Yuki Bhambri

[VReddy]

Both Istanbul / Antalya are very popular long weekend getaways (~3h flight from most parts). So there should be plenty of flights from London / most EU big-towns.

[prasen9]

Ok. I have not followed every post here like I used to before, but some of you used to have access to entry lists, etc. even before they were out on the web forums. Where is Yuki entered in the next few weeks for tournaments whose deadlines have passed? Do people also have to enter the qualifying a week or more in advance? I would assume for the futures, maybe not. But for the GSs & ATP tournaments, you have to. For the challengers? Sameer (or anyone else), can you tell us what the entry times are?

[S_K_S]

It's happening...confirmed entry into the main draw...https://t.co/mVHs8m3aqh

I think we should let PKB create the French Open thread as probably the biggest fan of Yuki on here

[suresh]

@Prasen -- One source for entry lists that I know about is: http://Menstennisforums.com/

@SKS I agree. PKB should start that thread.

[PKBasu]

Thank you, Suresh and Samarth! I feel honoured indeed that you chose to wait for me, and have done the needful.

[PKBasu]

Yuki is still at the top of the list of entrants for the Glasgow Challenger, starting April 30th. This is an indoor hardcourt tournament (with the court painted red to look like clay ). It will be delicious if Murray makes a late entry into the draw, is seeded 1st and gives Yuki a chance to avenge that AO loss in the Glasgow final

I presume he will play the Masters tournaments on clay thereafter (Madrid and Rome), where he may have to play qualifiers.

[prasen9]

The flip side of Yuki playing challengers is that he will be playing more matches. The points/match density is less in challengers. I will defer to your opinion that Yuki should be playing several challengers. But, hopefully it is the "right mix". Given his age, I would hope a permanent switch to ATPs happens sooner rather than later.

[sameerph]

Ok. I have not followed every post here like I used to before, but some of you used to have access to entry lists, etc. even before they were out on the web forums. Where is Yuki entered in the next few weeks for tournaments whose deadlines have passed? Do people also have to enter the qualifying a week or more in advance? I would assume for the futures, maybe not. But for the GSs & ATP tournaments, you have to. For the challengers? Sameer (or anyone else), can you tell us what the entry times are?

These are the entry deadlines or rather withdrawal deadlines- players would be starting to enter 2-3 weeks before.

Grand slams/ ATP/WTA main tour tournaments - 6 weeks before the tournament starting date
ATP/WTA tour qualifiers - 3 weeks before tournament starting date
ATP challengers - 3 weeks before tournament starting date
ITF futures and higher level events for Women conducted by ITF - 2 weeks before the tournament starting date

Only ITF entry lists are available in public domain on ITF site. For ATP main draw and challenger, only players have access ( I don't know why) and some others who are given access rights by players unofficially like Jay had few years back. . We have to wait for some of those to post entry lists on menstennis forums or few other such forums to find out. Someone usually does so by Tuesday/Wednesday 3 weeks before the tournaments.

[prasen9]

Thanks Sameer.

[Sin Hombre]

For main tour entry lists, this site has it the earliest
http://www.tennisteen.it/entry-list.html

[RohitG]

It's not just Nishikori and Chung who are ahead of Yuki; Sugita and Nishioka are ranked higher in the entry list too. Nishioka is with his PR though. Other Asians in the top-100 are Kukushkin, Istomin, and Lu; 30, 31 and 34 in age respectively. I am surprised to see Nishioka and Sugita ahead of our best player. I haven't followed them but I remember Nishioka's matches when Somdev used to play and this guy is leftie, returner/grinder, average height. It is intriguing that he has managed to go in with a PR of 66. Similar case with Sugita, what special weapons does he possess that he could break the top-50. Few years back he used to be a top-150 guy. If these people can do it, so can our guys. It's about time India gets 2-3 people in the top-100

[PKBasu]

Sugita had a breakthrough year last year, at age 28. He broke into the top-100 in March 2017, when he won the Shenzhen Challenger (beating Yuki in a close 3-setter in the SF there), played the FO (losing in R1), then won the Surbiton Challenger, lost to Federer in R1 at Halle (in a match I saw; he played incredibly well), then won the Antalya ATP tournament (beating Baghdatis after the latter had beaten RamK). Then he made R2 at Wimbledon (the only Slam he had previously qualified into, twice).

He is only 1.73m tall, 3cm more than Nishioka! Anyway, I think Yuki should mimic his schedule from last year, and he could do better than Sugita did, making it to top-50 quickly. Sugita is still ranked 43.

[PKBasu]

Nishioka is different — someone who was talented at 19-20, giving trouble to Yuki at that age. He must have had an injury, but he used to be a really solid player. Yuki and he played each other twice in 2015, Yuki winning at the AO qualifier, and Nishioka winning at the USO qualifier.

[PKBasu]

Yuki has a terrible head-to-head career record against Yuichi Sugita, 1-5 going back to 2011. The only time Yuki beat him was at the Kaohsiung Challenger in 2013.

[PKBasu]

Sugita followed up his grass season breakthrough last year with a run to the QF at the Cincinnati Masters (beating Sock in R1, losing to Dimitrov in the QF), R2 at the US Open, SF at the Chengdu ATP, QF at the Tokyo ATP (beating Raonic in R2) and the Stockholm ATP.

If he can stay healthy, Yuki could easily emulate or surpass this trajectory — starting with the Glasgow Challenger title. If the latter happens, I’d suggest he skip Surbiton (but he should play this Challenger only if he doesn’t win the Glasgow title).