Smyczek is America's #3

I never thought in a million years I'd be writing this, but the third best ranked American is Tim Smyczek. He's up four spots to 87 this week which is a career high for him. He's had a nice run at challengers the last few weeks (semis, finals, semis) which has given his ranking a good shot in the arm. Most notable this past week is that he took out Donald Young, ending his compatriot's 12 match winning streak on the challenger circuit with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

I guess it wasn't an accident when we were watching the US Open earlier this fall and he was the last American man standing in the singles draw, just a couple games away from 4th round. So is Smyczek peaking right now, or can he go higher?

At 25, you'd think he's just entering his prime with the way men's tennis is these days. No longer are we seeing teens burst on the scene. Instead, it takes years of grinding, learning the ropes, and tightening up your body to make it able to withstand the wear and tear each week. And "Smee" is definitely a grinder. But at 5'9" 160lbs he's a bit of a talent maximizer. Can he get hot and continue to excel on his way to the top 50? Of course. Steve Darcis got up to 44 (5'10" 161lbs) and the ~5'7" Rochus brothers topped out at 24 and 38. Of course I had to pick on Belgium.

But one thing playing to Smyczek's strengths is the direction of the game. The guys with big shots aren't the ones consistently doing well each week. It's the ones that can physically withstand the beating and keep showing up. The ball are too heavy, the strings are too advantageous and the courts are too slow. Most of the guys in the top 20 just happen to have both big games and endurance, but below that it's a hodgepodge mixture of big games without durability, grinders, and other.  That plays into Smee's game. So while I think he's close to playing as well as his physical limitations will allow, he can keep plugging away and get into the top 50 without a doubt. Ultimately, though, he just doesn't have the game to be a perennial top 20 guy like Querrey or Isner, or even Harrison. But for right now the USA's tennis game is in a bad place and it's guys like Smyczek that will force the more talented but undeveloped youth to rise to the occasion. He has tremendous value to our country in today's game. I look at him like a younger version of Mike Russell in some ways. Russell has been a pain in the ass to young Americans for over a decade, but it's forced Russell's opponents to diversify their game.

Kudos to Smee on the ascension and his continued rise. Based on how hard he competes it is very well deserved.