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Consistency is the right word.He showed several times now that he can play on the clay(rimes 
) too.So who knows,maybe he WILL be the new American number one.
But I still see Mardy on that spot,and I like his tennis more.
Last edited by Dragan (Feb. 21, 2012 2:36pm)
@Tono: I was actually considering putting Ramos-Vinolas on my team!
I just didn't doubt Chela enough. Alas.
I've already missed on Nieminen, who I really didn't want to pick but did anyways. But the rest of my picks seem to be surviving.
-Arvis
I feel your pain Tono, as I too chose Chela. 
When you stop and think about it, breaking into the top 10 and staying there for any period at all is not going to be easy for anybody. Here's why:
Level One: the Big Four
Level Two: Del Potro (the only potential Level One player in the group), Soderling (yes, I know, he's injured now), Ferrer, Berdych, and Tsonga.
Oops! That's 9 guys! If all 9 are healthy, the rest of the world is fighting it out for #10. There are any number of guys who aren't in that group of 9 who have a better game and far more potential than Isner. IMHO, John Isner has no chance whatsoever of making the top 10 and sticking. By this time two years from now -- if not sooner -- Ryan Harrison will be the #1 American.
Last edited by Don (Feb. 21, 2012 7:33pm)
There certainly does seem to be a hierachy in mens tennis for sure....I'm not entirely sure if I agree 100% with your John Isner comments though Don, time will tell I guess but I do agree with you that Ryan Harrison is on the way up for sure.....maybe Isner should employ Jim Courier as his fulltime coach 
.... Jimmy seems to be able to get the best out of Big John in the Davis Cup.....question is can Isner do it all by himself on the tour??
If he can improve his return of serve then he would be very dangerous indeed!!
EDIT : For all you tennis gamers out there I just received this today....some of you may have already seen it but I thought I would attach the link so you can have a look anyway.
http://www.ea.com/au/grand-slam-tennis- … ler-sizzle
@Tono: I was actually considering putting Ramos-Vinolas on my team! big_smile
I just didn't doubt Chela enough. Alas.
@Arvis Damn you should have just picked him then Arvis and Chela might have stood a better chance 
I feel your pain Tono, as I too chose Chela.
@BHP So you had Chela too huh....I thought you might have used another Ferrer pick .....so how many of us picked Juan Ignacio then I wonder?
Last edited by Tono (Feb. 21, 2012 9:11pm)
Certainly Isner needs a better return of serve to compete at the next level. His break percentages are among the very worst on the tour.
IMO he also needs considerably more quickness around the court. Perhaps he could do that to some small extent by improving his fitness, but I believe he will always be limited by his lack of athleticism compared to the top players. Even Soderling and Berdych are considerably quicker around the court than Isner -- and their lack of quickness limits them IMO.
John has also had ongoing problems with his feet ever since that amazing, ridiculous megamarathon with Mahut, so that doesn't help with improved fitness and quickness.
Plus, Isner is soon to be 27 and is 11 months OLDER than Nadal, for goodness sake! As you say, time will tell -- but I sincerely do not see it. I think he's gone about as far as he can go, myself.
Last edited by Don (Feb. 22, 2012 1:00am)
Good points about his athleticism....You do make a good point about his age also....23-27 are more often than not the peak years for tennis players, Isner is near the end of that cycle...maybe this year will be his watershed year then.....if he can make it into the top 10 (I think he will) and somehow stay there (I don't think he will) and qualify for London I think he could retire in a few years very happy with that on his CV.
He is my favourite american on the tour so I'm hoping he has a big year and breaks into the top 10.....even if it's only for a few weeks! 
........mind you the current 10 are looking pretty strong so he will need some luck or some very consistent performances throughout the season, with some big scalps along the way.
I certainly agree that Big John is an appealing guy. I'm pretty sure nearly everybody wants to see him do well.
It seems to me that Mardy Fish's career has already peaked and he is acutely aware of that fact. I don't see him staying as motivated as he was the last couple of years for much longer. I predict that Fish will fall out of the top 20 by the end of next year.
As for Roddick, when Aiur said a year and a half ago that he had snakes in his head I doubted it was really that bad. I was wrong. Lots of snakes all the time. He should find another line of work -- and I'm sure he would if he could continue to make this much money doing something else. Anything else. He obviously hasn't enjoyed playing tennis for a long time.
Harrison -- and Jack Sock, for that matter -- still young, improving, still got a way to go. Isner has a window of opportunity to become the #1 American player. Personally, I think he will find that more satisfying at the end of the day than making the top 8 and the end-of-the-year championships. I don't say that to diminish that feat in any way. But I do think being #1 is a very big deal here in the USA and if John can wear that small crown for a year or, please God, two, he will be way beyond content.
Last edited by Don (Feb. 22, 2012 10:43am)
EDIT : For all you tennis gamers out there I just received this today....some of you may have already seen it but I thought I would attach the link so you can have a look anyway.
Don't bother with this game, folks. I almost posted a thread explaining to all of you why you SHOULD buy this game, but in doing my research and playing a demo of it, I concluded that, for hardcore tennis fans like us, it's a definite NON-buy. Maybe a rental, to see if you can stand its flaws. Because it DOES do a small handful of things well.
But let me tell you a few things about this game:
1. Every so often, you will see Nadal and Djokovic (and probably others) hit a one-handed backhand. Not a slice, a TOPSPIN one-handed backhand. EA has even accidentally included clips of Nadal hitting a one-handed backhand in their promo videos. Terrible.
2. Speaking of which, there are no animations for slice or drop shots. Every slice hit in this game looks like it is hit with top spin.
3. Players are much too large in comparison with the court and move WAY too fast, making drop shots useless.
4. Computer AI players rush the net on basically EVERY point. Ridiculous.
5. And this is absolutely the WORST SIN this game commits: there is NO individual player stat for Forehand and Backhand rating. This mean's Nadal's and Federer's respective backhands are JUST as effective as their forehands in this game, effectively removing any semblance of tennis strategy, thought, challenge, or realism.
In conclusion, Grand Slam Tennis 2 is glorified Pong with a Wimbledon license. Rent it to see for yourself, or stay away. Do not pay more than $15 for this game.
-Arvis
Last edited by Arvis (Feb. 22, 2012 9:17am)
Thanks for the feedback Arvis!!
Looks like yet another game they ramp up with advertising to try and fool you into thinking it's good huh. 
I didn't even tell you the part that makes me want to cry:
Outside of the "tennis" aspect, the game has two features I have always DREAMED about...
1. Facial recognition in Player Creator. Upload a photo of the front and side of your face, the game overlays it in 3D on your created character, so it looks just like you. Awesome. Not only that, but if you can find good pictures of pro players, you can create them this way as well.
2. "Share A Pro." You can download other people's created characters. This means that, if you don't want to spend time creating the Top 50 players in the world, you can just search to see if anybody else has made the player you want, download it, and now they're part of your roster.
These are features ALL tennis games should have. It's just a shame that the only game that actually came through with them features the worst tennis ever.
-Arvis
LOL....well that sounds like a couple of cool features anyway, shame about the overall game though huh .... maybe someone will eventually combine all the things we are looking for and come up with an A1 game for us to get excited about....HOPEFULLY!!
EDIT: Geez is there some BIG glitches in the FTT system at the moment or what??
They have the incorrect results for so many matches this week that it's almost laughable
I've sent them an email to tell them to get their house in order....very frustrating!! 
WOW....Professor X dispatches A-Rod in straight sets in Memphis, poor Andy is going to tumble down the rankings even further now!!....maybe Don is right and he does need to find another day job, maybe he could be his wife's manager or something? 
Last edited by Tono (Feb. 22, 2012 11:58pm)
I'm with Don on this one. Isner has no lasting potential as a top 10 player. Just look at some of the guys below him right now. Monfils, Gasquet, Nishikori, Dolgopolov, Cilic, Soderling, Verdasco, Wawrinka, Roddick, Raonic, etc. Some of those guys have been dealing with injuries/health issues (Soderling Cilic, Monfils), some are still up and coming (Nishikori, Raonic, Dolgopolov) and pretty much everyone else has struggled to find consistency in their game. Isner is a 20-25 quality player IMO.
Disagree. Isner is steadier and has more upside than a lot of the guys Aiur just mentioned. Monfils, Cilic, Verdasco, and Wawrinka will never be consistent enough to be Top 10. Ever. And guys like Gasquet aren't nearly as disruptive to play against as Isner. Will Gasquet ever take Nadal to 5 sets at the French? Or embarrass Fed on clay in a Best-of-5 format? No, I don't think so.
Nishikori is the next Ferrer, but traded in some endurance for slightly more power. I don't know if he'll ever win a Slam, but I think he is definitely Top 10 material.
Raonic is like Isner, only better. Serve isn't as potent, but then he is more mobile with better groundies, which I think is a trade-off that favors the Canadian. Milos has definite Slam-winning potential if he continues to progress.
Dolgopolov is an unknown quantity. I doubt he turns the corner to generate the kind of consistent results required to be a Top 10 player. But you never know. People said stuff like that about Federer too, back in the day.
Overall, I like Isner to be a pretty consistent threat for the next two or three years, barring injury, and I can easily see him sitting in the Top 10 for a good chunk of that time.
-Arvis
For all his goofiness, I certainly like Monfils' chances of spending a good chunk of time in the Top 10 over the next 2 or 3 years far, far better than Isner's. Likewise for Tipsarevic. And even Almagro, Raonic and Nishikori, though all need to improve to get there. For that matter, even Davydenko, though his regaining his late '09 form is probably not going to happen. And there are others vying for one spot if Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray, Soderling, Ferrer, Delpo, Berdych and Tsonga are all healthy, because there is no way in the world John Isner is going to become as good a player as any of those 9 guys.
Probably a bunch of guys will come and go at the bottom of the Top 10 and that could very well include Big John, but if it does, the math tells me it will be a very brief stay.
Monfils has shown that when he's healthy, he's a top 10 player (made it to #7 last summer). Verdasco, Cilic and Wawrinka have also all been inside the 10 at some point in their career. I wouldn't bet on Verdasco getting back inside the top 10 because he seems to have lost the confidence to beat the top payers the last year or so. Wawrinka is right on that fringe to me and can get back there if he wants to. Cilic is a no-brainer in my mind. He'll be back into the top 10 at some point. Most likely after the next Aussie Open, seeing as how the only points he has to defend in 'Slams are from a 3R performance at the US Open.
As for Gasquet, he may not be disruptive to play against like Isner, but he certainly has more talent. He has top 5 quality when he plays his best tennis, something I can't say for Big John. I would bet on him getting back inside the top 10 before Isner gets there, provided both stay healthy.
Some nice robust debate about Big John.....it seems opinion is divided somewhat on the big fella!
I think he will make the top 10 at some point but he won't be able to maintain his spot there unfortunately.....unless a couple of regular top 10er's get injured or something.
I wonder how different the top 10 will look in say two years from now??.....I'm guessing the Big 4 will still be swishing their racquets although Rafa & Fed may be closer to deciding to pull the pin then, I don't see Ferrer, Fish or Tipsarevic being in the ten in season 2014....Berdych & Jo Willy will be 28 then but if still fit and keen to play they should be there or thereabouts, Delpo should definitely be there.....I see maybe three of four spots up for grabs unless a few of the bigger boys decide to hang up their racquet.....I know I'm crystal ball gazing but sometimes it's fun to try and suss out who the future of tennis will be before it happens.
The future of tennis is Milos Raonic.
But I honestly don't see Djokovic giving up #1 for a very long time.
Also, Monfils will NEVER be a consistent Top 10 player. EVER. EVER.
Give it up. He's been hot and cold for over FOUR YEARS now. Almost half a decade! He will never get his act together. He will continue to lose to guys like Mikhail Kukushkin at Slams for the rest of his career. So perish any thought of him being a consistent contender. I can think of three other Frenchmen off the top of my head who are more likely to garner the consistent wins required to reach #10 and stay there. The best anyone could hope from Monfils is 2 or 3 wins over Top 10 players per year, confined to the beginning or end of the tennis season.
-Arvis
I would be utterly amazed if David Ferrer drops out of the Top 10 in 2014.
Sure, he's going to turn 30 in April -- but his conditioning is as good as or better than anybody on the tour. In fact, I think Fed may drop out of the Top 10 before Ferrer does!
The crop of youngsters is hard to judge. This time a year ago, I thought Dimitrov had the most potential of the young guys. Now I think it may be Tomic, though most folks probably figure it will be Raonic and that could be right. I can't help thinking Harrison has a lot of upside, even if he is an American.
Tipsy coming into his own at this fairly late stage of his career certainly means he'll work hard to sustain it, but it probably can't last for too long. He's probably one of the group that will come and go after a brief stay.
I suppose that, since he's been gone so long now, we have to wonder whether Soderling will return to his pre-injury form, assuming that he makes a serious attempt to come back. There's no reason why he can't, but will he?
As for Monfils, he will of course never be a consistent player. That does not mean he won't spend most of the next 3 years in the Top 10. I think he will do that being his same erratic self.
Last edited by Don (Feb. 23, 2012 3:25pm)
Well I sincerely hope that you are not utterly amazed then Don bcoz Ferrer is one of my favs on the whole tour....love his drive and determination BUT he will be 32 in April of 2014....I'm expecting him to have another consistent season this year and probably one more after that before his desire wanes a little and the new generation start to make their presence felt.....as much as I would like to see David continue on as he has done recently I'm not expecting him to maintain it for another three years....I would happily be proved wrong though by the little Spanish Energizer Bunny!!
You also mentioned in your post that you think Federer could drop out of the 10 before Ferrer does....now that opens up another debate altogether, if Roger did drop out of the Top 10 how long would he continue to play for??
It would be sad to see him do a "Roddick" and slowly slide down the rankings into the tennis wilderness, I hope Fed know's when it's time to wave goodbye....I feel that time is fast approaching for A-Rod!
WOW....WOW....WOW....maybe Isner will be american No.1 sooner than we think, how the hell can Mardy Fish lose to the household name of Albano Olivetti (WHO??) on an indoor surface...the Frog is currently ranked 388, shame on you Mardy!!
I guess those who picked Llodra in Marseille will be smiling though.....I tossed up between Fish and Llodra in that section but thought Mardy's recent heroics in the Davis Cup could have seen him have a crack at the title here....obviously NOT!!
Olivetti just turned 20 three months ago, which makes him 11 months younger than Raonic. He's 6'8" and weighs 230. He's a hard court player whose best shot is his serve. This may have been a little bit like Mardy losing to Dr. Ivo....or maybe John Isner! ;-D
I don't see Fed hanging around like Roddick. It seems to me that Roger is far too proud and too concerned with how he is perceived, his legacy, etc. for him to allow himself to continue to play once he declines to the point of falling out of the Top 10 (unless it's due to injury and he can rehab easily). And I really think he'll probably outlast Ferrer, but given Ferrer's conditioning and motivation, it's no sure thing. Both guys could, I believe, play successfully well into their 30's if they want. As long as Roger feels he has a chance at another slam championship, even if an outside one, he'll keep playing. It wouldn't surprise me all that much to see Ferrer playing full time on the tour at 35, though. BTW, for what it's worth, Fed is 8 months older than Ferrer.
Last edited by Don (Feb. 23, 2012 7:18pm)
I can't help but think if Mardy was playing the young Olive from France in the States instead of in France that the scoreline would read a comfortable straight sets win to the Fish....probably another case of the home crowd getting in behind this (as yet unknown) Frenchman and making him seem like he was bulletproof.
Mardy's form outside of the States on tour is not overly impressive but being a regular top 10er he should be able to put a guy like this away one would think....it will be interesting to see if this tall behemoth from France goes on to do anything with his career at all or if this was a homegrown flash in the pan type of performance.
I don't think Fed will hang around like Roddick either, too much of a legacy to protect and as you say way too proud for him to be seen as a journeyman at any stage on tour....although Fed is older than David his game is far more conducive to longevity than that of the smaller and more diminutive Ferrer.
Bugger I should have stuck with my Nalbandian pick after all on FTT and Vader....oh well it's only a small prizemoney tourney so it will be forgotten pretty quickly.
I like your chances in Memphis Thomas.....Isner has to be favoured over Melzer but Jurgen looks like he is finally playing his way back into some form at long last.
I see that Mardy Fish was impressed by the Olive from France....here is some of what he had to say....
“He puts pressure on you with his serve and that’s what big servers do,” Fish said. “He probably has one of the hardest serves I’ve ever played against. He hit me with a serve and I almost hurt my left wrist.
“I had a rough time with his serve, for sure. When he’s down 15-40, he can come back with not only his first serve but his second serve—it’s almost just as good.”
We all might have to keep an eye out for this young fella in the not too distant future perhaps....someone to rival the Raonic & Isner serve perhaps.
Yes, as usual, I am the longshot candidate.
But, Thomas, you and I need to do this more often; prove that we're at the bottom of the Vader standings TEMPORARILY.
"Long term strategy." That's my mantra. All year.
-Arvis
You love being the longshot anyway Arvis
Thomas I've just realised that you could actually clean sweep ALL three tourneys this week in Vader....you look like you have Memphis sewn up unless Isner falls to Melzer....you still have Tsonga, Llodra and Tipsy alive in Marseille and look the likely winner there too....and unless Nalbandian stops Ferrer in Buenos Aires then you will win that tourney also......nothing else to say other than "WELL DONE" mate....Nice Picking!!
EDIT: Oops I might have spoken too soon ....Melzer proves he is back in form and dispatches Isner in straight sets so Arvis is back in the race for Memphis now....a straight shoot out between you two guys 2mrrw to see who grabs the honours in Memphis....Thomas (Stepanek) v Arvis (Melzer).....best of british guys!!
Last edited by Tono (Feb. 24, 2012 6:41pm)
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