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bearitone315 · 09-29-2012, 12:46 PM

DY beat Bhambri rather easily. Now plays Brian Baker for the qualifier spot in Beijing. Interesting matchup!

SapELee · 09-29-2012, 01:17 PM

Well at least someone will get through

SapELee · 10-06-2012, 02:29 AM

Donald is in a very tough section of Shanghai Qualifying. He has Sergiy Stakhovsky and then alternate/Matosevic. Honestly, I have a hard time seeing him get through.

Rob_C · 10-06-2012, 08:23 AM

DYs battling right now. Just broke back, and then held to go up 2-1 in the 3rd. Would love to see him get another crack at Matosevic to see how things turn out now

bearitone315 · 10-06-2012, 07:11 PM

When the 70 points fall off in the 10/15/12 rankings, DY will be around 185. Then he has 35 more points to defend in 2012. If he can't defend, his year-end ranking will be around 210.

I think he has to play the 3 US Challengers at the end of this year. However, there's no guarantee he will do well at that level. Those Challenger players will not lack in confidence against DY. Not that there's any bragging rights in beating DY anymore.

bearitone315 · 10-10-2012, 05:24 AM

DY is entered in the Charlottesville Challenger, where he will encounter old rivals Sweeting, Levine, Russell, Reynolds, etc. He may also face off against young guns Johnson, Klahn, Sock, Williams, Sandgren, Kudla, and Kosakowski. It won't be easy either way.

Pistol Pete Fan · 10-14-2012, 12:36 AM

He's already fallen to players both in the older rivals and young guns camp during his 2012 swoon. It is conceivable that any of these guys could knock Donald off.

I think Donald's days as an ATP tour regular are over. He was handed a golden opportunity with his ranking giving him entry into a series of ATP events this year and basically pissed the opportunity away. Even though he's not that old, he's old in tennis years. He hasn't shown the goods to turn around his career in a major way. I would be happy to be proven wrong, but I don't see the ingredients for a career resurgence.

bearitone315 · 10-15-2012, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pistol Pete Fan

I think Donald's days as an ATP tour regular are over. He was handed a golden opportunity with his ranking giving him entry into a series of ATP events this year and basically pissed the opportunity away. Even though he's not that old, he's old in tennis years. He hasn't shown the goods to turn around his career in a major way. I would be happy to be proven wrong, but I don't see the ingredients for a career resurgence.

Sadly, I agree with you. I'll still follow him, but I would not be surprised if he never gets back into the Top 100, much less be someone who is a title contender. I think it more likely that he quits the game within the next two years.

tae04 · 10-17-2012, 02:38 PM

Was surprised to see his name in Vienna. I don't think he's quite over yet as in getting back into the top 100. I think if he's relagated to challengers for half of next yr, he'll find his way back into the top 100. Alot easier for him to win 80-100 pts winning challengers.

Pistol Pete Fan · 10-17-2012, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearitone315

Sadly, I agree with you. I'll still follow him, but I would not be surprised if he never gets back into the Top 100, much less be someone who is a title contender. I think it more likely that he quits the game within the next two years.

Well, Donald beats Fabio (I can't believe it's not butter!) Fognini 7-6(8), 6-3 in Vienna. I take back everything I said. Look out, Federer!

Seriously, a nice result for DY after a difficult year.

Rumor has it he is working with a new coach? That's the kind of change he is going to make if he is going to turn this thing around. If you look at his career, he has wins over players in the top 5 (Murray), 10 (Monfils), 20 (Warwinka, Melzer (ret.)), and 30 (Chela, Lopez). He can play at that level. The frustrating thing is that once he got there, he never figured out how to stay.

SapELee · 10-27-2012, 11:42 PM

Charlottesville Challenger

http://tenniseastcoast.com/

J99 · 10-29-2012, 03:49 AM

He has a good chance to at least make the final here.

bearitone315 · 10-29-2012, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J99

He has a good chance to at least make the final here.

I think you are being very optimistic. I would be surprised if he made the SF. We shall see.

Pistol Pete Fan · 10-30-2012, 04:56 AM

This is Donald. He is just as likely to get upset in the first round as he is to make the finals.

bearitone315 · 11-01-2012, 05:05 PM

Next week (Knoxville) is apparently DY's season-ending event. If he loses in the first round (quite likely), he will end 2012 ranked in the 190-195 range. Will he stage a comeback in 2013?

In 2012, DY tried to break Spadea's record 21-match ATP losing streak but fell just short. Now he can try for a long Challenger losing streak. It stands at 3 now:

1. Winnetka SF (6/11) - lost to Reynolds
2. Aptos R1 (7/11) - lost to Bogdanovich
3. Charlottesville R1 (10/12) - lost to Lammer

At any rate, I think Challengers will be tough sledding for him, and he will never make it back to the ATP level. He may be out of the game within 2 years.