Player Profiles: The Top Ten
The current world no.1, Ardil Navsal, has been stung by a quarterfinals exit in the Cenian Open, his hometown tournament, to current world #9 Amancio Raimundo Belo of Costa de Ouro. The 22-year-old Navsal has been on a good run so far with the ATP ranking system after doing not-so-well in previous tournaments. His earliest exit from a tournament has been the quarterfinals, shared between the Second Kinterten and the Cenian Open. Navsal shares a strong rivalry with no. 2 Al Montis de Surmar, and the two have faced off several times. It is very common to see one or both of them in the final of an ATP event, with the Cenian Open being the first tournament so far in which neither of them have been finalists. Navsal's playing style is aggressive and balanced between the net and the base line. He often takes advantage of approach shots to head down to the net, while his forehands and backhands are still unflinchingly accurate although not without fault. His opponents never take for granted any winners against Navsal, for he is known to try and get a racket on every single ball, saving a point, although some enterprising players will take advantage of this to tire him in matches. Navsal's titles include the Lzher-Jeckland Invitational, the BCA Challenge, and the King Pedro Clay Court Championships.
Al Montis de Surmar was the first no.1 player in the ATP and one out of only two no.1 players, the other being current no.1 Ardil Navsal. Montis de Surmar is an expert on spin control and loves to make wicked combinations with the spin in order to challenge opponents. His strategy revolves around his use of spin to hit drop shots and hitting shots way in the back of the base line. With these tactics, Montis de Surmar has been able to take home the title in the Second Kinterten and Antillia Masters, although he is vulnerable to strong forehands. As said before, Montis de Surmar and Ardil Navsal share a fierce rivalry, but they also share a fierce friendship and respect for each other. Indeed, there has only been one tournament in which neither of them has been a finalist, which shows this duo's grip on modern-day tennis.
Aline Luiza Romao, along with her compatriot Amancio Raimundo Belo, has been on an upswing recently, although she has fairly consistent play. She is known for being just the fourth player and second woman to win a tournament, prevailing over many of the top seeds and her countryman Belo to take the Cenian Open. Other shining moments in her ATP career include a semifinal play in the Antillia Masters and a finalist berth in the King Pedro Clay Court Championship. Indeed, the Cenian Open has been her first major showing off her home soil, and it has increased her confidence. Romao hits powerful forehands and backhands and is known to return shots that others take for granted as winners. Romao is one of the most consistent players on the tournament and this is one of her greatest advantages.
Brianna Powell, current no.4, ascended to the heights of ATP tennis by defeating Al Montis de Surmar in the final of the Kannapian Invitational, becoming only the third player and first woman to win a tournament, after Montis de Surmar and Ardil Navsal. Powell plays an erratic game with many winners and many unforced errors. In some tournaments, she does well, while in others, she is eliminated by lesser opponents who take advantage of her. Especially vulnerable for volleys, Powell only goes for balls she knows she can return, saving for energy for strong backhands straight down the corners of the court. She has one of the best serves on the tour but makes many careless mistakes off of equally good serves. Powell prefers to take the baseline rather than the net any day. Overall, Powell can have good play when she puts her heart into it, but sometimes she is known to falter.
The career of world no.5 Brett Roley has been a roller coaster, from the highs of the semifinals of the Second Kinterten and Antillia Masters to the lows of a first-round exit in the Kannapian March Invitational. Roley has never won a tournament in the ATP and is desperate to win one. Therefore, he takes many risks when hitting the ball, trying to force winners and drop shots. Unfortunately, this strategy leads to many errors, and Roley is not confident in his abilities to play with his string of early exits. Roley tries to take an aggressive lead to points and has a hard time transitioning from aggressive shots to defensive shots, but when his aggressive shots go in, they are often impressive winners.
If one word had to describe Bishop Lou Kelly, the word would most likely be old, as the 72-year-old is the oldest player on the tour. Kelly's stamina is his God, as he is a Catholic bishop in Estope. Unfortunately, sometimes his stamina is too weak, and he falls for drop shots many a time, although he has strong accuracy and a fast serve most of the time. He was dismissed for his age at the beginning of the ATP season, but surprised many when he reached the quarterfinals of the Antillia Masters and semifinals of the Lzher-Jeckland Invitational. Like his compatriot Roley, Kelly is dying to win a tournament, but cannot take risks do to his frailty and lack of stamina, so he tries to hit powerful groundstrokes to make up for it, and Kelly can rarely be found at the net.
Not exactly known for his stellar record on the ATP tour, Peter P Larry is the world no.7 and the no.1 player from Britonisea. His main disadvantage is perhaps his overconfidence, believing that he has winners when he doesn't and not running for balls that he thinks will go out, only to have them head deep into his court. On the other hand, Larry does have a strong forehand and strong volley, although curiously, he has never been able to combine the two to create an effective strategy, one that would probably do him good. Britonisean media has been constantly surprised when he is eliminated although other pundits accurately predict his exits. Larry's best performances have been a quarterfinal showing at the Kannapian March Invitational and the Lzher-Jeckland Invitational. Otherwise, his career has been a rollercoaster between the two tournaments.
Andre Pedrinho Delgado has a good combination of powerful forehands and backhands and uses it to good effect against other players. His record before the King Pedro Clay Court Championships was uninspiring, but he switched coaches and his career is going up, with a semifinal spot in the King Pedro Clay Court Championships and a third place showing in the Cenian Open. Delgado also has a good serve and uses it to good effect, regularly getting aces and service winners or setting up a strong backhand or forehand shot. Even if that doesn't work, he often moves up to the net for a smash or volley. Delgado's greatest asset is his versatility and adaptability with all types of shots, and he is not afraid to take advantage of it.
Amancio Raimundo Belo, the world no. 9, has been on an upswing recently, taking home the finalist's trophy at the Cenian Open. He has a record of defeating high-ranked players, including both world no. 1 Ardil Navsal and world no.2 Al Montis de Surmar. Belo is one of the taller players on the tour, at over 2.1 meters, and he uses his height to his advantage. His serve is extremely fast and he clocks large numbers of aces. Belo's height also helps his serve-and-volley strategy, which is extremely effective, as he can reach most balls and slam them down into his opponent's court. Much of the reason why his rank is less than his record is that he missed 3 of the last 7 tournaments and was eliminated in the first round of the Lzher-Jeckland invitational. He can be inconsistent at some points and loses several points in every match due to a high ball hitting the base line. Overall, however, he is a rising star in tennis and an extremely effective serve-and-volley hitter.
Elaine Foyner, a 65-year-old Cenian, is one of the older players on the tour. Her main strengths go to her unflinching accuracy and ability to return the ball of a groundstroke. Like Bishop Lou Kelly, she is susceptible to winners and drop shots, and her opponents try and peg her with shots at the net. However, unlike Kelly, she has a strong volley as well and is more than capable of returning them at the net. One of her main advantages is that, in her own words, "players look at this [pointing at her white hair] and they underestimate me. Boy, they sure are surprised when I kick butt." Even though she has an accurate serve, forehand, and backhand, and a capable volley, Foyner can be run too far and tired out throughout the match, leaving more room for error in opponents' play. Foyner's best performances have been a pair of quarterfinals results in the Cenian Open and Lzher-Jeckland Open. Her best asset is her consistency, a trait that many other players do not have.