James Ward – Challengers or ATP Qualifiers?

I was wondering what people’s thoughts are on the best way forward for James Ward now that he’s moved into the top 150. Obviously after this current Challenger tournament he’ll no doubt go on to the AO quailies but how should he approach the rest of the season; should he continue on the Challenger circuit or should he go for ATP qualies with the chance of greater rewards? An ATP 250 SF or ATP 500 QF are roughly the same points as winning a Challenger; with a corresponding increase in winning each match. My own feeling on this is that he should trust his own game and spirit and make the jump to ATP. He’s certainly on a bit of a roll and doesn’t have too many years left to improve at the rate that he has; I’m sure playing better players regularly would speed up his development

I am not sure......he is playing both presumably atm? I think winning is a good habit, so try to bag a few more challengers and then move on.

Agree with time please - I think a mixture is best atm. Whilst he needs to keep moving upwards, it's important that he keeps winning matches to retain his confidence. He doesn't want to end up out of his depth and losing first or second round every week. Scheduling is certainly a fine art.