Week 14 - ATP Challenger 75 - Open Città della Disfida - Barletta, Italy (clay)

Julia Carrot · All-time great

Week 14 - ATP Challenger 75 - Open Città della Disfida - Barletta, Italy (clay)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

stevemcqueen wrote:
I've just finished watching this match in catch up mode, it is much quicker when you can fast forward between points and games. The level was respectable. To my mind, there is absolutely no doubt about his desire to win. It is not possible to be a pro tennis player if your heart isn't in it and you're not totally committed. I don't think he will quit at the end of the grass season. He has never done that well on grass at ATP level. I feel sure he'll give the US hard court swing his best shot and assess after that.
Re earning potential, I don't think that will be a major factor in his thinking about whether to continue at Challenger level. If he was was to maintain his current ranking, he wouldn't be doing much more than breaking even. His career prize money is $8.7M, with much of that coming in the last 5 years. His investments should bring him far more income than his net earnings on the Challenger tour. There are only 18 players in the top 300 who are 34 or older. I'm sure he'll take a logical approach. I think he'd make a good pundit, maybe he could manage some light media work alongside a few years as a doubles specialist.

You might be right

But I'm not sure

Several things he's said over the years have been very focused on the money

Which is most certainly not a criticism, indeed the very opposite !!!

In terms of his 'investments', that $8.7m is before tax, NI and before expenses. So his true earnings is a lot LOT lower.

And if he's bought a house to live in, that's a slug of money that's not earning any return.

So he's not going to have a huge pot left over to earn income

I'm not saying he's going to be destitute , just that he hasn't got $8.7m sitting there, kicking out 3% p.a. and Dan knows his coaching and commentating choices are limited, and he's smart, that way)

B00thy · Intermediate Club Player

Coup Droit wrote:
stevemcqueen wrote:
I've just finished watching this match in catch up mode, it is much quicker when you can fast forward between points and games. The level was respectable. To my mind, there is absolutely no doubt about his desire to win. It is not possible to be a pro tennis player if your heart isn't in it and you're not totally committed. I don't think he will quit at the end of the grass season. He has never done that well on grass at ATP level. I feel sure he'll give the US hard court swing his best shot and assess after that.
Re earning potential, I don't think that will be a major factor in his thinking about whether to continue at Challenger level. If he was was to maintain his current ranking, he wouldn't be doing much more than breaking even. His career prize money is $8.7M, with much of that coming in the last 5 years. His investments should bring him far more income than his net earnings on the Challenger tour. There are only 18 players in the top 300 who are 34 or older. I'm sure he'll take a logical approach. I think he'd make a good pundit, maybe he could manage some light media work alongside a few years as a doubles specialist.
You might be right
But I'm not sure
Several things he's said over the years have been very focused on the money
Which is most certainly not a criticism, indeed the very opposite !!!
In terms of his 'investments', that $8.7m is before tax, NI and before expenses. So his true earnings is a lot LOT lower.
And if he's bought a house to live in, that's a slug of money that's not earning any return.
So he's not going to have a huge pot left over to earn income
I'm not saying he's going to be destitute , just that he hasn't got $8.7m sitting there, kicking out 3% p.a. and Dan knows his coaching and commentating choices are limited, and he's smart, that way)

Did I read recently on here that someone said he lives in Dubai and is very popular there? Is coaching the ridiculously wealthy a potential earner?

Sheddie · administrator

Yes and while Dan has made some sponsorship money, it won't have been the big bucks.

I reckon he could make a good coach though

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Sheddie wrote:
Yes and while Dan has made some sponsorship money, it won't have been the big bucks.

I reckon he could make a good coach though

Maybe

But a classic coaching career will be tricky - the drug offence will make him ineligible in certain cases

Having a one-handed backhand and being a slightly unorthodox player is not always seen as being the best either

And he won't take fools gladly - and I'm not sure he'd kiss up to all the parents etc that a normal coach has to do

i.e. I agree that he'd probably be a good coach for a certain, single player - but I'm not sure I see it as a standard club or academy coach

(and no, he's not a sponsorship dream - for much the same reasons)

Sheddie · administrator

Yeah I doubt we're going to see him in a tracksuit at an LTA academy, anytime soon.

But I can't quite picture Dan wanting to do that either. What I meant was I could see him being a travelling coach working with established tour players. He's a very intelligent and underrated strategist who knows how to unpick weaknesses and break down different players.

And being one of only a handful of 5'9 and under players who've established themselves in the top 30 during an era where tennis has increasingly transitioned to a land of the giants (and highly mobile giants who can rely on excellent speed and mobility as well as a cannoning serve), he's quite unique. I could see him being a great option for a tour player who's stagnated around the 75-100 mark and helping them break through to the top 50 and beyond.

Not sure I can see him becoming a doubles specialist to see him through to his 40s, as some keep suggesting. While he's a very handy doubles player, he's been so vocal with his disdain for doubles specialists over the years - describing them as failed singles players who lacked the attitude to work hard enough to make it at singles, and got annoyed at being overlooked for Davis Cup doubles rubbers ahead of the specialists - it would be quite ironic to see him going at it in doubles to make a few extra bob.

I think it's more likely that Dan will plug away in the challengers for a bit, see if he can turn things around and go on a few runs. I suspect he'll only consider calling it a day if by the autumn, those US Open points have dropped off and he's forced to go back to ITFs as he can't make challenger cuts anymore. Unlike Liam, who's a few years younger, I doubt we'll see him turning up at the Tunisia 15K.

But who knows - Dan also loves the game, and it's always hard to call it a day, especially having been close to making second week at a slam barely 6 months ago.

stevemcqueen · Futures level

I absolutely agree that it is unlikely that Dan will don an LTA tracksuit, at least not anytime soon. I think his tennis brain is excellent, though this doesn't necessarilymean that he's be a good coach.

Re his finances, he will have a decent accountant as all high level sports people do. He resides in Dubai for tax reasons, not because he likes sand. He won't have paid that much tax, but he will have had plenty of flights, hotels and coaches to pay for. His investment income is likely in the low 100s of $. Perhaps Dan was impolite when he said thhat doubles specialists are all failed singles players. He is correct in that few young players dream about doubles. At nearly 35 years of age, Dan is rational enough to acknowedge that he is at the very back end of his singles career. If he wants to go down the doubles route, I think he would be able to admit that he had become a "failed" singles player. Dan is a good natured guy, he'd tolerate and even enjoy some teasing and banter on this subject.

People's bodies age at different rates. Dan's game is not physical like Raffa's, this may work in his favour. I bet he plays the US hard court season!

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

stevemcqueen wrote:
I absolutely agree that it is unlikely that Dan will don an LTA tracksuit, at least not anytime soon. I think his tennis brain is excellent, though this doesn't necessarilymean that he's be a good coach.
Re his finances, he will have a decent accountant as all high level sports people do. He resides in Dubai for tax reasons, not because he likes sand. He won't have paid that much tax, but he will have had plenty of flights, hotels and coaches to pay for. His investment income is likely in the low 100s of $. Perhaps Dan was impolite when he said thhat doubles specialists are all failed singles players. He is correct in that few young players dream about doubles. At nearly 35 years of age, Dan is rational enough to acknowedge that he is at the very back end of his singles career. If he wants to go down the doubles route, I think he would be able to admit that he had become a "failed" singles player. Dan is a good natured guy, he'd tolerate and even enjoy some teasing and banter on this subject.
People's bodies age at different rates. Dan's game is not physical like Raffa's, this may work in his favour. I bet he plays the US hard court season!

I expect him to play the US season also