Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site nvuxb.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!mhuxn!mhuxr!ulysses!gamma!pyuxww!pyuxv!nvuxa!nvuxb!pss From: pss@nvuxb.UUCP (P.Schroeder) Newsgroups: net.sport Subject: Tennis Rankings Message-ID: <198@nvuxb.UUCP> Date: Thu, 14-Nov-85 08:53:40 EST Article-I.D.: nvuxb.198 Posted: Thu Nov 14 08:53:40 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 16-Nov-85 01:18:33 EST Organization: Bell Communications Research, Red Bank, NJ Lines: 87 Following are my observations on the men's tennis rankings for 1985 and a forecast for 1986. 1-Ivan Lendl : From week to week, Lendl has been the best player in the world in 1985. A finalist at the French, a disappointing 4th round loss at Wimbledon, a win at the U.S. Open, plus numerous other tournament victories make him a solid #1. Even if he has a miserable Australian Open, he isn't likely to slip to #2. 1986 could be a great year for Lendl; he'll be co-favorite at the French (with Wilander) and the favorite at the U.S. Open. A real test will be to see if he will break through at Wimbledon, and I think he can. Lendl's hard work with his conditioning and net game are really starting to pay off. 2-John McEnroe : McEnroe has had a relatively poor year with a semi-final loss at the French, a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon, and a loss in the U.S. Open final to Lendl. Only his success at other tournaments keeps him at #2. Despite McEnroe's claim to the contrary, even if he wins the Australian Open, he shouldn't overtake Lendl this year. 1986 is a crossroads year for McEnroe and he knows it. The only way for him to catch up with Lendl is to work to get himself into shape, something he has never done before (or had to do for that matter). Personally, I don't think he has the work ethic to do it, and his off-court distractions (Tatam plus ?) could cause a further slip in the rankings. 3-Mats Wilander : Wilander has had a solid year that could have been much better with a few breakthroughs here and there. A victory at the French, a shocking 1st round exit from Wimbledon, a tough semi-final loss at the U.S. Open to McEnroe (best men's match of the tournament), good showings at other tournaments, plus another fine year of Davis Cup play (has not lost a meaningful Cup match since the classic 6-1/2 hour duel with McEnroe in 1982) all make for a successful 1985 for Mats. Wilander is the two-time defending Australian Open champ, and should he repeat will, in my opinion, vault ahead of McEnroe into #2. Still, Wilander has had a bit of a strange year. During the spring European clay court season, he couldn't seem to get past Miloslav Mecir. Lately, he has had trouble with Thierry Tulasne, losing to him twice within a few weeks. 1986 looms as another growth year; he'll be favored, along with Lendl, at the French and could break through at the U.S. Open. However, his poor showings at Wimbledon must be a concern to him. His two Australian titles indicate that he can play on grass, so my guess is that he'll do well there eventually. It's difficult to criticize someone who has 4 Grand Slam singles titles at age 21. 4-Jimmy Connors : Connors has not won a Grand Prix title this year, but is the only man to get to the semi-finals at the French, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open in 1985 (small consolation since he got no further). Connors is not expected to enter the Australian Open so his year is pretty well wrapped up. There is no doubt in my mind that his days at #4 are numbered with Becker and Edberg looming below him, and it's highly unlikely that he'll ever win another Grand Slam title. 5-Boris Becker : Becker has won three tournaments in his career, all in 1985, including Wimbledon. He lost in the 2nd round at the French Open, in the 4th round of the U.S. Open, and is not going to enter the Australian Open (I'm not sure why unless it's to prepare for the Davis Cup finals in December). I like Becker and he's an exciting player, but he has been the recipient (or victim) of the biggest hype campaign in pro tennis; it remains to be seen whether he can sustain the momentum of his Wimbledon victory and consistently perform at the level of Lendl, McEnroe, and Wilander. 1986 will find Becker in the spotlight again, but too much shouldn't be expected of him. After all, he's only 17. 6-Stefan Edberg : Edberg is the last player that I'll mention in this list. While his record at Grand Slam tournaments has been unspectacular to date (never past the quarterfinals), he has shown well lately on all types of surfaces. He probably has more raw talent than either Wilander or Becker but must attain a higher level of consistency to really break through. 1986 could be the year for him to win Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, and if so it would make him a legitimate #1 threat. My prediction for the rankings at the end of 1986: 1-Lendl 2-Wilander 3-McEnroe 4-Becker 5-Edberg 6-Connors 7-Anders Jarryd 8-Joakim Nystrom 9-Yannick Noah 10-Paul Annacone How about some discussion on the upcoming Australian Open and the Davis Cup final between Sweden and West Germany?