4.0 Facts and Figures

4.0 Top 10 players records versus other top 10s ranked by number of wins:

Win/Loss Record:
Jason Kern 9-0
Eddie Janek 6-3
Mark Jenkins 4-2
Jason Warren 4-6
Greg Leiker 3-2
Fernando Ontiveros 2-2
Richard Patton 1-3
Richard Saldana 1-3
John Blackwell 0-4
Foad Ansari 0-6

Mens 5.0 Top 10 Facts and Figures

Here are the records of the top 10 5.0s vs. other top 10 5.0s for the trailing 12 months ranked by top 10 wins:

Win/Loss Record:
Jason Gound 6-2
Tim Green 5-2
Pat Asbshire 5-3
Henry Manilo 4-4
David Wright 3-3
Mark Hilderbrand 2-1
Herb Morton 2-4
Kory Brown 1-3
Chris Leach 1-4
Reggie Black 1-7

#11 Chris Hunckler is 6-2 vs. top 10 players.

Mens 4.5 Singles Facts and Figures

With only sectionals left before we set the players for the year end master cup, I though I would take a look at how the top guys have fared against each other over the past 12 months, starting with 4.5 (don't worry, I will also try to look at 4.0 and 5.0 as well).

Trailing 12 Month Top 10 Ranked players listed in order of wins versus other top 10 ranked players:

Win/Loss Record Against Top 10:
Thomas Reader 6-0
Greg Schmucker 6-1
John Trautman 4-4
Jochen Moser 3-4
Phillip Griggs 2-1
Jacob Casas 2-2
JD Miles 2-2
Alejandro Sanchez 2-6
Roger Morales 1-4
Daniel Kallus 0-5

FYI: #11 Odion Dibua is 5-0 against Top 10 players over the last 12 months.

200 Ranking Points for sale...This Weekend Only!

Not exactly but we do have two 200 point tournaments this weekend. In Austin, look for strong competition in the 29 person 4.5 draw anchored by Alejandro Sanchez at #1 seed and Phillip Griggs at #2. Would not be surprised if these 2 guys make it through to the finals and if they do, I would lean towards Griggs to win it. At the other end of the spectrum, State #2 Greg Schmucker leads a field of 7 playing for 200 points in Beaumont. A few names I do not recognize playing, but I would think #2 seed Kallus might be able to reach the finals ( I say might because it is pretty windy in Beaumont, and boy does that guy bitch about the wind, its no one's fault but his own that he stubbornly stays with hitting the ball flat as humanly possible regardless of opponent or conditions). He lost to a guy I have never heard of at Northgate this weekend so I do not know what is up with Kallus these days. There is a guy in the draw that beat Schmucker in consolation at Waco but from what I know of him he is more of a doubles player and that was during Greg's "lost in the 4.5 wilderness" period that ended with his strong showing at Tyler. At 5.0, it should actually be an interesting round robin with all the guys being pretty equally matched. I anticipate a couple of heat-related "retired" or "defaults" in the results for that level (Reggie Black). Good luck to Pat Abshire who will also being playing doubles with Schmucker in round robin 4.5, for a total of 8 matches in 2 days. As usual, I did not bother to look at the 3.5, 4.0, or open draws at either event, so please feel free to post your comments/predictions.

Look for another Dibua Romp this weekend.

Things look set up for a continuation of Dibua dominance in meaningless small local tournaments. So far this year a Dibua has won 4.5 titles at Lost Forest, Galveston, Copperfield, Conroe, and last weekend at Lee Leclear. And go ahead and throw in the Waco Major Zone if you like. In the Northgate tourney this weekend, look for Omon to throttle top seed Daniel Kallus in the semis and Odion might possibly cause a heart attack-related death if he were to play the 50+ year old, quite possibly not in the best shape Dennis Hilsmeier in the other semi. If anyone has any predictions on 4.0 or Open, please share them as don't have any value to add there. If you don't have a problem with the Dibuas ruining 4.5 the little guys, fine. But from my 10 years of playing here in Houston, it is not a good thing when guys like this start playing all the small events as it scares most of the middle-of-the-pack guys out of signing up and the end result is very small, unexciting draws.

Milestone Reached....6 visitors and counting.

Based on the fact that no poll question yet has garnered more than 6 votes, I am forced to come to the conclusion that there are a total of 5 people other than myself visiting this site, and I am pretty sure who 3 of them are. Not good. I know my posts have been infrequent and not exactly riveting but what are you to do during the deadest part of the tournament season. Let me know if anyone has any ideas as to how we can get more discussion taking place and if possible not solely focused on who is or is not sandbagging.

USTA Tourney at Lee Leclear this weekend...if anyone cares.

There will be a sanctioned tourney going on this weekend at Lee Leclear. Look for Odion Dibua to rise up from the overwelming field of 6 players to take this one. Way to challenge yourself Odion, as I am sure you were not able to get adequate 4.5 competition at League Sectionals this weekend. Not much to write about until September gets here so I will pose a question instead. What do you think is the smarter move, going to the weaker Beaumont tourney in search of easy points or heading to Austin to play in a much stronger field to test yourself knowing the same points will be harder to come by. Few Houston players seem to ever play the Austin Labor Day tournament even though it is probably the biggest Austin tourney of the year with big draws, good players, and played at some really good facilities compared to what we usually get to play at here in Houston.

Focus on League Sectionals This Weekend.

Stay tuned to the League blog as I am sure the blogger will be posting updates all weekend. For those not going or not caring about league, there is the Jochen Moser-hosted City Tournament this weekend out at Lee Leclear starting on Friday. I don't recognize any of the 4.0 players so no clue as to who will win that level. In 4.5, I see Chris Pacciotti winning, possibly over Daniel Kallus in the finals, if Kallus can keep it together in the early rounds. Not USTA, so not much on the line but it looks like Jochen secured some nice prizes for the winners. Good luck to all participating in league, I don't agree with all the sandbagging and ringing that you guys do but since all the teams from the other cities do it as well, its a fair game when you get there. Us crappy players get to stay home and play for fun. Whoopie.