in Indian Wells and observed that he works way to hard to get pace on his forehand. I totally agree. The coach I work with says that he doesn't release his elbow very well; it's too close to his body core on his forward swing.

Anyways, thanks for the helpful answer, Don.

Jim Bill

I'm always tickeled to think someone remembers my comments. Your coach and I are on the same page. I think it's really sad that Ryan has that much trouble releasing through his forehand, but he does.

You can see more of my current comments on the men's game at a post I put up on 10sBalls.com early this morning.

http://www.10sballs.com/2013/01/02/backwards-and-forwards/

It's pretty bleak as far as American representation on the men's tour goes.

don

[jbill]

Yeah, Don, I always find interest in your observations. I look forward to reading them when I can.

I saw Jack Sock close up this fall in Sacramento practicing at the Challenger tournament there. Now that guy has a forehand! The racquet head speed he develops on his forehand side is impressive. I think he will go further up the ranking ladder than Ryan Harrison. Also, Steve Johnson can be very impressive at times. He is one big, strong guy. I don't know if you have seen him play a match, but check him out up close when you get a chance. I think those two Americans have a chance.

I will definitely check out what you wrote on10sballs.com, Don.

Once again, thanks for your response.

Jim Bill

[jbill]

Great Article

Great review of the past year's professional men's players on 10sballs.com, Don! It will be fun to see how some of your predictions for 2013 turn out. I particularly enjoyed your analysis of Federer.

Jim Bill

[tennis_chiro]

Steve Johnson

Yeah, Don, I always find interest in your observations. I look forward to reading them when I can.

I saw Jack Sock close up this fall in Sacramento practicing at the Challenger tournament there. Now that guy has a forehand! The racquet head speed he develops on his forehand side is impressive. I think he will go further up the ranking ladder than Ryan Harrison. Also, Steve Johnson can be very impressive at times. He is one big, strong guy. I don't know if you have seen him play a match, but check him out up close when you get a chance. I think those two Americans have a chance.

I will definitely check out what you wrote on10sballs.com, Don.

Once again, thanks for your response.

Jim Bill

JBill,

I haven't seen Sock in person but I was really impressed with the potential I saw in his matches at the Open. Unfortunately, not so impressed with some of the attitude I saw there.

I have watched Johnson since he was a pre-teen. I wrote him up in 10sBalls as having a great future. I thought he might be our next great player because of the way he dealt with the pressure of that streak at USC. Great second serve, superior transition and net game and a great scrambling and ancillary skills, great slice backhand. I'm a little concerned that the forehand is a little flimsy and inconsistent and he definitely needs to improve the backhand. He's had a bunch of tough losses that I was hoping he would find a way to win with that experience at USC. He hasn't really had any break in his draws. This next year will tell the story for him. From what I know of him, he has a great attitude. He just needs a couple of good wins to get him started.

don

[tennis_chiro]

Federer review

Great review of the past year's professional men's players on 10sballs.com, Don! It will be fun to see how some of your predictions for 2013 turn out. I particularly enjoyed your analysis of Federer.

Jim Bill

I really thought my take on the Federer "deterioration" was a little different. I haven't seen that argument advanced anywhere else. One of the things that frustrates me about 10sBAlls is I don't get any feedback. They get millions of pageviews per month but I don't know if what I am saying has any traction. That's what I really like about posting here on tennisplayer - feedback.

so thanks!

don

[jbill]

Don,

Yes, your idea that Federer's deteriorization at the end of the year was due to his lack of mental toughness/concentration rather than his age/physical conditioning or technical ability is different.

Going back to the Aussie Open of last year, when Fed lost to Nadal in the Semi's the take from some seemed to be that Fed was committing a lot unforced errors because he wanted to end points quickly. He wasn't willing to play long points with Nadal since those points were more likiley going to be won by Nadal. How does that fit with your analysis or does it at all?

I'm curious, Don, what your viewpoint is about James Blake. (I think he will retire sometime here in the near future.) Here's a guy who seemed to be extemely athletic with a lot of ability, but tactically speaking he never played smart. He always insisted on playing his one-dimenional style regardless of who his oppoent was. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Maybe it worked more than not; he did get to #4 in the world. (He never did win any big event to my recollection, though, either.)

Watching him, though, sometimes frustrated me to no end because he just seemed to play so stupidly. My take on the guy is that he may have been able to go higher than #4 but he really didn't care to or want to because he didn't want to have to live with that kind of pressure. What do you think was with that guy? Why do you think he insisted on playing the way he did when it seems he could have played more intelligently. I think it's kind of ironic since some often mention how he went to Harvard for a couple of years with the implication being that he's smarter than most of the rest of us .

Anyways, just wondered if you had any thoughts on these two items.

Jim Bill

[tennis_chiro]

Shot Tolerance!!!

Don,

Yes, your idea that Federer's deteriorization at the end of the year was due to his lack of mental toughness/concentration rather than his age/physical conditioning or technical ability is different.

Going back to the Aussie Open of last year, when Fed lost to Nadal in the Semi's the take from some seemed to be that Fed was committing a lot unforced errors because he wanted to end points quickly. He wasn't willing to play long points with Nadal since those points were more likiley going to be won by Nadal. How does that fit with your analysis or does it at all?

I'm curious, Don, what your viewpoint is about James Blake. (I think he will retire sometime here in the near future.) Here's a guy who seemed to be extemely athletic with a lot of ability, but tactically speaking he never played smart. He always insisted on playing his one-dimenional style regardless of who his oppoent was. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Maybe it worked more than not; he did get to #4 in the world. (He never did win any big event to my recollection, though, either.)

Watching him, though, sometimes frustrated me to no end because he just seemed to play so stupidly. My take on the guy is that he may have been able to go higher than #4 but he really didn't care to or want to because he didn't want to have to live with that kind of pressure. What do you think was with that guy? Why do you think he insisted on playing the way he did when it seems he could have played more intelligently. I think it's kind of ironic since some often mention how he went to Harvard for a couple of years with the implication being that he's smarter than most of the rest of us .

Anyways, just wondered if you had any thoughts on these two items.

Jim Bill

Jim,
your point about Federer's anxiety about allowing points to be extended would certainly be a weak point in my argument, but I think that has been true all the way back to 2006 or 2007 when Nadal began to dominate Federer on the clay. While I recognize the problem, I don't think it is due to reduced physical endurance. On the other hand, I do think the lower shot tolerance does work against him against the other members of the big 4.

As for Blake, he was so much fun to watch when he was playing his best tennis (night quarter at the Open against Agassi), but even then he still was so frustrating for exactly the reason you have pointed out. I got tired of watching him self-destruct the last few years. I would agree; he could have been much better. Whether he could have gotten into the top 3 is another question. I think you ought to at least read his book before you try to divine too much about his mindset, and I haven't. You've postulated that he didn't cravet the microscope that goes with success, but he sure seemed to play that game pretty well. I think it is much harder to work through other ways to win when you can't just knock the other guy off with a couple of winners; James didn't seem to want to engage in that kind of struggle, and that is what it is, a struggle with no guarantees.

But I sure loved his forehand. It always seemed to help my forehand to try to imitate his posture and "Blake" the forehand. Of course, it was nothing like his, but it was still a lot better than mine! Amazing that he had that kind of speed in spite of the fused spine (I might be wrong on that, perhaps it was just a brace he wore growing up, but it was definitely a significant challenge he overcame).

If Isner now starts to have injury problems (and big guys are a little more susceptible to chronic difficulties when they try to move on a tennis court), Sam Querry is going to be a lonely American in the top 20 rankings, and that's assuming he will continue his good play of the last 5 months.

don

[jbill]

Don, first of all thanks for reponding to my questions.

Yes, I did read James Blake's book, Breaking Back, and enjoyed it a lot. It was a good tennis read. James certainly did do well to overcome his "life adversities." I can respect him for that. But, unfortunately, his book gave me no insight into his tennis mind-set, I guess only he can answer that.

I can't help but wonder what influence or lack of influence his childhood coach, (Brian Barker who stayed with him for many years) had in making up his tennis mind-set.

I think I can also respect the fact that James always seemed to have a good demeanor on court. At least I never saw him throw any racquets or show disrespect to chair umpires.

I, too, liked his forehand. It was quite a weapon at times. His main techique he described as "sit and lift". That's an interesting mechanical concept that you don't here a lot about, at least in present times.

I have seen him play challenger matches a couple of times in Sacramento and watched him practice. He seemed to enjoy himself and the life that the pro tour was giving him.

On another topic, I was really glad to see, Baby Fed, Grigor Dimitrov, do so well in Brisbane.. He is into his first ATP final tomorrow against Murray I believe. He has beautiful strokes and a great demeanor on court. It should be fun to see how far he rises up the ranking ladder this year.

Jim Bill

[don_budge]

Speaking of James Blake...and McEnroe, Borg and Federer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayGv33lMVj8

The four boys playing a little doubles...James is in pretty company. Highly entertaining. Some great reflexes from the boys...even the older ones.

[GeoffWilliams]

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