BARBADOS’ NUMBER ONE has himself another first.
Darian King is on the move again, having reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 643 this week after recently making the finals of tennis’ USTA Freeman Futures tournament in Joplin, Missouri.
It’s the first time the 20-year-old Davis Cup player ever dipped below 700 in the rankings after achieving a career-best 700 last November.
The move up the ladder comes as a result of King’s successful showing in Missouri, where the Barbados no.1 won four successive matches – including a straight-sets 6-0, 7-6 victory over the top-seeded Sinam Sing – en route to a finals appearance.
But the former Lodge boy couldn’t break through for his first ever professional circuit, falling 3-6, 3-6 to Frenchman Sebastien Boltz when Midwest temperatures soared to 43° Celsius.
This was after King had also lost the doubles final with Aussie partner Yuri Bezeruk in a 3-6, 6-2, 11-13 heartbreaker against Americans Shane Vinsant and Harrison Adams.
“The transition from being a top junior to a top professional is very difficult,” said King in a Press release.
“The older guys are tougher mentally and physically, but with more results like this I will gain more confidence and make a [further] jump in the rankings.”
King is set to play two further Futures events in Illinois before returning home to rest for a couple of weeks. The top local player is then scheduled to go on to either Canada, Mexico or the United States next month. (JM/PR)
