Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 15, 2015 16:02:12 GMT 1
With the Australian Open just around the corner and qualifying well underway I wanted to get this thread up and running. I'll update it fully in the next few days, but in the meantime it's worth mentioning that Heather Watson's 2nd round and QF matches are on the Hobart International Youtube channel for anyone interested. I presume as she is into her 3rd WTA SF that that match will be too. I already knew the American challengers (men and women events) put their streamed matches up after the event "as live" but this is an excellent service. Apart from the fact that I don't believe the tournament is being covered anywhere outside Australia (like BT Sport for example), it's the first I've heard of an ATP/WTA event being covered like this. Hopefully more will follow in the future.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 17, 2015 13:36:03 GMT 1
Just a quick update for now. Heather Watson won Hobart her second WTA title, Kyle Edmund has qualified for the Aus Open (with Liam Broady also making the final qualifying round too) and James Ward has gained direct entry into a slam for the first time - 3 set win over John Isner in the Kooyang Classic last week too . Normally I wouldn't consider Ward's win to be particularly significant, it was only an exhibition event after all, but we have got the Davis Cup tie v USA coming up fairly soon so...I've also read an interview with him this week about his off season training with Murray in Miami where he talked about how he's a lot stronger and moving better than before, so promising signs for the year ahead.
rubcale hope you're feeling more positive now! Jamie Murray and Jonny Marray both won doubles titles last weekend too.
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Post by rubcale on Jan 17, 2015 13:51:28 GMT 1
Just a quick update for now. Heather Watson won Hobart her second WTA title, Kyle Edmund has qualified for the Aus Open (with Liam Broady also making the final qualifying round too) and James Ward has gained direct entry into a slam for the first time - 3 set win over John Isner in the Kooyang Classic last week too . Normally I wouldn't consider Ward's win to be particularly significant, it was only an exhibition event after all, but we have got the Davis Cup tie v USA coming up fairly soon so...I've also read an interview with him this week about his off season training with Murray in Miami where he talked about how he's a lot stronger and moving better than before, so promising signs for the year ahead.
rubcale hope you're feeling more positive now! Jamie Murray and Jonny Marray both won doubles titles last weekend too. It's always a case of one step forward, two steps back for the Brits. This should put Heather at a career high ranking of around #38 - imagine her managing to get a Wimbledon seeding. The next two weeks should will be very significant - if seedings work out AndyM should play Dimitrov in last 16 of A/O and Federer in quarters. My gut feeling is that this is make or break for him.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 17, 2015 15:58:35 GMT 1
Just a quick update for now. Heather Watson won Hobart her second WTA title, Kyle Edmund has qualified for the Aus Open (with Liam Broady also making the final qualifying round too) and James Ward has gained direct entry into a slam for the first time - 3 set win over John Isner in the Kooyang Classic last week too . Normally I wouldn't consider Ward's win to be particularly significant, it was only an exhibition event after all, but we have got the Davis Cup tie v USA coming up fairly soon so...I've also read an interview with him this week about his off season training with Murray in Miami where he talked about how he's a lot stronger and moving better than before, so promising signs for the year ahead.
rubcale hope you're feeling more positive now! Jamie Murray and Jonny Marray both won doubles titles last weekend too. It's always a case of one step forward, two steps back for the Brits. This should put Heather at a career high ranking of around #38 - imagine her managing to get a Wimbledon seeding. The next two weeks should will be very significant - if seedings work out AndyM should play Dimitrov in last 16 of A/O and Federer in quarters. My gut feeling is that this is make or break for him. True, but having watched her match against Sloane Stephens on that Youtube channel even though I haven't seen any of the other matches she played after that yet, the way she played, especially in the 2nd set when she took her apart really, I thought she had a good chance of going on to win the title. I'm not sure she played a higher seed than Stephens after that. The Osaka title was incredible at that stage of her career, she says herself it was a surprise, but there's no doubt she was in better form this week. Didn't drop a set and in R1 she was 5-4 and at least one set point down in the opening set, QF she was 5-2 down presumably had to save at least 1 SP again. Remarkably I don't think she's lost a final yet, at any level. It's restored my belief that she will, one day, reach the Top 20, if she stays injury and illness free. It may not happen for a while, not sure I see it happening this year for example, but i'd prefer her to get there slowly so that if and when she does she's in a better position to consolidate anyway. The last couple of years have been up and down so i'd be happy with a Top 40 finish this year.
I think she's more likely to be seeded at the French. With the points she's got coming off there from last year (qualifying + R2) it's going to be hard for her to do well enough there to be seeded at Wimbledon if she isn't already.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 18, 2015 19:33:43 GMT 1
Only 1 Brit in action on the opening day of the Australian Open. Murray, who plays 22 year old qualifier Yuki Bhambri, ranked 317 in the new rankings. Certainly a shock to see him in the main draw, this is his debut and he'd never even won a match in Aus Open qualifying before! (in 3 previous attempts). He did well to even make it into qualifying with a ranking that low.
Looking at his qualifying results, the big one was in the opening round beating 15th seed Evgeny Donskoy 4-6 6-1 8-6. Donskoy is a familiar name to me as he was the player Dan Evans beat in straight sets to win the Davis Cup tie against Russia in 2013 who then went on to reach the Top 70 later in the year. Bizarrely, his easiest match was actually his final one, as reflected in the 6-3 6-4 scoreline (his second win was 10-8 in an opening set tie-break then 6-3 in the second set).
Murray is very knowledgeable about the game, but I doubt even he knows an awful lot about him! He must be one of the lowest ranked players Murray has ever played in a Grand Slam. Not surprisingly they've stuck him on the Margaret Court Arena in the middle of the night.
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Post by rubcale on Jan 21, 2015 19:45:00 GMT 1
What were we saying about one step forward etc?
After all the hype only one player through to R2 (now R3)and no prizes for guessing who that is.
Quite worrying that Heather Watson appeared to be very under the weather in her match.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 23, 2015 17:34:09 GMT 1
What were we saying about one step forward etc? After all the hype only one player through to R2 (now R3)and no prizes for guessing who that is. Quite worrying that Heather Watson appeared to be very under the weather in her match. To be fair though, James Ward, and Kyle Edmund especially, were expected to lose (well by me at least anyway).
Heather's virus is a concern. It does explain the scoreline, it was a tough draw against Pironkova but it was winnable. Seems as though it was streamed despite not being on a televised court from the comments I've read it seems as though a fully fit Hev would have won, and the Hev of last week would have won easily. I always had a fear about her peaking and being knackered for this week, there's a reason why top players often don't play the week before a slam, but my bigger concern is her playing doubles. I've got no problem with her playing doubles at a slam, i'd be disappointed if she didn't, we haven't got anyone else (yet) ranked high enough to get in to the women's doubles, or playing when she's got the following week off, but playing the week before a slam, especially when you get to the latter stages of the singles as well is asking for trouble. Apparently the virus is a recurring problem, maybe its as a result of the glandular fever, but I did have this nagging feeling that it was the reason behind her sudden slump in form last year starting with the US Open, and this has only made me think I was right all along (despite Hev saying it was only tiredness after a long year, coupled with lack of GB competition). From someone who was supporting GB at the Fed Cup almost a year ago now who spoke to her there he certainly gave the impression whatever she said that she wasn't completely over her glandular fever. She's going to have to be careful of her schedule I think, otherwise she may not fulfil her potential.
That said, don't think i'd have swapped her Hobart title for a better week this week. She wasn't likely to reach the 2nd week anyway and she's reached R3 in the Aus Open before, in 2013 when in the early stages of her, at the time, undetected glandular fever. Swings and roundabouts I guess.
On another note, Fed's huge upset this morning, 4 set defeat to Seppi who had never beaten him before, and the first time since 2001 he's gone out this early in the Aus Open, is precisely why I never want to look past Murray's first couple of opponents. It's partly because I don't want to get ahead of myself for fear of jinxing him, but mainly because he often doesn't play the seed he's expected to play! Even in his R3 match in the early hours of this morning he was playing an unseeded player because the 32nd seed Klizan retired in the previous round.
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Post by rubcale on Jan 23, 2015 19:11:59 GMT 1
It's official!!
Heather's bad form "due to her time of the month!
If AndyM can beat Dmitrov he has a good shot at reacing the final.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 23, 2015 19:39:43 GMT 1
It's official!! Heather's bad form "due to her time of the month! If AndyM can beat Dmitrov he has a good shot at reacing the final. Yes, was thinking along similar lines to you about AndyM.
Missed that about Hev!
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frag
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Post by frag on Jan 25, 2015 5:18:27 GMT 1
They said on ESPN that it was Federer's first defeat to an unseeded player after 104 wins (81 of them in 3 sets). Presumably that's in the majors?
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 26, 2015 9:04:48 GMT 1
They said on ESPN that it was Federer's first defeat to an unseeded player after 104 wins (81 of them in 3 sets). Presumably that's in the majors? Yea it would be, especially if they've mentioned wins in 3 sets.
4 set win for Murray over Dimitrov yesterday. First time I've seen him in the tournament and thought it was an excellent performance.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 26, 2015 17:50:28 GMT 1
Earlier in the month Leon Smith (Davis Cup captain) was talking about his doubles selection for the upcoming tie against the USA. After saying that it was Andy Murray plus A.N.Other then said that between Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot, Jamie was probably going to get the nod as he had been in better form in the last 6 months (he is higher ranked) and I think he also referred to Jamie's record against the Bryan brothers (he's beaten them before though don't know what his overall record is like against them). He ruled out Colin Fleming (who with his Davis Cup record and his record with Andy would have been a shoe-in I think) as he's not played this year yet having been on paternity leave.
Well what happened overnight may have given him a dilemma... Dom Inglot and Florin Mergea (14th seeds - been playing together for a few months now) beat the top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6(7-4) 6-3. A brilliant win, and on Mergea's 30th birthday too!
My gut feeling is that he'll still pick Jamie as he's played with Andy before. Whether that is the right idea I have no idea though, haven't been impressed with Jamie when paired with Andy in the past but Inglot froze on his Davis Cup debut against the USA last year. Whoever plays has to stay in the sets, the Bryans are great frontrunners and when they go a break up the sets can be over in a flash.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 29, 2015 14:32:44 GMT 1
QF Murray beat 19 year old Aussie Kyrgios 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 SF Murray beat Berdych 6-7 (6-8) 6-0 6-3 7-5
I was worried about the Berdych match and wasn't confident he would win. Berdych hadn't dropped a set (and only lost 8 games to Nadal in the previous round ) and you had the added factor of Dani Velverdu, Andy's old assistant coach and one of his closest friends, now coaching Berdych. Losing head-to-head against him too but after looking at their matches on outdoor hard it actually slightly favoured Andy. One of those was the 2012 US Open SF though when the wind played a crucial part in the outcome; Berdych couldn't cope with it.
Stunning from Murray in both matches. No doubt about it he's serving well enough to win the title, and having an extra day before the final must help too. I've said before about wanting Murray to win this more than any other slam now (feel it's his best slam), would be a shame if he never did. His 4th AO final, would be one of the best ever players not to win it if this is the slam that proves beyond him (of those he can realistically win that is - he isn't ever going to win the French Open).
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 30, 2015 17:31:54 GMT 1
5 set win for Djokovic over Wawrinka today after 3hr 30, very similar time on court to Murray yesterday.
We also have a finalist in the girls singles, 15 year old Katie Swan seeded 14 (junior no 32), who moved to the states 2 years ago and has an American accent (I wouldn’t say it’s very strong but is certainly noticeable) but in her words is “definitely British”. She really has come from nowhere in the last 9-12 months. I only started following the juniors from the R3/last 16 stage onwards (she was seeded to get that far anyway), and that was when it got interesting. In R3 she beat the top seed and junior no 2 (570 in seniors) Shilin Xu with a stunning 6-2 6-2 win before beating the 11th seed junior no 26 Raveena Kingsley 6-4 6-3 in the quarters. Her semi-final against 5th seed Dalma Galfi junior No 10 and career high 617 in seniors, one of her closest friends, was a 2 hr 36 min epic. 6-0 and 4-2 down in the second she then came back to serve for the 2nd set at 5-4 when she was broken back. The set went to a tiebreak which she won 7-5. She then started cramping 4-1 up in the 3rd set and Galfi served for the match at 5-4, but Swan saved 3 MPs and from there never looked back winning the set 7-5. From a set down and cramping that’s a brilliant result. She faces an unseeded opponent in the final so if she can recover well enough she’s got a realistic chance of taking the title.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jan 31, 2015 20:31:46 GMT 1
Katie Swan was playing Mihalikova in the girls final overnight, which along with the boys final it seems was streamed on the Australian Open site. A fair final too between the two players who knocked out the top two seeds in the first few rounds. Sadly, she lost 6-1 6-4, a disappointing result. From reading the updates the second set however was much better. She did lose it from a break up (it seems mainly after picking up a leg injury at 3-0 when she went off court with a medical timeout) but saved a couple of break points in the first game, broke in the next game from 40-0 down and saved 2 match points serving at 3-5.
Really promising week overall though, and plenty more chances to win a junior slam title over the next couple of years.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 21:00:39 GMT 1
Anyone had any luck getting Wimbledon tickets in the ballot? I think notification letters went out on Friday - nothing for me...
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Feb 18, 2015 17:59:40 GMT 1
Anyone had any luck getting Wimbledon tickets in the ballot? I think notification letters went out on Friday - nothing for me... Never tried tbh, partly because I didn't think there was ever much chance of getting tickets that way. Would like to go to Wimbledon one year but if I went I've always been more interested in a ground pass to see matches on the outside courts (Brits specifically), also meaning I can explore and not restricted to one court necessarily. The problem is that the ground pass doesn't cover as much as it used to (IIRC Court 3 is only for those who get tickets in the ballot or the limited tickets available online - could be wrong on that though). This year with the wildcard criteria changing there may be less Brits playing on the outside courts anyway.
Another difficulty is you have to get there really early now, the days of turning up at 9am and getting in before the start of the play seem to have gone, and that puts me off. There's always the doubles and juniors in the second week I guess...when it's quieter.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2015 22:09:29 GMT 1
I've had tickets through the ballot twice before, so it does occasionally work but it is a complicated process and a real effort. First time in Centre Court - had an amazing day. Second time had to turn tickets down as it fell on a holiday - duh! I'm with you - next time I go I want to do a bit more exploring around the smaller courts. Centre Court is amazing, so close to the action, but because I didn't want to miss any action I didn't get to look around properly. Will try again next year....
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Mar 9, 2015 12:11:54 GMT 1
A brilliant 3-2 win for GB over USA in the Davis Cup World Group first round over the last 3 days. The only thing that stopped it being the perfect 3 days was James Ward's retirement in the dead rubber against Donald Young despite winning the first set. I was immediately concerned when I saw he'd retired, but having discovered it was shown on the BBC website I watched it on catch-up. Ward was astonishingly good after his record-breaking longest World Group singles match (4 hr 56 I think - an epic 15-13 final set win from 2 sets down against Isner) on Friday (Young by contrast was on court less than 2 hours on Friday) before having treatment on his thigh at the end of the first set and then retiring a game down in the second, (which threw everybody) but think he could have played on. He made a speech at the end and said it was because of a knee problem, but it sounded precautionary ahead of a busy couple of days with playing Indian Wells on Tuesday. I also suspect given the conversations he was having with Leon Smith that it may have been an issue right from the start.
Home quarter-final against France in mid July the week after Wimbledon. The issue is where to play it, Andy says grass but wants to play it in Scotland. Wimbledon have already made themselves unavailable and personally I don't think any venues in Scotland are big enough (apart from not having any suitable grass courts) so an interesting discussion to be had.
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Post by Panda on Mar 9, 2015 14:47:05 GMT 1
Every chance they could bring in a temporary grass court somewhere like Australia have in the past. Celtic Park was even mentioned yesterday...
France will be tough but winnable with home advantage. A possible semi-final would be against Australia or Kazakhstan - both winnable. The draw's really open this year with no Spain, plus Switzerland (minus Federer and Wawrinka) and Czech Republic going out over the weekend.
Quarter-finals: Great Britain v France Australia v Kazakhstan Serbia v Argentina or Brazil (suspended yesterday at 2-2 after the fourth rubber went 6 and a half hours) Belgium v Canada
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