Ya never know. You'd think that a player with late game talent
would have a good chance of winning against early gamers, but
in doubles that late gamer is only half the team. His partner
will probably have just as much to do with how well the team performs
as he will. In addition, depending on the individual player, a
late gamer might not be ready to play earlier in the program.
It's not beyond the realm of possibility that a player who usually
comes out in game 8 wouldn't want to play hard in game 1 and then
have to sit for six games before coming out again. He might even
be ticked off about having to play game 1. When a late gamer scratches
into an early game, I usually watch him warming up before the
game. If he looks ready to play, and if there's any value in betting
him, I'll play him. If he looks lethargic, I'll pass.
As for an early gamer scratching into a late game, that's something
I avoid, unless it's a dominant early gamer who's close to late
game caliber, and he has played well in the earlies that day,
and he has a favorable post position, and (if doubles) he has
a decent partner.
