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MarkBGregory · 04-28-2016, 06:57 AM

Weeks 11-45

Time flies in this world. I've been super busy with work and just about managed to keep up with tournament registrations. For the first time today I've got a few moments to update you all on the goings on. It's been one hell of a year.

Igor Borowski and Juan Jose Elezgueta have been yo-yo-ing all year to be my number one player. Borowski is around a year and a half younger, remember, currently 22y27w, while Elezgueta has recently hit 24y2w. As a reminder, Elezgueta has Clay court favouritism with Grass secondary, while Borowski has Hard court favouritism with Indoor secondary.

As you can imagine, Borowski retained his lead ahead of Elezgueta in the rankings throughout the Hard court season, while Elezgueta regained the advantage during the clay and grass seasons. In Week 11, Borowski reached the 2nd round at Indian Wells, and then Week 13 saw him go one better in Miami, reaching the third round. He defeated 23rd seed Sean Mendez 6-7(5) 6-4 7-5 in the second round before losing to 10th seed Bill Comfort. Two WTC Level 2 victories added another 70 points onto his ranking, pushing him up to 54th by the end of Week 15. During this time Elezgueta played entirely practice tournaments, and sat just behind Borowski at 56th.

Then came the clay court season. Between Weeks 16-23, Elezgueta played two 250s, two MSTs and one Slam (in Paris, of course). Meanwhile, Borowski satisfied himself with two CH1 appearances. Elezgueta's first 250 was nothing special, reaching the second round, but a massive title in Week 18 in Bucharest scored him 250 points and a huge rankings boost just before the Masters events. Elezgueta came through unseeded to win the title, beating 5th seed Ruslan Aznabaev, second seed Nwankwo Ba, third seed Stuart Legh and fourth seed Matthieu Trottier in the final. Not exactly an easy one to win, but a huge result for the Argentinian. Both Masters events in Madrid and Rome were a slight letdown thanks to tough draws, with Elezgueta only reaching the 2nd round unseeded both times. Roland Garros was also tough, resulting in another 2nd round appearance and a static ranking. In the meantime, Borowski reached the final of a CH1 on Hard in Busan in Week 20, before winning a Grass court (?!) CH1 in Nottingham in Week 24. Directly before Wimbledon, Elezgueta was ranked 48th, while Borowski's challenger performances had taken him ahead of Elezgueta to 45th.

Wimbledon saw Borowski outperform Elezgueta again, reaching the third round compared to Elezgueta's second round appearance. Elzegueta's redemption came thanks to some excellent scheduling in the latter half of the year, mixing high-level Challengers up with 250 events to propel the Argentinian into the top 32 for the first time:

Elezgueta wanted to continue playing competitively post-Wimbledon after a slightly disappointing result, so he entered a CH+ in Germany and went on to win it as the top seed, beating Spaniard Lucas Coscino in the final. A week later, Borowski took part in a CH1 in Spain, but only reached the second round.

Elezgueta continued to impress, reaching the final of the 250 Kitzbuhel Cup in Austria unseeded, beating world #19 Guadalfajara in the quarters before losing 6-2 6-0 to world #4 Pirovano in the final. This result was followed by another 100-point haul after a CH1 victory in San Marino in Week 34. Meanwhile, Borowski was taking part in the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters in Weeks 33&34, making the 2nd round of the former and the third round of the latter. By the end of Week 34, Borowski was ranked just inside the top 40, while Elezgueta was ranked just ever so slightly higher.

Elezgueta forewent the US Open and has since played two CH events, levels 1 & 2, and won both, leaving him now ranked 33rd in the world. However, it gets more exciting for Borowski at this stage:

Borowski also decided not to enter the US Open due to high form, and instead focussed on the Masters events at the end of the year. A QF appearance at a CH+ preceded a 2nd round appearance in Shanghai - another disappointment, as far as talent goes - but then came the performance of his career. Borowski, as a qualifier, reached the semi-finals of the Paris Indoor Masters.

Borowski's route to the semis:

QR1: BYE
QR2: bt Francisco Olbera WR 168 6-2 6-4

R1: bt [Q] Falko Gimelstob WR 41 6-4 6-2
R2: bt [1] Sarmiento Roblez WR 1(!!) 6-1 3-6 6-3
R3: bt [11] Giotto Mansi WR 11 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(4)
QF: bt [12] Burt Tinker WR 12 7-6(1) 7-6(4)
SF: lost to [3] Andres Uson WR 3 6-2 6-1

WHAT A RUN!! Yes, you read correctly, Borowski defeated the world number one in Paris. What a legend!! The result propelled Borowski from 44th to 30th in the world, and depending on end-of-season result, I may well have two players in the top 32 come the start of next year. The only way is up for Borowski at this stage!

Now, breathe...

Christian Kulle has had a year of gradual improvement, with focus on the occasional Challenger tournament but otherwise training, practice, training, practice... Rinse, lather, repeat. Kulle was RUP at a CH2 in Week 15, made the semis of a CH2 in Week 21, qualified for Wimbledon but was beaten in the first round in Week 27, before another RUP appearance at a CH3 in Week 28. Week 33 saw a SF appearance in at a CH1, and Week 35, he was again a finalist at a CH3. He didn't actually win a Challenger event until Week 42, where he came through unseeded to collect the trophy at the CH2 in Tiburon. He's currently ranked just outside the top 100.

Meanwhile, Harald Babbel has just turned 17 and will be in his final year of junior eligibility next year. He's currently ranked 24th in the junior rankings.

04-28-2016, 06:57 AM	#140
MarkBGregory n00b Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Cyprus	Weeks 11-45 Time flies in this world. I've been super busy with work and just about managed to keep up with tournament registrations. For the first time today I've got a few moments to update you all on the goings on. It's been one hell of a year. Igor Borowski and Juan Jose Elezgueta have been yo-yo-ing all year to be my number one player. Borowski is around a year and a half younger, remember, currently 22y27w, while Elezgueta has recently hit 24y2w. As a reminder, Elezgueta has Clay court favouritism with Grass secondary, while Borowski has Hard court favouritism with Indoor secondary. As you can imagine, Borowski retained his lead ahead of Elezgueta in the rankings throughout the Hard court season, while Elezgueta regained the advantage during the clay and grass seasons. In Week 11, Borowski reached the 2nd round at Indian Wells, and then Week 13 saw him go one better in Miami, reaching the third round. He defeated 23rd seed Sean Mendez 6-7(5) 6-4 7-5 in the second round before losing to 10th seed Bill Comfort. Two WTC Level 2 victories added another 70 points onto his ranking, pushing him up to 54th by the end of Week 15. During this time Elezgueta played entirely practice tournaments, and sat just behind Borowski at 56th. Then came the clay court season. Between Weeks 16-23, Elezgueta played two 250s, two MSTs and one Slam (in Paris, of course). Meanwhile, Borowski satisfied himself with two CH1 appearances. Elezgueta's first 250 was nothing special, reaching the second round, but a massive title in Week 18 in Bucharest scored him 250 points and a huge rankings boost just before the Masters events. Elezgueta came through unseeded to win the title, beating 5th seed Ruslan Aznabaev, second seed Nwankwo Ba, third seed Stuart Legh and fourth seed Matthieu Trottier in the final. Not exactly an easy one to win, but a huge result for the Argentinian. Both Masters events in Madrid and Rome were a slight letdown thanks to tough draws, with Elezgueta only reaching the 2nd round unseeded both times. Roland Garros was also tough, resulting in another 2nd round appearance and a static ranking. In the meantime, Borowski reached the final of a CH1 on Hard in Busan in Week 20, before winning a Grass court (?!) CH1 in Nottingham in Week 24. Directly before Wimbledon, Elezgueta was ranked 48th, while Borowski's challenger performances had taken him ahead of Elezgueta to 45th. Wimbledon saw Borowski outperform Elezgueta again, reaching the third round compared to Elezgueta's second round appearance. Elzegueta's redemption came thanks to some excellent scheduling in the latter half of the year, mixing high-level Challengers up with 250 events to propel the Argentinian into the top 32 for the first time: Elezgueta wanted to continue playing competitively post-Wimbledon after a slightly disappointing result, so he entered a CH+ in Germany and went on to win it as the top seed, beating Spaniard Lucas Coscino in the final. A week later, Borowski took part in a CH1 in Spain, but only reached the second round. Elezgueta continued to impress, reaching the final of the 250 Kitzbuhel Cup in Austria unseeded, beating world #19 Guadalfajara in the quarters before losing 6-2 6-0 to world #4 Pirovano in the final. This result was followed by another 100-point haul after a CH1 victory in San Marino in Week 34. Meanwhile, Borowski was taking part in the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters in Weeks 33&34, making the 2nd round of the former and the third round of the latter. By the end of Week 34, Borowski was ranked just inside the top 40, while Elezgueta was ranked just ever so slightly higher. Elezgueta forewent the US Open and has since played two CH events, levels 1 & 2, and won both, leaving him now ranked 33rd in the world. However, it gets more exciting for Borowski at this stage: Borowski also decided not to enter the US Open due to high form, and instead focussed on the Masters events at the end of the year. A QF appearance at a CH+ preceded a 2nd round appearance in Shanghai - another disappointment, as far as talent goes - but then came the performance of his career. Borowski, as a qualifier, reached the semi-finals of the Paris Indoor Masters. Borowski's route to the semis: QR1: BYE QR2: bt Francisco Olbera WR 168 6-2 6-4 R1: bt [Q] Falko Gimelstob WR 41 6-4 6-2 R2: bt [1] Sarmiento Roblez WR 1(!!) 6-1 3-6 6-3 R3: bt [11] Giotto Mansi WR 11 7-6(5) 1-6 7-6(4) QF: bt [12] Burt Tinker WR 12 7-6(1) 7-6(4) SF: lost to [3] Andres Uson WR 3 6-2 6-1 WHAT A RUN!! Yes, you read correctly, Borowski defeated the world number one in Paris. What a legend!! The result propelled Borowski from 44th to 30th in the world, and depending on end-of-season result, I may well have two players in the top 32 come the start of next year. The only way is up for Borowski at this stage! Now, breathe... Christian Kulle has had a year of gradual improvement, with focus on the occasional Challenger tournament but otherwise training, practice, training, practice... Rinse, lather, repeat. Kulle was RUP at a CH2 in Week 15, made the semis of a CH2 in Week 21, qualified for Wimbledon but was beaten in the first round in Week 27, before another RUP appearance at a CH3 in Week 28. Week 33 saw a SF appearance in at a CH1, and Week 35, he was again a finalist at a CH3. He didn't actually win a Challenger event until Week 42, where he came through unseeded to collect the trophy at the CH2 in Tiburon. He's currently ranked just outside the top 100. Meanwhile, Harald Babbel has just turned 17 and will be in his final year of junior eligibility next year. He's currently ranked 24th in the junior rankings.