Top 30 in 2018: Men 25-21

Pablo Carerno Busta

No. 25: Hyeon Chung
I really like watching the South Korean. Chung is very quick and agile. He is only 22 years old, so he has time to grow. But this year, at times, he was injured too much in 2018. One way or another, he has to figure out what is going on, because while he was moving up in the first three months, then he stopped and he lost at many tournaments. Hopefully, in January, he is confident, because he reached th he 2018 Australian Open semis. If he is unable to get to the second week, then he can drop way down. Chung hopes not.

No. 24: Roberto Bautista Agut
Two of the Spaniards are right next to each other, and they are both older, too. Roberto had a decent year, but just liked Busta, they are all behind Rafa Nadal. They have been there in the past 10 years, trying hard, but Nadal locks in and changes what he has to do. But, while Agut tries hard on court, that doesn’t mean that he can crack the ball all the time. At least in the start of 2018, the 30-year-old won Auckland in January and he also took Dubai in February. Those were two terrific wins but since March, he was mediocre. Bautista Agut can’t seem to beat the top 10-ers very much. Maybe next year, he will. Finally. 

No. 23: Pablo Carreno Busta
This is almost the exact same thing from Mr. Pablo, who did well during the first three months, but then he did very little. The 27-year-old reached the fourth round of the Australian, and he was pretty close to upsetting Marin Cilic, but he went down. In Miami at the beginning of April, he reached the semis, upsetting Kevin Anderson before he fell to Alexandra Zverev. He looked good again in Barcelona, reaching the semis, so he was moving up. He was ranked No. 11, but after that, he could not push himself enough, and he must have been nervous, which is why he went down. He is a very good hitter, and he runs well, so in 2019, perhaps he will focus better.

No. 22: David Goffin
Belgian David Goffin had a decent year, but not great-great. The 28-years-old was pretty hesitant in 2018, playing really well at times, but he also backed off and he missed some easy shots. In 2017, he was super confident and he reached the top 10, but now, he is confused. He is very fast and he can jump on the ball, but in 2018, Goffin has to step on the gas, once again.

No. 21: Nikoloz Basilashvili
This is very interesting year for the Georgian Basilashvili, who had 29 wins and 28 losses this year. Is this very good, or so-so? In October, in China, he won Beijing, beating Kyle Edmunds and Juan Martin del Potro; clearly, he is aggressive and theatrical. In July, on clay, he played Hamburg, winning seven matches in a row, and he took a trophy. He started the year ranked No. 59, and now he very close to reaching the top 20, and even higher. It sounds like his coach, Jan De Witt, is making the right path for Basilashvili.

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