The 30-somethings in the Top 100

[Moxie]

Because we've today talked about Ferrer, who's still going strong, and Kohlscreiber, who's struggling a bit, I thought I'd list the 30-something players in the Top 100, with their ages and W/L records. There are 28 players in the top 100 that are 30+. I'm in El Dude territory here, except without the cogent analysis. Just some food for thought and conversation. In order of current ranking. (I was going to leave out Federer, but I include him, for W/L perspective.)

Roger Federer - #4, age 32 - 951/220
David Ferrer - #5, age 32 - 573/279
Mikhail Youzhny - #16, age 31 - 442/321
Tommy Robredo - #17, age 32 - 472/300
Tommy Haas - #19, age 36 - 558/313
Fernando Verdasco - #25, age 30 - 389/271
Feliciano Lopez - #27, age 32 - 338/322
P. Kohlschreiber - #29, age 30 - 303/245
Dimitri Tursonov - #33, age 31 - 222/200
Andreas Seppi - #34, age 30 - 246/265
Florian Meyer - #37, age 30 - 217/208
Nicolas Mahut - #39, age 32 - 114/151
Lleyton Hewitt - #42, age 33 - 601/245
Julian Benneteau - #46, age 32 - 229/239
Carlos Berlocq - #49, age 31 - 98/138
Jarkko Niemenin - #51, age 32 - 381/316
Ivo Karlovic - #52, age 35 - 236/221
Juan Monaco - #54, age 30 - 287/224
Alberto Montañés - #58, age 33 - 236/264
Lukasz Kubot - #63, age 31 - 92/124
Juergen Melzer - #67, age 32 - 322/301
Benjamin Becker - #69, age 32 - 112/163
Victor Hanescu - #81, age 32 - 199/237
P-H Mathieu - #82, age 32 - 244/256
Paolo Lorenzi - #90, age 32 - 33/65
Nicolai Davydenko - #92, age 32 - 481/327
Michael Russell - #96, age 36 - 76/144
Filippo Volandri - #97, age 32 - 176/217
______________________________________________________

Well, maybe a little analysis: the guys at the top of the list have played the most matches, by far, with the exception of Hewitt and Davydenko, who have been top players, have fallen out of the top, but have hung around. Is anyone else shocked by how few matches some of these players have played? In any case, with so "little" tennis mileage on their treads, and barring injury, some of these guys could be around earning money for some time, yet. There must be something in this about wiley veterans who can still knock out the youngsters.

Also, I didn't add them up, but I don't have to tell you how many of the top 100 are 29, and just missed the cut-off.

EDIT: To include Youzhny, #16. (Sorry, I. Haychew.)

 

[Front242]

Cheers for going to the trouble of listing all of those, Moxie. I'm surprised that both Seppi and Monaco are 30 but then again, last time I checked their profiles I think they were 28 so it makes sense lol. Yeah, I'm definitely shocked how few matches guys like Russell, Lorenzi and Volandri, for example, have played. My guess is they played on the challenger circuit much longer than ATP so it's only capturing those matches, and of course those are the ones it should, but still...you'd imagine they've played hundreds more than that besides ATP level matches.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

For folks like Lorenzi, it is because only Italian tourneys give him wild cards.

 

[Moxie]

Cheers for going to the trouble of listing all of those, Moxie. I'm surprised that both Seppi and Monaco are 30 but then again, last time I checked their profiles I think they were 28 so it makes sense lol. Yeah, I'm definitely shocked how few matches guys like Russell, Lorenzi and Volandri, for example, have played. My guess is they played on the challenger circuit much longer than ATP so it's only capturing those matches, and of course those are the ones it should, but still...you'd imagine they've played hundreds more than that besides ATP level matches.

I almost left the 30-year-olds off, but Kohlschreiber was mentioned, and was one of the reasons I did the research. In any case, there are relatively few right at 30. I was shocked, too, that some of those guys had so few ATP matches, and yet are in the top 100.

Anyway, I guess one point would be that a lot of these guys, barring injury and lack-of-interest, could play on for quite a while. You're right some of the lower-ranked ones probably slogging it out in the challengers, which will put them off and out eventually, but the middle-range guys could hang in there for quite a while, if "miles on the legs" is any indication. I think this might be one of the things prevented younger players from progressing. If you have wily veterans always floating around, they can be serious road-blocks to younger players getting the leg-up into the next round, even if they aren't going to change the world or challenge the top guys anymore.

 

[TsarMatt]

Thanks for this! Still amazing to see Hewitt in the top 50, despite all the injures he has endured over the years. Haas is so impressive, too - he is still capable of causing the odd upset here and there. I think we'll see these type of lists expand in the future, too. The days of 20 year olds winning Wimbledon are over. Far from an original thought, I know, but I guess it is part of the sports 'evolvement'.

And holy crap, Becker is 32? Never knew that. You're right in terms of these guys still having some years left in them. And yeah, I wouldn't put some upsets pass them.

 

[I.Haychew]

How DARE you leave my main man Dr. Youzhny oph the list! He's 31 years old and is ranked 16th. Such nerve!

 

[TsarMatt]

How DARE you leave my main man Dr. Youzhny oph the list! He's 31 years old and is ranked 16th. Such nerve!

The colonel ain't happy Moxie left him out....

:snigger

 

[Moxie]

How DARE you leave my main man Dr. Youzhny oph the list! He's 31 years old and is ranked 16th. Such nerve!

I fixed it. I knew I'd miss someone and hear about it. Who even suspected the ever-youthful Dr. Youzhny was ever 31? :blush:

 

[britbox]

...and there was a segment that always claimed Federer played in a weak era.

The Dad's army brigade aren't doing so bad in the current era.

 

[Ricardo]

Tennis is old mens' game, agreed?

the other day some commentator was talking about how the average age of the top 100 is now about 27 1/2 yrs, definitely the game has changed in a way that it suits the older players...... slowed down surface /conditions (like heavier balls) tends to favour experienced players who thrive for consistency, whereas younger players generally play more aggressively and are rewarded when the game is faster.

 

[Moxie]

...and there was a segment that always claimed Federer played in a weak era.

The Dad's army brigade aren't doing so bad in the current era.

They may not be world-beaters, but they've got longevity.

 

[El Dude]

Very interesting. Now how about ten years ago? Twenty?

I wish there were more tennis stat nerds like in baseball, then there would be searchable databases and such. But most of this sort of research has to be done the hard way.

 

[tented]

Cheers for going to the trouble of listing all of those, Moxie. I'm surprised that both Seppi and Monaco are 30 but then again, last time I checked their profiles I think they were 28 so it makes sense lol. Yeah, I'm definitely shocked how few matches guys like Russell, Lorenzi and Volandri, for example, have played. My guess is they played on the challenger circuit much longer than ATP so it's only capturing those matches, and of course those are the ones it should, but still...you'd imagine they've played hundreds more than that besides ATP level matches.

This is key. They've played more matches than it appears, if only the ATP & GS matches are counted.

For example, Michael Russell may have "only" played 200 ATP/GS matches, but he has played 438 on the challenger tour (269/169), and 115 in futures events (91/24). That's 553 additional matches, which brings the total up to 753 -- only 69 behind Rafa's 822 ATP/GS count.

 

[Front242]

^ Cheers for that, tented. That's more like it at Russell's age alright!

 

[tented]

^ Cheers for that, tented. That's more like it at Russell's age alright!

As I was reading through Moxie's list (thanks to her for her El Dude-level research!), I saw Russell's name and thought, Is that all? Then I saw you mention him, so he seemed like a good candidate to dig further into his numbers.

What he clearly demonstrates is how the mileage on his body is significantly higher than it appears at first glance, looking only at the ATP/GS match count. No doubt we could find comparable numbers for other journeymen, too. This isn't to say they can't keep playing for several more years, but it's not like they're at Ryan Harrison numbers, either.

 

[Front242]

Totally agree. They've played WAY more matches than those ATP stats indicate.

 

[calitennis127]

...and there was a segment that always claimed Federer played in a weak era.

The Dad's army brigade aren't doing so bad in the current era.

Yes indeed.

However, the Djokovic-Nadal-Murray trio have improved the game in certain ways.

But they are only 3 players.

 

[herios]

Because we've today talked about Ferrer, who's still going strong, and Kohlscreiber, who's struggling a bit, I thought I'd list the 30-something players in the Top 100, with their ages and W/L records. There are 28 players in the top 100 that are 30+. I'm in El Dude territory here, except without the cogent analysis. Just some food for thought and conversation. In order of current ranking. (I was going to leave out Federer, but I include him, for W/L perspective.)

Roger Federer - #4, age 32 - 951/220
David Ferrer - #5, age 32 - 573/279
Mikhail Youzhny - #16, age 31 - 442/321
Tommy Robredo - #17, age 32 - 472/300
Tommy Haas - #19, age 36 - 558/313
Fernando Verdasco - #25, age 30 - 389/271
Feliciano Lopez - #27, age 32 - 338/322
P. Kohlschreiber - #29, age 30 - 303/245
Dimitri Tursonov - #33, age 31 - 222/200
Andreas Seppi - #34, age 30 - 246/265
Florian Meyer - #37, age 30 - 217/208
Nicolas Mahut - #39, age 32 - 114/151
Lleyton Hewitt - #42, age 33 - 601/245
Julian Benneteau - #46, age 32 - 229/239
Carlos Berlocq - #49, age 31 - 98/138
Jarkko Niemenin - #51, age 32 - 381/316
Ivo Karlovic - #52, age 35 - 236/221
Juan Monaco - #54, age 30 - 287/224
Alberto Montañés - #58, age 33 - 236/264
Lukasz Kubot - #63, age 31 - 92/124
Juergen Melzer - #67, age 32 - 322/301
Benjamin Becker - #69, age 32 - 112/163
Victor Hanescu - #81, age 32 - 199/237
P-H Mathieu - #82, age 32 - 244/256
Paolo Lorenzi - #90, age 32 - 33/65
Nicolai Davydenko - #92, age 32 - 481/327
Michael Russell - #96, age 36 - 76/144
Filippo Volandri - #97, age 32 - 176/217
______________________________________________________

Well, maybe a little analysis: the guys at the top of the list have played the most matches, by far, with the exception of Hewitt and Davydenko, who have been top players, have fallen out of the top, but have hung around. Is anyone else shocked by how few matches some of these players have played? In any case, with so "little" tennis mileage on their treads, and barring injury, some of these guys could be around earning money for some time, yet. There must be something in this about wiley veterans who can still knock out the youngsters.

Also, I didn't add them up, but I don't have to tell you how many of the top 100 are 29, and just missed the cut-off.

EDIT: To include Youzhny, #16. (Sorry, I. Haychew.)

moxie, just opened this thread. At a first glance, I am seeing you missed E. Roger-Vasselin #45, 30y old, with a record 69-94.
Do you think they are more?
Tomorrow I will have time to review the list.

 

[Moxie]

^ Roger-Vasselin is 30?! Good lord. Yes, I was careless. Feel free to review my list. In any case, I brought it up to see if it told us anything interesting. I'm not sure what it DOES tell us. That's still up for discussion.

 

[herios]

moxie, I found a few players you have missed to include in the club 30 list:

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez #38 30y age 209-235
Radek Stepanek #43 35y age 354-271
Edouard Roger-Vasselin #45 30y age 69-94
Yen-Hsun Lu #48 30y age 114-164
Stephane Robert #85 33y age 20-34

What is also interesting, this is the second time we do this count, on our forum. First time it was about 2+ years ago (on tennis.com) during the winter bbreak and we counted back then 31 players 30 and older, I recall.
Now, they are 33, so 33% of the top 100 players.
And yes, that remark of many of you mentioned well, quite a few of these players played a lot more than their ATP record shows on the challenger tour. Just look at Robert, he has only 54 matches on the ATP, while he is 33 already!