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| Dennis Novikov rose 10 places to a career-high No. 121 in the world. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman |
The 22-year-old resident of Milpitas in the San Francisco Bay Area rose 10 places to a career-high No. 121 after reaching the second round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto as a qualifier last week.
The hard-hitting Novikov, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and 200 pounds (91 kilograms), upset No. 43 Federico Delbonis of Argentina in the opening round of the main draw for his first victory over a top-50 player. Novikov then lost to No. 6 Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Novikov also advanced to the second round of Wimbledon as a qualifier earlier this summer. It was the second time he has reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament. As a wild card in the 2012 U.S. Open, he shocked then-No. 86 Jerzy Janowicz, a 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Pole, before losing to Julien Benneteau of France. Janowicz advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals the following year.
Players with Northern California ties ranked in the top 1,000 in the world (change from last week in parentheses):
Men
Collin Altamirano, 20-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 854 in singles (+18).
Dennis Novikov, 22-year-old resident of Milpitas in San Francisco Bay Area -- Career-high No. 121 in singles (+10), No. 210 in doubles (-6).
Bob Bryan, 38-year-old former NCAA singles and doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 4 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
Mike Bryan, 38-year-old former NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 5 in doubles (-1), unranked in singles.
Ryan Haviland, 35-year-old former Stanford All-American -- No. 767 in singles (no change).
Ryan Haviland, 35-year-old former Stanford All-American -- No. 767 in singles (no change).
Scott Lipsky, 34-year-old former Stanford All-American -- No. 40 in doubles (no change).
Mackenzie McDonald, 21-year-old resident of Piedmont in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 422 in singles (+10), No. 746 in doubles (-1).
Sam Querrey, 28-year-old San Francisco native -- No. 29 in singles (no change), No. 42 in doubles (no change).
Matt Seeberger, 31-year-old San Francisco native and former NCAA Division III singles and doubles champion from UC Santa Cruz -- No. 438 in doubles (-5).
Dmitry Tursunov, 33-year-old resident of Folsom in Sacramento area -- No. 402 in singles (+31), No. 262 in doubles (-2).
Women
Kristie Ahn, 24-year-old former Stanford All-American -- No. 223 in singles (+6), No. 405 in doubles (+7).
Raquel Atawo (formerly Kops-Jones), 33-year-old San Jose resident and 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 17 in doubles (-1).
CiCi Bellis, 17-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 155 in singles (+4), No. 248 in doubles (+19).
Alexandra Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 642 in doubles (+2).
Kat Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 642 in doubles (+2).
Nicole Gibbs, 23-year-old former NCAA singles and doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 69 in singles (-1), No. 129 in doubles (-1).
Michaela Gordon, 17-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 758 in singles (-1), No. 606 in doubles (+3).
Maegan Manasse, 21-year-old Cal junior -- No. 553 in doubles (+5), No. 941 in singles (no change).
CiCi Bellis, 17-year-old resident of Atherton in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 155 in singles (+4), No. 248 in doubles (+19).
Alexandra Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 642 in doubles (+2).
Kat Facey, 23-year-old product of Cameron Park in Sacramento area -- No. 642 in doubles (+2).
Nicole Gibbs, 23-year-old former NCAA singles and doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 69 in singles (-1), No. 129 in doubles (-1).
Michaela Gordon, 17-year-old resident of Saratoga in San Francisco Bay Area -- No. 758 in singles (-1), No. 606 in doubles (+3).
Maegan Manasse, 21-year-old Cal junior -- No. 553 in doubles (+5), No. 941 in singles (no change).
Maria Sanchez, 26-year-old Modesto product -- Career-high No. 59 in doubles (no change), No. 283 in singles (-5).
Karina Vyrlan, 17-year-old Sacramentan -- No. 797 in doubles (+1).
Carol Zhao, 21-year-old Stanford junior -- Career-high No. 157 in doubles (no change), No. 352 in singles (-1).
Novikov needs work in the movement department. He has a huge serve but his feet are often too lazy and he ends up lunging for a few balls that he should either be there or go for a different shot. I love his game and think he marshalls his power well, he could benefit from a Mardy Fish-like dedication to fitness & cardio to accompany and give him the solid footing to play the game on his terms more often.
ReplyDeleteAnd this isn't to dismiss what he's already done. He's gotten to #121 seemingly on his own and under-appreciated. Just that to get where he believes he can be - which is more direct entry to ATP tournaments - he'll need to put in the fitness work so that, rain or shine, his focus and body won't abandon him when he gets these leads in matches.
ReplyDeleteAny word on Kosakowski out of UCLA? That kid had the U.S.' best backhand. He qualified at Indian Wells and that's been it. He played Kyrgios very tight.
ReplyDelete