December 5, 2007
11 Players Break into 2007 Century Club

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Victor Hanescu The 2008 season is less than one month away and here's a look at the 11 players who made the biggest jumps in the South African Airways ATP Rankings during 2007 from the previous year. Each player climbed at least 100 ranking positions to finish in the Top 100, including eight players for the first time.

Romanian No. 2 Victor Hanescu (pictured), who was sidelined most of 2006 with a stomach injury, made the biggest jump in the Top 100, climbing 566 positions from No. 643 to No. 77. The 26-year-old Bucharest native reached
his first ATP final in his hometown tournament in September, losing to Frenchman Gilles Simon in three sets. He also compiled a 35-13 Challenger record and three titles and lifted his country into the 2008 Davis Cup World
Group by winning the fifth and decisive match against Japan's Go Soeda.

Belgian Steve Darcis (below)and American teenager Donald Young made the second-biggest moves in the Top 100 with each player advancing 386 ranking positions. Darcis went from No. 474 to No. 88

Steve Darcis

The 23-year-old Darcis became the lowest-ranked winner (No. 297) on the ATP circuit during the season as he qualified and won the Dutch Open in Amersfoort, defeating Werner Eschauer of Austria. Darcis began the year in
Futures events, winning titles in France and Turkey. He then progressed to Challengers and closed the campaign with a title in Helsinki, Finland to break into the Top 100.

Young, who was the No. 1 junior in the world in 2005, climbed from No. 484 to No. 98, with an outstanding 34-14 record in Challengers. The 18-year-old left-hander finished as the youngest player in the Top 100 and he won one
Challenger title and reached four finals, all after the US Open. Young, who also captured the Wimbledon junior title in July, turned in a Grand Slam-best third round showing at the US Open.

Spaniard Santiago Ventura made the fourth-biggest improvement in 2007, jumping 295 spots from No. 384 to No. 89. The 27-year-old Ventura compiled a 42-24 record in Challengers with two titles and reached the semifinals in Valencia in April, his best ATP showing of the season. He began the first two-and-a half months in Futures tournaments.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 22, returned from an injury-riddled 2006 season, to climb 169 spots from No. 212 to No. 43. Tsonga made the biggest jump of any player in the Top 50, highlighted by 14 ATP level match wins and his first ATP semifinal in Lyon. He also advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon and third round at the US Open.

Argentine Guillermo Canas made the biggest jump into the Top 20, moving 128 positions from No. 143 to No. 15. The 30-year-old Buenos Aires native won his seventh career ATP title in Costa do Sauipe and was runner-up at the
Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and Barcelona.

Below is the list of players who made the biggest ranking improvements in 2007 from the previous season.

Singles Century Club
Players who have moved at least 100 places from 2006 into the 2007
Top 100 South African Airways ATP Rankings:

Player Places Moved '07 Rank '06 Rank
Hanescu, Victor 566 77 643
Darcis, Steve 386 *88 474
Young, Donald 386 *98 484
Ventura, Santiago 295 *89 384
Sela, Dudi 174 *66 240
Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried 169 *43 212
Roger-Vasselin, Edouard 157 *96 253
Fognini, Fabio 155 *94 249
Canas, Guillermo 128 15 143
Ascione, Thierry 102 93 195
Cilic, Marin 102 *71 1973

* First time in year-end Top 100