Tom
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Post by Tom on Jul 31, 2018 10:25:56 GMT 1
Time to bring this thread back. I've started a new one as I think it's been a couple of years since we last had one. Plenty of positive news for the Brits in the last few days.
Last week Cameron Norrie reached the semi-finals in the Atlanta Open tour event, and Jay Clarke, who's just turned 20 and someone who people have been excited about for over a year, won the Binghamton challenger in New York to move up to 175 in the rankings. Interesting that he's actually slightly higher ranked than Kyle Edmund was when he turned 20.
This week various matches in Washington. Murray playing last night won his first match outside the UK since he returned from injury coming from a set down to beat McDonald (ranked 80) 3-6 6-4 7-5 in a match that lasted around 2 hr 40 mins (the final set was over an hour) and didn't finish until about 12.45 am local time! It was scheduled for the evening match but started later because of rain earlier in the day. It's a good job the match didn't last over 3 hours as the rain came back less than half an hour later...And the reason I know this is because Harriet Dart was playing later than him, against Bencic, and her match had been suspended by 1.15am it seems with Dart a set and a break down (but 0-40 up at 2-4). Murray's next opponent? Kyle Edmund, who received a bye into the 2nd round as one of the top 4 seeds!
But the standout result from yesterday was Katie Boulter beating the 5th seed Aleksandra Krunic, ranked 47, 6-2 6-0 Wow!
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Post by rubcale on Jul 31, 2018 11:14:16 GMT 1
Not an ideal return for Andy - great he won but I wonder how much it will have taken out of him?
Still let's hope he can make smooth progress towards the USO.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jul 31, 2018 11:16:36 GMT 1
Some other things to add about Jay Clarke. Forgot to add that was his first challenger title. I'd say i'm more excited about him than I was about Kyle at the same age, so quite nice to see that reflected in the rankings comparison. I watched most of his singles match at Wimbledon against Gulbis (who I couldn't believe was only 29, looked a few years older than that and it feels like he's been around for ages, also couldn't believe he had to qualify to get into the main draw especially when he went on to knock out seeds in later rounds). Whilst I thought he played fairly well given it was only on one surface I wasn't quite impressed enough to say he'll be top 100 by Wimbledon next year, especially when he didn't win. After this challenger title i'm maybe changing my mind, not just because of his new ranking, but also because whilst Binghamton isn't the biggest challenger event (75K), Murray, Edmund and Norrie have all won it in the past and they've all been top 100 within a year.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jul 31, 2018 11:18:59 GMT 1
Not an ideal return for Andy - great he won but I wonder how much it will have taken out of him? Still let's hope he can make smooth progress towards the USO. That did occur to me too, but he's not playing today and imagine he'll be late on when he plays tomorrow. Tbh, im not sure whether he'll beat Kyle anyway.
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Post by rubcale on Jul 31, 2018 11:21:30 GMT 1
At this stage I would expect Kyle to win even on this surface.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jul 31, 2018 17:43:24 GMT 1
I listened to an interview with Jay Clarke earlier from after he won the title and was reminded who his coach was... Esteban Carril who turned Konta into a top player before they split at the end of 2016. Think he's been working with Clarke for most of the last 18 months. In the interview Clarke came across as mature, grounded and modest. It really is hard to believe he's only just turned 20.
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Post by rubcale on Jul 31, 2018 18:03:28 GMT 1
I listened to an interview with Jay Clarke earlier from after he won the title and was reminded who his coach was... Esteban Carril who turned Konta into a top player before they split at the end of 2016. Think he's been working with Clarke for most of the last 18 months. In the interview Clarke came across as mature, grounded and modest. It really is hard to believe he's only just turned 20. Tbh Jay Clarke isn't a familiar name to me - I'll have to look out for him in the future.
I've only been on the edge of the game for the past year and this morning was really the first time in yonks I was eagerly looking forward to the sports bulletins to see how AndyM had done.
Seems Konta is a bit of a disaster - didn't the next coach she sacked then team up with Angelique Kerber and look how that ended up with her re-emergence.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Jul 31, 2018 18:40:23 GMT 1
I listened to an interview with Jay Clarke earlier from after he won the title and was reminded who his coach was... Esteban Carril who turned Konta into a top player before they split at the end of 2016. Think he's been working with Clarke for most of the last 18 months. In the interview Clarke came across as mature, grounded and modest. It really is hard to believe he's only just turned 20. Tbh Jay Clarke isn't a familiar name to me - I'll have to look out for him in the future.
I've only been on the edge of the game for the past year and this morning was really the first time in yonks I was eagerly looking forward to the sports bulletins to see how AndyM had done.
Seems Konta is a bit of a disaster - didn't the next coach she sacked then team up with Angelique Kerber and look how that ended up with her re-emergence.
I've only properly got back into it in the last couple of months or so. Hadn't realised how many women we had in and around the top 200, and seeing the young British players do well (men and women) has rekindled my enthusiasm. We've got 5 women playing in Wta main draws this week, and I thought after Wimbledon that the US Open qualifying would be particularly interesting and discovered today we'll have 9 Brits in that! Yeah, think that's Wim Fissette who is working with Kerber. I remember on one Today at Wimbledon show this year Claire Balding asked Kim Clijsters if she could see improvements in Kerber's game, and when she said yes I wouldn't say it went down that well with me...
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 1, 2018 11:33:25 GMT 1
No joy in Washington last night.
(qualifier) Harriet Dart lost to 6th seed Belinda Bencic ranked 43 7-5 6-2. This didn't last long on the resumption as Bencic won 5 straight points to hold from 0-40 down and then broke in the next game to win. Should have been closer than it was, obviously the 2nd set should have been closer and Dart served for the 1st set at 5-2.
Katie Swan was also due to play but due to rain later in the evening she wasn't able to get on before the 2am cut off point and so will play this evening before the Murray/Edmund 2nd round match.
Different story in San Jose however...
Heather Watson ranked 133 beat 18 year old wildcard Claire Liu ranked 154 6-4 3-6 6-4 Heather was lucky to get in here, she's lower ranked than Boulter and this is a bigger event than Washington. This was probably one of the best draws she could have got. The bookies still made Liu slight favourite though, which given the trajectory of both players careers atm was fair, I actually thought Liu was a stronger favourite as she was playing in her home country. She also qualified for Wimbledon reaching the 2nd round and was the only player to take a set off Kerber. A good win for Heather.
Jo Konta ranked 48 beat 6th seed Serena Williams ranked 26 6-1 6-0 in less than an hour After what we said yesterday I did wonder whether Konta would prove us wrong, never saw this result coming though! The first Brit to beat Serena and the first time Serena has failed to win more than 1 game in a WTA singles match (completed matches this is). Saw a couple of highlights on Youtube and it looked like Konta at her best.
Meanwhile in Los Cabos, Mexico...
Cameron Norrie ranked 74 beat qualifier Gunneswaran ranked 177 6-2 6-2 I thought this looked a straight sets win but nice to see him win so convincingly
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 2, 2018 10:00:07 GMT 1
Only one place to start - in Washington.
Andy Murray beat 4th seed Kyle Edmund ranked 18 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-4 in about 2 and half hours finishing shortly before 12.30am BST I followed the first 2 sets and when Kyle won the 2nd set I expected him to go on and win so it was a shock to find out this morning that Andy had won.
Earlier in the evening... (WC) Katie Swan ranked 179 lost to Zheng ranked 85 6-2 6-4 I was surprised that Swan was given a wildcard. I presumed it was because she lives in America, but then wondered whether it was because she's signed up to Andy's management company and it seems to be the latter. The score only reinforces my opinion that she was lucky to get the wildcard when her ranking is very similar to Harriet Dart. It was interesting to discover during Wimbledon that she's now coached by Diego Veronelli, former coach of Heather Watson and imo the best coach that Heather has ever had. They split basically because he couldn't be around enough of the year but that's not a problem for Swan as he shares the coaching duties with the coach she's had for a few years.
Katie Boulter was last up on her designated court against a qualifier Kiick ranked 202, and perhaps not surprisingly given how the week has gone she didn't finish. When play was suspended she was 4-4 in the 2nd set having lost the first set 6-4. Kiick is an American so tougher opponent than her ranking suggests but disappointing so far as i'm expecting Boulter to win this. Looks as though it resumes around 10pm tonight.
In San Jose...
Jo Konta ranked 48 beat Kenin 68 6-1 6-4 in just over an hour Another American for JoKo and whilst not the wow factor of the Serena win what looks a very good win. I've thought in the past that her opening match of a tournament can really set her up for the rest of the event, so hopefully she can go on and challenge for the title now.
And in Los Cabos...
Cameron Norrie 74 beat 8th seed Feliciano Lopez 69 6-3 6-3 I thought this looked a winnable match but a bit shocked that he won so comfortably.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 3, 2018 9:32:01 GMT 1
Washington
Katie Boulter 118 lost to qualifier Kiick 202 6-4 5-7 6-1 in almost 2 and a quarter hours Disappointing, she had a great chance of a WTA QF outside the UK, and would have had a chance of reaching the semis as well. It didn't resume until after midnight (BST) in the end after earlier rain. It was rain that caused the match to be suspended in the first place the day before. I did think the organisers are going to hope it doesn't rain for the rest of the tournament as the matches may back up and mean players having to play multiple matches on the same day. An observation that seems particularly interesting given what happened in the match below...
Andy Murray beat Copil 93 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) Relieved that he won this. It didn't start until 5am (BST) and finished at 8am, and there I was thinking this might be an easier match than his previous 2! Given the 2am cut off point I mentioned before and spreading the QFs over 2 days (Thu/Fri) i'm surprised they didn't suspend play at 1 set all.
San Jose R2
Heather Watson 133 lost to 3rd seed Venus Williams 14 6-4 4-6 6-0 A good effort.
Los Cabos QF
Cam Norrie 74 beat (4) Adrian Mannarino 25 6-4 6-4 Great win!
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Post by rubcale on Aug 3, 2018 11:34:25 GMT 1
I think AndyM has been quite shrewd in taking his time over his comeback but Im a bit uneasy about these three tough matches in as many days - really hope it doesn't take a big toll on him.
While it is on his best surface and isn't Kyle Edmunds I had expected Kyle to win their match-up so that has produced some cautious optimism.
For the sake of British Tennis though perhaps the best outcome at this stage might have been a hard fought win for Kyle.
Don't know a lot about Cameron Norrie but he seems to be making great strides. He appears to have spent some time in the US so maybe this is a good surface for him. Will probably reach a new career high next week. Going to looking out for him now!!
Superb win for Johanna Konta over Serena plus she followed it up but looking at that score you cant really believe that there weren't some other factors we are unaware of that were involved.
Be interesting to see how she goes against Mertens - if she can play her best tennis definitely winnable.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 3, 2018 12:05:26 GMT 1
Norrie went to college in the US. Makes you wonder whether more of our promising male players may go down that route. We haven't really had success before with it, only Dom Inglot and he's a doubles specialist. It feels especially significant as Norrie had a high junior ranking, don't think he did anything of note in the junior slams but IIRC he was seeded. Vaguely remember maybe being a bit disappointed when I discovered he was going down the college route rather than going straight into pro events like promising juniors tend to do. Remember watching him win a match at Eastbourne last year and they were raving about him given he'd come from nowhere. Went on to qualify for the US Open (after that Binghamton title which I'm not sure I was aware of at the time) and then won a match in the main draw after his opponent retired. His big achievement though came when he won a Davis Cup tie in Spain this year despite never playing on clay before! He's really kicked on since then, going far in some tour events on clay and winning a match at the French Open, again when his opponent retired (though Norrie couldn't understand why). I'm excited to see what he could do at the US Open.
There have been suggestions that the release of Serena's sister's killer may have played a part in her defeat to Konta. Her first serve percentage was also pretty awful - only 36%. But Serena said it was the best she thought Konta had played for 18 months.
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Post by Tom on Aug 4, 2018 11:47:01 GMT 1
I think AndyM has been quite shrewd in taking his time over his comeback but Im a bit uneasy about these three tough matches in as many days - really hope it doesn't take a big toll on him. You were right to be concerned. He pulled out of his Washington QF against De Minaur last night (I wrongly thought there were only 2 rounds before the QFs so his match against Copil was actually a R3 match) and also out of Toronto next week. Not playing his QF wasn't a surprise, it came out later yesterday that he may pull out (though it is disappointing), i'm guessing after his 3am finish and a long match the match against De Minaur may have been a step too far. But it's concerning that he's pulled out of next week as well, especially when I've seen comments saying his hip didn't look good. One other thing I discovered about the Copil match was that he was 5-0 up in the 1st set tiebreak that he lost so he should have won in straight sets.
Elsewhere
San Jose QF Konta 48 lost to 4th seed Elise Mertens 15 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in about an hour and a half Last time I looked she was serving for first set at 5-3 so a disappointing result.
Los Cabos SF Cam Norrie 74 lost to 2nd seed Fabio Fognini 15 6-4 6-2 in almost an hour and a quarter Guessing a match too far.
Also, Jay Clarke retired from his Lexington challenger QF with dizziness. I did think he maybe shouldn't have played this week after winning Binghamton last weekend. Hope it's nothing serious as I think he's got a chance of qualifying for the US Open.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 7, 2018 8:19:23 GMT 1
New rankings for those players who won at least 1 match last week
Women Konta up 5 to 43 Boulter up 4 to 114 new career high Watson up 6 to 127 Dart (who qualified) up 6 to 172.
Men Norrie up 7 to 67 new career high Clarke no change at 175 Murray is back in the Top 400 at 375
Results from last night/Tues am
WTA Montreal (Qualifier) Katie Boulter 114 lost to Tsurenko 45 6-4 6-2 in just under an hour and a half
ATP Toronto Kyle Edmund ranked 16 lost to 11th seed Diego Schwartzmann ranked 12 6-1 6-2 in an hour Rather alarming..
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Post by rubcale on Aug 7, 2018 11:18:15 GMT 1
Hadn't heard the Edmund result - the scoreline is alarming, hopefully there are underlying reasons.
I think any faint hope that AndyM could do something at USO is disappearing and tbh I think there is a possibility he might decide not to play there.
Konta's year may depend on how she does in New York and she's very much in the hansd of fate as to what draw she receives.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Aug 8, 2018 8:45:22 GMT 1
Result from Tues evening
WTA Montreal Konta 43 beat 11th seed Jelena Ostapenko 11 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-2 in just over 2 hours Very impressive!
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Post by Tom on Aug 10, 2018 9:23:35 GMT 1
Result from yesterday
WTA Montreal R2 Konta 43 beat Azarenka 95 6-3 6-1 after just under an hour and a half Impressive win and a match that took 2 days to finish resuming yesterday evening with Konta 6-3 3-0 up after about an hours play.
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Post by rubcale on Aug 10, 2018 10:51:31 GMT 1
Jo Konta beaten 6-3 6-4 by Elina Svitolina defending champion and world #5 so hard to put into context although would have hoped for a better scoreline.
Interesting that Serena Williams pulled out of the event.
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Post by Tom on Aug 10, 2018 20:37:33 GMT 1
Jo Konta beaten 6-3 6-4 by Elina Svitolina defending champion and world #5 so hard to put into context although would have hoped for a better scoreline. Interesting that Serena Williams pulled out of the event. Yeah only realised later this morning that she played that match later in the evening but by then didn't have a chance to post about it. Agree, thought it would have been closer so a bit disappointing but maybe the earlier match played a part?
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