Tom
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Post by Tom on Sept 13, 2021 15:59:25 GMT 1
This is just surreal - I don't really think I've taken it all in yet. It was an excellent match and what really surprised was the quality of the tennis - it was top notch. The second set was scary. Whenever Fernandex broke to take a 2-1 lead I was expecting Raducanu's game to maybe crumble and then again when she lost 2 match points at 5-2. And what a last game - had Fernandez had more experience she could have handled the break differently - she more or less handed the next point away. What was so impressive was Raduancu hanging tough and playing aggressively on the big points. Let's just hope it's not a flash in the pan but both players do look the real deal. Channel 4 got peak viewing figures of close to 10m. It started sinking in yesterday but I think it's gone back to surreal today after seeing her on the front pages of the papers. BBC Radio Kent seem to have talked about nothing else! I was so nervous watching the match, the times when I wasn't seemed to be when she was losing or was broken back! Got plenty of stuff still to read so will probably add more at some point but some thoughts for now that I've been meaning to post. She said her biggest strength was the homework she does. That was what impressed Nigel Sears the most, he said older players don't tend to do it let alone players her age. She seemed to improve each week, which was backed up by the reports I've read so far. Her coach Andrew Richardson is 47 and 6ft 7. Do vaguely remember him but bit surprised I don't remember him better as he reached the third round of Wimbledon in 1997 and in 1999 beat Bryron Black over 5 sets in a Davis Cup tie against Zimbabwe. I think that was the year we lost a home tie against USA indoors with Rusedski losing the final rubber, by far my strongest DC memory in the 90s, remember they played Fatboy Slim Right Here Right Now afterwards too. That Zimbabwe tie must have been a playoff then which probably wasn't televised but I'm sure I'd have talked to someone at school about it at the time. He was also best man at Henman's wedding. I know Henman was working for Amazon Prime but it explains why he was so actively supporting her courtside, not something I've noticed him doing with any of the other British women before. Interesting chat about SPOTY, also wondered last week whether she might be a contender. Obviously what's happened since means it's surely in the bag now. As for the Laura Robson comparisons, can see them but for me Raducanu is the better player. Think I posted on here after Wimbledon that Raducanu is the best British teenager I've seen - including Murray (at the same age). And again, what's happened since has made that rather accurate!
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Sept 13, 2021 16:09:33 GMT 1
A win against Bencic and I think she becomes the new British #1 player. "Raducanu has match point... Wait a minute! That's Heather Watson! And she has a steel chair!" It's probably Konta with that steel chair given she was British #1 at the start of the tournament. Was also told a few days ago that she was the only person from the British tennis community not to have tweeted about Raducanu's matches.
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Post by Panda on Sept 13, 2021 16:47:27 GMT 1
"Raducanu has match point... Wait a minute! That's Heather Watson! And she has a steel chair!" It's probably Konta with that steel chair given she was British #1 at the start of the tournament. Was also told a few days ago that she was the only person from the British tennis community not to have tweeted about Raducanu's matches. But as previously mentioned in the thread, Watson moved ahead of Konta during the US Open and was due to become British no.1 after the tournament. In the WTA rankings published today, Raducanu is 23, Watson is 59 and Konta is 66.
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Post by rubcale on Sept 13, 2021 17:43:16 GMT 1
i must have missed some good results for Heather Watson - can't believe she' #59.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Sept 13, 2021 21:03:25 GMT 1
It's probably Konta with that steel chair given she was British #1 at the start of the tournament. Was also told a few days ago that she was the only person from the British tennis community not to have tweeted about Raducanu's matches. But as previously mentioned in the thread, Watson moved ahead of Konta during the US Open and was due to become British no.1 after the tournament. In the WTA rankings published today, Raducanu is 23, Watson is 59 and Konta is 66. Yeah I know, probably a daft comment by me, was going to post an explanation but think I'm just talking jibberish lol. Like rubcale, I'm confused by Watson climbing, guess she's benefitting in a way by not really having any points to defend. It wouldn't take much to get back into the top 50 now, which isn't something I thought I'd be saying this year. Was going to post the rankings so here they are in full. ATP 27 23 Evans 29 28 Norrie 112 116 Murray - Good to see he's playing a challenger this week 147 145 Broady - Reached R2 in qualifying. WTA 150 23 Raducanu - When I said a couple of months ago I expected her to be top 100 at next year's Wimbledon I thought if she could replicate her run at Wimbledon in another slam she'd probably be seeded there. She's probably done enough to be seeded there already! But obviously long way off, plenty to be excited about before then 64 59 Watson 47 66 Konta 151 144 Dart 170 160 Jones - Reached R2 in the qualifying. 190 171 Boulter 236 223 Burrage - Reached R2 in qualifying. Had a very close match with Voegele and think she had a match point. 265 255 Murray Sharan - Reached R2 in qualifying.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Sept 13, 2021 23:14:18 GMT 1
With so many big names pulling out and the unpredictability of who has won the USO has gone in recent years, I think 2 more first time winners winning their 1st GS. Favourites are still Djokovic and Barty. Love getting a Grand Slam prediction right! A bit of a cop out though as my predicted winners were both wrong (Thought Zverev and Sabalenka would win it) Just to round off the US Open news, Daniil Medvedev won his first Grand Slam beating Djokovic quite comfortably 6-4 6-4 6-4 and denying Novak of achieving the calendar slam.
The 5 set semi final against Zverev and the extra time on court was key to Djokovic losing, as Djokovic was not his usual confident self but Medvedev completely overpowered him in the first couple of sets. Understandably DM looked a bit nervous in the 3rd.
It looked like also the burden of achieving the calendar slam was also playing heavily on Djokovic's mind too. Medvedev really punished his 2nd serve, which Djokovic only winning 40% and causing Djokovic to smash his racquet in between points.
It was probably one of the few times I've seen Djokovic that emotional on court and actually crying towards the end of the match.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Sept 14, 2021 0:19:58 GMT 1
Emma now has a good chance to qualify for the WTA finals, which is due to be held in Shenzhen, China but is still TBC due to China's COVID restrictions.
Presuming she's playing at Indian Wells next month, she'll need another good result.
Just found out she will need a wildcard or to qualify to play at Indian Wells, as the players list was confirmed before the US Open started.
From what I've read, she's due to play in the WTA event in Chicago in 2 weeks time.
No doubt about that - as seen in the Battle of the Brits last year, you could see all the players were a tight knit and close together as a group and Emma was a part of that group. I will say she looked out of place in that tournament, as the other players were older but I think all the players will be inspired from her win.
Now you mentioned it, I vaguely remember his name appearing I think whilst looking through Ceefax / Teletext. Think it was ranked around 300 at one point and usually was there around with Avind Parmar.
Konta is strange around social media and doesn't really post much about tennis on social media, very much posting about her home life, her holiday whilst the Olympics were on or recently on Team GB's medal winners at the Olympics. Perhaps it's something taught by her mental coach to keep the 2 things separate?
She did say congrats to Emma after winning.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Sept 14, 2021 0:50:09 GMT 1
Like rubcale, I'm confused by Watson climbing, guess she's benefitting in a way by not really having any points to defend. It wouldn't take much to get back into the top 50 now, which isn't something I thought I'd be saying this year. She had nothing to defend. The only points she was defending was the points she defended from the 1st round last year, which she defended from the previous year etc.
Her rise was due from some fallers who played the 3rd / 4th round last year and either didn't play or lost in the 1st round this year.
There's around 300 points difference between 50 and 59. Still a vast gap.
Watson has got some points to defend towards the end of the year and more importantly in the Australian Open (if it's still going ahead), as she's got 2nd round points to defend.
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Post by Panda on Sept 14, 2021 5:32:25 GMT 1
I remember Richardson from his playing days in the mid 90s. I seem to recall him playing Henman at Queen's one year.
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Post by rubcale on Sept 14, 2021 8:51:26 GMT 1
I don't think Emma Raducanu would have any trouble getting a wild card if she wants to play Indian Wells.
I'm in two minds as to whether she should play immediately or take a few weeks off to chill out and think her strategy through.
Quite funny that if she retains USO next year she will lose points (those gained from the Qualifying)!
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Sept 14, 2021 23:02:59 GMT 1
To be honest, it looks like Emma is having the time of her life over in New York doing TV interviews and the Met Gala. Also the fact she's staying in the US shows her intention to play more tournaments in the near future.
She's entered qualification at Indian Wells but as rubcale says, likely to be offered a wildcard.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Sept 22, 2021 1:14:40 GMT 1
Jo Konta's season looks to be over after she's withdrawn from Chicago and Indian Wells being held in the next few weeks, citing a groin injury which kept her out of the US Open.
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from Chicago next week, probably still recovering from the frenzy in the last month or so. Still no word on whether she's got a wildcard for Indian Wells but she's still on the qualification list. Interestingly she's registered herself to play in Moscow, which starts after IW - possibly setting some real expectations given her lack of experience on tour?
Heavy schedule for Andy Murray too - playing in a challenger last week, couple of ATP tournaments this and next week and possibly IW? He's getting the matches in for sure!
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Sept 24, 2021 18:42:58 GMT 1
Jo Konta's season looks to be over after she's withdrawn from Chicago and Indian Wells being held in the next few weeks, citing a groin injury which kept her out of the US Open. Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from Chicago next week, probably still recovering from the frenzy in the last month or so. Still no word on whether she's got a wildcard for Indian Wells but she's still on the qualification list. Interestingly she's registered herself to play in Moscow, which starts after IW - possibly setting some real expectations given her lack of experience on tour? Heavy schedule for Andy Murray too - playing in a challenger last week, couple of ATP tournaments this and next week and possibly IW? He's getting the matches in for sure! Yeah saw that she'd entered the Kremlin Cup and it was mentioned that it's the week after IW. Maybe she's being cautious and not expecting to go far at IW, but part of me wonders given that Moscow is confirmed and IW isn't (plus playing in Europe so soon after) that she won't play IW. Chicago would have been good preparation and she may be going in cold to IW? It was also suggested last week that she's going to be playing an event in Romania, which I hope will happen. She was asked on the homecoming event today that the BBC covered about where she'll be playing next and basically she didn't have a clue! One event that was confirmed during the 2nd week of the US Open was the Champions Tour event at the Royal Albert Hall at the end of November. As for Murray, think the reason for his heavy schedule is because he's desperate to get back into the top 100. If he continues his form for the rest of the year I'm hopeful he'll make it. Other bits and pieces: The WTA finals have been switched to Mexico. It was interesting that Raducanu gave away her phone for the duration of the US Open, and said she shut herself away from everything that was going on, especially as it means that someone else must have been posting updates on her Facebook page! Bruno Soares was taken ill on his flight to the Olympics and ended up missing the Olympics and having his appendix removed and hadn't played since, so makes getting to the final an achievement. When I talked about no girls coming through in the juniors I forgot about Matilda Mutavdzic.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Sept 25, 2021 2:34:39 GMT 1
I caught about 30 secs of the homecoming show, about the time they were about to re-enact the championship point ace against the machine. Whilst it's great British tennis is being showcased to be an accessible sport, I found the whole thing a little cringe. Interestingly Emma Raducanu has parted ways with her coach Andrew Richardson, stating she needs someone with WTA experience at a high level to guide her going forward. Presume she wants someone to mentally train to play with the expectation and pressure. For her sake, I hope she finds a coach she can settle with for a while and have a stable foundation. Begs the question why not stick with Nigel Sears but it sounds like maybe she wants someone younger?
I'll be surprised if she doesn't play IW but without a coach, I can see why she's downgrading her expectations.
On the Murray side, I'm just happy he's properly testing his fitness freely and perhaps getting some form in the run up to the Australian Open.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Sept 28, 2021 0:27:56 GMT 1
He was only there as a temporary measure, a familiar face as she negotiated what she probably thought was just the qualifying of a GS event in which she had never played.
The media coverage and insinuation of the issue is appalling. The MSM have been beyond repugnant lately.
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Tom
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Post by Tom on Sept 30, 2021 15:37:13 GMT 1
I caught about 30 secs of the homecoming show, about the time they were about to re-enact the championship point ace against the machine. Whilst it's great British tennis is being showcased to be an accessible sport, I found the whole thing a little cringe. Interestingly Emma Raducanu has parted ways with her coach Andrew Richardson, stating she needs someone with WTA experience at a high level to guide her going forward. Presume she wants someone to mentally train to play with the expectation and pressure. For her sake, I hope she finds a coach she can settle with for a while and have a stable foundation. Begs the question why not stick with Nigel Sears but it sounds like maybe she wants someone younger?
I'll be surprised if she doesn't play IW but without a coach, I can see why she's downgrading her expectations.
On the Murray side, I'm just happy he's properly testing his fitness freely and perhaps getting some form in the run up to the Australian Open.
Yeah I'm not sure the homecoming event was as good as I thought it was going to be, and it wasn't that long either only half an hour, but don't know whether the BBC2 showing was edited. The most interesting part for me was the chat with Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewitt. They seemed to be more open than Raducanu and Salisbury and felt like we learnt something new about them. Nigel Sears immediately sprung to mind as coach given what she's looking for. Think I heard the other day that she has now taken a wildcard into IW.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Oct 1, 2021 1:02:24 GMT 1
Nigel Sears immediately sprung to mind as coach given what she's looking for. Think I heard the other day that she has now taken a wildcard into IW. Indeed she has, along with Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters who have been offered wildcards too. I didn't realise (or maybe I forgot) Kim returned to play on the tour early last year before the pandemic took hold.
Come to think it of it now, although Nigel Sears can provide experience, I'm not sure if he wants to gallivant around the world again given his family status and Murray being back playing regularly on tour.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Oct 5, 2021 1:08:57 GMT 1
Bouncing back from a disappointing US Open, another final appearance for Cam Norrie in San Diego but he came across an in form Casper Ruud and lost in straight sets. He did beat some high profile scalps on his way to the final but it was his 5th ATP final this season and only won 1 title. Hopefully not a sign of things to come.
However it's great news again for Joe Salisbury who partnered with Neal Skupski and won the doubles title in San Diego. Ken Skupski and Jonny O'Mara won their doubles title in Bulgaria.
Thinking about the Davis Cup next month on the back of the recent doubles results, it's tricky who I would like to play the doubles rubber. Surely you'd play Joe but who would partner him? Jamie Murray after his US Open final appearance or Neal Skupski or even Andy Murray?
Indian Wells starts this week and Katie Boulter was seeded in the qualifiers. Unfortunately she lost her opening qualifying match to a 16 year old American. Jeremy Bates (who was already due to be at IW coaching Katie) will be coaching Emma Raducanu on a temporary basis whilst she finds a full time coach. At least there will be a familiar face around her whilst she can focus a bit more on the tennis.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Oct 7, 2021 23:32:02 GMT 1
Heather Watson's miserable season continues with another first round loss against Sloane Stephens at IW. This was despite being a set and break up in the 2nd set before completely breaking down in the 3rd set.
Apparently this is her 7th first round loss in her last 8 tournaments. Some
Andy and Emma play their respective matches tomorrow night (US time) - in Andy's case hopefully with a spare pair of trainers and his wedding ring...
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Dec 1, 2021 15:59:03 GMT 1
As predicted by some here (to some extent), Johanna Konta has announced her retirement from playing tennis. No particular reasons cited other than she's grateful for having the chance to fulfill her opportunity. I suspect the injury she had is long term but also thinking of life ahead after settling into her new home life.
Really hope she stays around the LTA or in the tennis world, as I think she'll be great to have around in a mental health related capacity.
GB have been in Davis Cup action this week but lost narrowly to Germany (who was without Zverev) last night. Slightly disappointing result given the recent form of the players and Germany not having their star player playing.
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