Continuing on from the enlightening previous last ATP 2017 season review of players ranked #40-#44. Now, it’s the turn of those who sneaked into the top-40, players from #35-#39. This incorporates the former world No.3, David Ferrer.
#39: Andrey Rublev
This 20 year old Next Gen ace, Andrey Rublev, announced his arrival on tour with his first career ATP title, in 2017.
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Rublev has been a breath of fresh air on tour this year, drawing his prey into a game of ping-pong then finding the line with deftness and sublime skill. The future is bright for this star. Although, throughout last season, it was his low first serves won performance of 69% that coach Fernando Vicente will be focusing on in the off-season. This is his biggest weakness.
#38: Alexandr Dolgopolov
This player who many had penned in as more promising than Grigor Dimitrov. It is painful to have to recollect that the Ukrainian hit the headlines last season, mainly because of investigations into match fixing, involving one of this contests.
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Alexandr Dolgopolov’s latest indoor first round loss in Basle to No.46 Ryan Harrison, put the lid on a disappointing season for the Ukrainian. Dolgopolov enjoyed a run to the final in Shenzhen, losing out to David Goffin. This showed that a return to his old promise is not entirely out of the question. You just sense that the baseline slogging approach has become easier for adversaries to read.
#37: David Ferrer
The lowest ranked of three Spaniards in the #35-#39 bracket – this former world No.3 will be the most disappointed to be there. David Ferrer won his first title in two years in Bastad this July, defeating Dolgopolov in the final. He threatened a return to the blistering form of old, but now 35 years of age, consistency is becoming harder to achieve.
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David Ferrer withdrew from Indian Wells due to injury and had dropped to as low as No.46. Ferrer seems to have lost a little of his ball pounding space, but given an injury free run, he could well breach the top-20 again.
#36: Feliciano Lopez
This 36 year old Spaniard has not had too bad a season upon reflection. There were points during the season, whereby Feliciano Lopez showed youthful spirit and a never say die vigour that belied his veteran status. Winning the Aegon Championships on grass was indubitably the highlight of the season for him. He battled hard to overcome an inform Marin Cilic in the final. This success was the reward for consistency on grass this season, as in the tournament before, the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, it took a defiant Lucas Pouille to stop him in the final. Many expected a bold showing at Wimbledon, but his gruelling schedule caught up with him and he exited in the first round to Adrian Mannarino.
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Lopez never really got going in the American hardcourt season, but this season he did prove that he still has the grit and guile to succeed. Can he continue it next season? He needs to be selective about the tournaments he plays, but he could easily get it together to bag another ATP title.
#35: Fernando Verdasco
Back-to-back victories over Kevin Anderson in his last two tournaments in Stockholm and Paris – in runs to the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively – represented the most consistent run that this former world #7 had last season.
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A 29-25 record for the season marked a solid if unspectacular season for Verdasco. His last match of the season in Paris – a tight three sets defeat to Jack Sock – summed up Verdasco’s season really. He just seemed to lack belief at key moments, it should have been a better season.
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