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Do you think Alexandr Dolgopolov hit his ceiling in tennis? Was he an underachiever, overachiever, or just about right on par.
Dolgo was a fantastic player at his best. Sometimes you could say he almost had too many shots at his disposal. You could rush him into errors off the forehand and his drive BH wasn't always consistent but he was an absolute load to deal with when he really had the space to create his game and attack. That sidewinder slice he had that he had a ton of feel and versatility with that really created attack openings and got opponents off balance, lots of versatility with the forehand too. Great first serve for his size but the second serve wasn't the best. Sometimes he had issues with low service %s that cost him a bit.
He was super athletic and fast and a ton of pace for someone small but had a lot of various issues that cropped up that saw him have his best seasons when he really first broke on the scene on tour, had two top 20 seasons in 11/12 between his 22-23 aged years. He had an awesome start to his 2014 season and looked to be back after health issues among other things, coaches switches, etc. saw him kinda fall into the abyss a bit. Made IW SF and beat Rafa there, Miami QF, also Rio F, Acapulco SF. Got back in the top 20 that year, but knee issues cropped up at the end of that season. 2014 looked to be the season, at 25, where he had put the tactical+mental and the athleticism and talent together.
He almost beat Djokovic twice in 2015 and beat Rafa in Queens (Rafa's worst season of his career) but more injuries cropped up at the end of the year, he had elbow/shoulder issues and still had issues with the knee.
He did have a nice 2017 season, won Buenos Aires, finals of two other events, made it back in the top 35 but by that point he wasn't quite the same player, not quite as dynamic as he was late-20s by then but still exciting. He then hurt his wrist in Australia in 2018 and that was the end.
I don't know exactly what Dolgo could've done had been been able to remain healthy and honestly with his frame and his illness it was always unlikely he was going to be able to. Don't think he was ever gonna be a true elite player but he never made the top 10. Do you think he achieved on par with his abilities, do you think he had more to give or do you think he overachieved as a youngster and the balance of his career was more indicative of his abilities?
#sport
Dolgo was a fantastic player at his best. Sometimes you could say he almost had too many shots at his disposal. You could rush him into errors off the forehand and his drive BH wasn't always consistent but he was an absolute load to deal with when he really had the space to create his game and attack. That sidewinder slice he had that he had a ton of feel and versatility with that really created attack openings and got opponents off balance, lots of versatility with the forehand too. Great first serve for his size but the second serve wasn't the best. Sometimes he had issues with low service %s that cost him a bit.
He was super athletic and fast and a ton of pace for someone small but had a lot of various issues that cropped up that saw him have his best seasons when he really first broke on the scene on tour, had two top 20 seasons in 11/12 between his 22-23 aged years. He had an awesome start to his 2014 season and looked to be back after health issues among other things, coaches switches, etc. saw him kinda fall into the abyss a bit. Made IW SF and beat Rafa there, Miami QF, also Rio F, Acapulco SF. Got back in the top 20 that year, but knee issues cropped up at the end of that season. 2014 looked to be the season, at 25, where he had put the tactical+mental and the athleticism and talent together.
He almost beat Djokovic twice in 2015 and beat Rafa in Queens (Rafa's worst season of his career) but more injuries cropped up at the end of the year, he had elbow/shoulder issues and still had issues with the knee.
He did have a nice 2017 season, won Buenos Aires, finals of two other events, made it back in the top 35 but by that point he wasn't quite the same player, not quite as dynamic as he was late-20s by then but still exciting. He then hurt his wrist in Australia in 2018 and that was the end.
I don't know exactly what Dolgo could've done had been been able to remain healthy and honestly with his frame and his illness it was always unlikely he was going to be able to. Don't think he was ever gonna be a true elite player but he never made the top 10. Do you think he achieved on par with his abilities, do you think he had more to give or do you think he overachieved as a youngster and the balance of his career was more indicative of his abilities?
#sport
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