Becker gave Ljubicic a run for his money aswell today. I was quite upset when he lost that first set tie-break lead.

I believe that at this moment, Alex's aim is that of gaining a direct entry into the Australian Open. He'll need to be ranked within the top 110 to ensure that, because surely there will be a few withdrawals.

For that he'll need to gain around 95 more ranking points. It's not going to be easy at all, but let us see what he will do.

He doesn't defend much till the last week of the European season.... By defending I mean defending from that week during the last year and not his 18th best points.


0 points during Mons 125K+H.
He can win against Falla and that will get him 9 points. He will get 21 points if he wins another round.

0 points during ATP Vienna qualies.
If he qualifies and loses in round one, he will get 15 points for his effort. That's more than what he'll get for a quarters at a 75K. A win in the first round will get him 25 points.

12 points during Kolding 50K+H.
He will need to reach the quarters to succesfully defend that, but that will be tough as it is the week of the Madrid Masters and there are six top 100 players! A round one win will get him 6 points and a quarters appearence will get him 14 points.

0 points during Nottingham 25K+H (not confirmed).
The biggest opportunity during this period. Home support, a surface that he likes, no points to defend..... Semis seem achievable, that'll get him 22 points. And he can always do better than that.

0 points during Aachen 50K+H (not confirmed).
Expect a strong field, because it clashes with the Paris Masters. A round one win will get him 6 points and a quarters appearence will get him 14 points.

5 points during Bratislava 100K+H (not confirmed).
The Tour season will be over, but some players will realise that they have not achieved enough and will surely play here for some easy points. Hrbaty should be there. A round one win will get him 8 points while an appearence in the quarter finals will get him 19 points.

5 points during Helsinki 50K (not confirmed).
Entry list should not be that strong because there is a 125K+H in Dnepropetrovsk. He will get 12 points for a quarters appearence.


If things go that way, Alex would be having around 385 ranking points and a ranking of something around 115.



And then there will be massive 50 points that he will be defending from last year's win in Sunderland.

He will need to repeat that feat this year in Shrewsbury. He could also win the Challenger at Nottingham and reach the semis here or reach the finals in both places. But he needs to pick up around 70 points from the two British Challengers.


After the European season, he can travel to the USA for the last Challenger of the year, Maui 50K. He will be defending 5 points. A semis appearence here will get him 22 points.



All this will get him a total of 402 points. That will almost certainly get him a place in the Australian Open. The road is really tough, but nothing that I've mentioned above needs him to do something out of the world. He will just need to play the tennis he is capable of - the sort of tennis he played this year against people like Seppi, Mirnyi, Wang and Tim. If he does that, I have little doubt about the fact that he can achieve it.

If Gregs not playing this week then surely Boggo will become the British No. 3?

Boggo is our new number three.

I don't have the time to do detailed calculations, but I guess that Boggo's ranking will go up to around 135. It may even reach a career high....

I'll be able to calculate it properly if I can fix my cell phone, but it just doesn't work.

anybody would know that from watching his first round at wimbledon...... tipsarevic is gooooood... but tough luck Boggo you'll have it next time!

50 more points and Boggo should be in the top 100.

If he wins the title in Nottingham, he'll do it. So we could see him getting a two digit ranking as early as the Monday after the next one.

The failure at Nottingham really hurt his cause of getting a direct entry into the AO.


I think that a ranking of 100 will be enough. For that, he needs to get his present total of 379 up to around 410.


Bratislava 100K+H.

He defends 5 points. A quarters appearence means a gain of 14 points.


Dnepropetrovsk 125K+H.

He defends 5 points. A quarters appearence means a gain of 16 points.


Shrewsbury 25K+H.

He defends 50 points. Although there will be a few withdrawals, he may not be one of the top four seeds.


Alex does not play in the Maui 50K+H during the last week of the Challenger calendar.

He defends 5 points during this week.


So even if he reaches the quarters of both Bratislava and Dnepropetrovsk and wins in Shrewsbury, his total will be 408.


However, there is hope - this year, 11 players withdrew and as many as 13 players withdrew last year. And you never know, Boggo can win one of the two big money Challengers and make things really simple. 

But I hope that he will change his decision and play in Maui. The field should be really weak and he will have a good chance of even winning the title.

Didnt you already say that?!

He's won his final tourney of the year.