Mannarino in Top-100 doors

– Remember that crafty entertaining lefty which was as high as #49 in 2011?

Well, he’s back on track after a woeful 2012 ( 1 ATP win, vs Anderson & a Challenger final in Istanbul) which saw him go down to #198. This season, though he’s been much better, at least in the Challenger circuit. He started the season winning Noumea, Sarajevo, was a finalist in Mexico and has also made a couple of QF’s and SF’s. He’s lacking an ATP result [ lost in AO R1, Montpellier R1 & Marseille QR1] and a top-100 win [ best was vs #107 Sela in Mexico]. Adrian was known for beating higher ranked players and then lose to players who seemed worse than him. This year has been the other way round, as he’s got more solid, but consequently more predictable. I would like to see him like in 2011, where he was an ATP regular and got great wins [ Del Potro, Simon ^2, Monaco, Chela, Gulbis, took a set off Ferrer…]. He’s currently standing as #109 in the rankings, and a good CH week would get him back to where I think he belongs, the Top-100.

Albano Olivetti: Again on the spotlight

– The big french guy ( 2,03m.) made himself famous this year in Marseille ATP 250. Coming from the qualies as #388, and with zero experience at ATP level and little on the Challenger tour ( hadn’t gone further than R2) the Haguenau native made the quarter-finals, beating #92 Matthias Bachinger, and more remarkably #8 Mardy Fish in 3 sets. His run ended in Michael Llodra hands, as he lost to Mika 6/7(5) 5/7.