This series will focus on several up-and-coming men who could begin to make a name for themselves on the ATP World Tour. The fourth player featured is Ukrainian Oleksander Nedovyesov.

Nedovyesov is a few years later in his career than the players usually featured in this series. He was a college standout for Oklahoma State who finished his college career in 2011. As such, he has been playing on the professional tours for a few years. His career accolades to this point are slim, but his end of 2013 shows great potential for the future.

To be fair, Nedovyesov came out and competed very well in Futures tournaments as soon as he left college, and even before then. Some good, but not great, Challenger results helped push his ranking into the top 200 by the end of 2012. Starting in May 2013, Nedovyesov competed at a very high level on the Challenger Tour. Not only were his results impressive with three titles, a runner-up, and two round-robin wins at the Challenger Tour Finals, but his level of play stood where he could have competed with top-50 players.

It took Nedovyesov a few years to get adjusted to the top levels of tennis, but now that he is he should keep moving up. He plays a safe but aggressive style that is enjoyable to watch when he is on his game. His baseline style is very reminiscent of Nikolay Davydenko, but he also comes into the net often, and his approach game is solid. He even serves and volleys fairly often. Because of this versatility, his play is effective on both hard courts and clay, although he probably is more enjoyable to watch on hard courts.

Unlike some of the other players featured in this series, Nedovyesov probably does not have the potential to win majors someday. He will be 27 in February, and we have not seen any of the absolute top-level ability that most future champions will have shown by this age. Still, he came out of absolutely nowhere, unless you were an Oklahoma State Cowboys fan, and flew into the top 100 this year.

Because of his newfound high ranking, Nedovyesov will compete in his first-ever major main draw in Melbourne this year. A win or two at the Australian Open not only will raise his ranking but will give him some needed financial assistance with the prize money. A major issue for lower-level players without sponsorships, especially in countries where the national federation cannot afford to fully support early careers, is that it is hard to compete without money. A good run at a major, though, can bring with it a solid chunk of money and interest from sponsors. Getting direct entry to the main draw of a major thus is a huge opportunity for Nedovyesov.

Again, it is unlikely that Nedovyesov has the talent to be a consistent top-30 player. His aggressive game and frequent net approaches rarely fare well in today’s Tour. But he can definitely compete with and even upset top-30 players when he plays well. Keep an eye out for him because he could make a surprising run or two in tournaments this year.

 Ending the year in the top 50 or maybe even a little higher should be a goal for Nedovyesov. And, if he can stay up there for a while, maybe he can go even higher.