Top 20 breakthroughs in professional tennis circuit this year: Part One – Tennis Special
Every year, hundreds of thousands youngsters enrol into the tennis world, hoping to shine bright and become the renowned superstars in the sporting universe. However, only few succeed to excel and break through to the professional
circuit. Although it is just the first step for any amateur tennis player, the voyage to glory begins from this very initial point. We shall be looking at some of the most talented youngsters who made significant breakthroughs in the running WTA (Women’s Tennis
Association) and ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) seasons with their eye-startling performances.
20. Mallory Burdette (the United States of America)
21-year-old American tennis prodigy, Mallory Burdette, has been one of the brightest rising stars from her country in the recent couple of years. Albeit her commitments with her college at Stanford have restrained her from playing
tennis freely, she still featured some WTA tournaments this season and even claimed two ITF (International Tennis Federation) championship titles as well.
Currently standing at number 160 in the WTA Premier Rankings, Burdette’s natural ability to produce powerful and precise ground strokes has put her above all the other rising stars in the game. The 21-year-old barely played 21
matches this year, amazingly standing victorious in 17 and losing merely four encounters.
Burdette took off the 2012 WTA season from her home soil in Stanford, but could barely last two rounds of the WTA Tour event before submitting to the French powerhouse, Marion Bartoli. She then shifted to the ITF tournament in
Evansville and went all the way to claim her first championship title, beating Ying-Ying Duan in the final.
Her quarter-final appearance in Lexington ITF was immediately followed by her second emphatic triumph in Vancouver. She outplayed Jessica Pegula in the crunch match to lift her second ITF title of the season. Her performances awarded
her wildcard entry to the fourth Grand Slam event of the WTA season, the US Open. Burdette beat all the odds to reach the third round of the mega even but was no match for the Russian beauty queen, Maria Sharapova, losing 1-6, 1-6, after posing some resistance.
Her talent is widely appreciated by the tennis critics but she must play more professional tennis to polish her skills and improve her rankings in the world charts.
19. Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania)
Breaking into the Top-100 ATP World Tour Rankings this year for the first time, Lithuanian youngster, Ricardas Berankis has been the real tens found for his country. The 22-year-old took off the 2012 ATP season as the world number
125 player, failing to qualify for the main draws of the circuit-opening Brisbane International and then the Australian Open championships. He had immense success in the junior category but his transition to the more competitive professional level caused him
some serious troubles earlier on.
Berankis’ limited ratio of success on the ATP World Tour, along with the failure to qualify for the Wimbledon Championships, forced him to turn towards the Challenger Tour to regain his confidence. The Lithuanian youngster made
his major breakthrough when he beat all the odds to reach the final of the Farmers Classic, the ATP World Tour 250 event in Los Angeles. He was just a step away from glory but the local contender, Sam Querrey, snatched away the golden opportunity from him
in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.
Berankis is yet to bag his maiden championship title and hope so he will pocket some in the coming year.
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