In awe of a narky Scottish God

[Janik]

No.3 being Aljaz Bedene of course. He was the only Brit playing singles at Tour level, doing so at Umag. His R1 win was against Joao Sousa. However he has subsequently lost in R2 to #4 Paolo Lorenzi. Bedene has a chance of revenge for that today as he also plays Lorenzi in the Doubles QFs, in tandem with Inglot (Lorenzi w/ Dutra Silva). Bedene/Inglot got the this stage with a win over the #4 seeds. The number 4 and Lorenzi would appear to Bedene’s themes of the week.
Doubles provided the only full Tour action on the Women’s side, with Smith/Melichar playing Gstaad. They were the #2 seeds, but lost to Komardina/Knoll in R1.

Down on the ITF circuit the biggest event is a $100k+H in Astana. That attracted Naomi Broady, Harriet Dart and Tara Moore. Broady, the no.2 seed, is through to the QFs where she will play Ysaline Bonaventure (a run to the final would likely lift Broady back inside the top 100, though it would be a week too late for her to make the US Open main draw cut). The other two went out in R1 of the singles. Dart/Moore also exited the doubles in R1 as they teamed up and lost to Broady/Bonaventure. This pair have just won their doubles QF, so can put that on the back burner and concentrate on facing each other in the singles last eight tomorrow.
The $25k in Gatineau, Quebec attracted Katie Swan, Samantha Murray and Emily Webley-Smith. Murray made it through qualifying and has now reached R2 of the main draw, where she will play top seed Olivia Rogowska (Aus). Webley-Smith also made her way through qualifying but lost to another who followed the same path in R1, whilst Swan got a direct entry but was beaten by Aleksandra Woznaik. All three are still in the doubles, with Webley-Smith/Birrell through to the SFs, where they will face Murray/Swan is they can win their QF against the #2 seeds.
Two other Brits played and lost in the qualifying rounds; Suzy Larkin falling in q3 in $25k Tianjin, Mirabelle Njoze falling in q1 in $60k Bursa.

Gatineau is both on the ITF and ATP Challenger circuit (as is Astana, but that has not attracted any British Men). Liam Broady played the singles but as with Bedene didn’t back up his R1 win (he is #8 on Etienne's list above) which came over Blaz Rola, losing to #8 Vicent Millot in R2. Ed Corrie also played in the singles, but he went out in q2. Two half-British pairs were seeds in the Canadian doubles, #2 Bambridge/O’Hare and #3 Salisbury/Chaplin. Hmm, so the Salisbury/O’Hare partnership has broken up, then? Anyway, Bambridge/O’Hare were fresh off a title in Winnipeg, but lost in R1. As did Salisbury/Chaplin, for that matter.

[Etienne]

The vast majority of the UK players who I mentioned are playing in a 25k in Dublin. However, it's rained ever since round 1, with only the doubles matches being played (presumably indoors) with more British success as Clayton and O'Mara have reached the final against Glaspool and Peter Bothwell (who is Irish)

[Etienne]

Sam Murray managed to beat Rogowska in a very tight three setter. A really good result for her.

[Janik]

She followed that up by winning her doubles QF w/ Swan. So that is the #1 seed for singles and #2 seeds for doubles taken down in a day. Good day. Broady/Swan face Webley-Smith/Birrell in the Semi, so there is sure to be at least one Brit in a final this week.

Not as positive for Naomi Broady as she was beaten by Ysaline Bonaventure in the Astana QFs. A return to the top 100 remains on hold. Broady and Bonaventure are currently back on court, this time in tandem, for the doubles QF against the top seeds. They were in sight of victory at a set and 4-2 up, but have just lost a bunch in a row and are now a break down in the second set.

Full tour doubles action yesterday was also positive, as Bedene/Inglot beat Dutra Silva/Lorenzi in Umag. They now face a Semi against the Draganja brothers.

[Janik]

Various bans for Nasatse and a fine after the Fed Cup incidents. Yhese bans don't apply to Slams, the ATP and WTA Tours as those are outside the ITF's jurisdiction. It would be good if all three groups adopted the bans publically.

Nasatse had said that he would walk away from Tennis if he was punished over his actions. Well, fuck off then, you racist, sexist scumbag.

[Janik]

Sam Murray lost her singles QF in Gatineau, then one her or Swan had to retire in the doubles SF against Webley-Smith/Birrell. They now play top seeds Kuwata/Savinykh in today's final.
Broady/Bonaventure's match with the top seeds yesterday was the Semi in Astana, not the Quarter as I claimed. They won it and are now about to play #2 Dzalamidze/Kudermetova in the final.

So two doubles finalists this week at ITF level. But none at full Tour, as Inglot/Bedene list to Draganja/Draganja in the Umag Demis.

[Etienne]

Swan has withdrawn from next week's tournament, so assume it was her injury/niggle.

In Dublin, Ryan Storrie and Tom Farquharson (unfair to judge, but I'm guessing not from a gritty working class background, unlike so many British tennis players!) have reached the semi-final. In both cases that is likely to send them 150+ places up the rankings, and more if they can progress further. Storrie has knocked out the top seed, so has nothing to fear, while Farquharson beat Glasspool in the Quarter-Final. Glasspool also lost in the doubles final to Clayton and O'Mara.

[Etienne]

Storrie demolished the 4th seed, and WR 436 Remi Boutillier in the semi-final, 0 & 2. Storrie does seem a bit inconsistent, but his best is clearly pretty good.

Farquharson has taken the first set.

[Etienne]

The final will be Ryan Storrie WR 1045 vs Tom Farquharson WR 1051.
To indicate how good an achievement this is, the winner will be moving up into the 600s, and the runner up into the 700s.

[Janik]

Farquharson won.
According to the ITF his coach is Sandy Farquharson. I'm assuming that is his dad. Scottish posh?

Neither of the half-British doubles pairs playing finals won; Broady/Bonaventure were well beaten in Astana and Webley-Smith/Birrell rather more narrowly so in Gatineau.


As for the coming week, full tour action is as follows:

Aljaz Bedene plays the singles and doubles of the ATP500 clay court event in Hamburg. He plays Rogerio Dutra Silva in R1 of the singles and w/Simon vs Mektic/Siljestrom in the dubs. Kyle Edmund is just in the singles in Atlanta as the US hard court swing kicks off. He is the 5th seed, and faces Marcos Baghdatis in R1. Kyle needs some results (see the disparity between his rolling ranking and YTD one as mentioned up thread).
There is also a singles main draw presence on the WTA after Harriet Dart made her way through qualifying in Nanchang. This is quite a significant milestone in Dart's career, as it will be only her second ever WTA Tour main draw match (her first was at Eastbourne in 2015, l to Cibulkova). Indeed the wins in qualifying in Nanchang represent only the third and fourth victories she has managed in a WTA q-draw. And indeed Nanchang was the first time in her career that she had even got into a WTA event or WTA qualifying off her own bat; her previous handful of efforts were all UK events via wild cards. Dart's reward for getting through is a shot at #4 seed and WR51 Wang Qiang, who was last seen taking Venus to three in R2 of Wimbledon.
Tara Moore was also in the q-draw in Nanchang, but her dreadful season continued as she lost in q1 to a lower ranked player. That leaves just one other player playing WTA stuff - Anna Smith, who is the top seed in Båstad alongside Melichar.

[Various Artist]

Just read that article on Aleksandra Wozniak you linked to above, Janik. A truly eyeopening read on what it's like scrapping to get by at the lower rungs of pro tennis.

[Janik]

Harriet Dart’s run in Nanchang ended in R1, beaten in straight sets by #4 Wang Qiang. Hopefully she has a sense of pride in doing it for herself, and she definitely has $2,100 to help pay for things. No other Tour action so far this week, though Aljaz Bedene (singles and doubles) and Kyle Edmund are due up later today. Bedene’s singles opponent has changed; it is now a lucky loser bearing the magnificently Spanish handle of Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (representing the Dominican Republic).

Down a level to the Challengers, where Cameron Norrie, Ed Corrie and James Hignett were in Binghampton, New York. Norrie and Corrie both got direct main draw entries (Corrie as an alternate) whilst Hignett, who is a new name on me, got a qwc and lost immediately. Norrie plays #3 Ramkumar Ramanathan in R1, whilst Corrie faces a qualifier, Dekel Bar. All three are also in the doubles, Norrie w/ Rybakov (they are through to the QFs already), Hignett w/ Mendler on another WC and Corrie w/ Role and a tough R1 assignment against the #2 seeds.
There is also an event in Granby, Quebec, with a slightly higher purse. That one has attracted Liam Broady, Luke Bambridge and Joe Salisbury. All begun their singles campaigns in the qualies, which Broady has won through and Bambridge is yet to play his final round of. Salisbury lost in q2. Bambridge/O’Hare, Salisbury/Withrow and Broady/Purcell are all in the doubles. Bambridge/O’Hare are the top seeds and face Broady/Purcell in R1 (David O’Hare will be looking for revenge there as Bambridge beat him in singles q), whilst #2 seeds Salisbury/Withrow have a wild carded Canadian pair first up.

Granby is a combined Men’s and Women’s event, one which happens to feature many of the protagonists in that NY Times article. Fanny Stollar is the #5 seed, Aleksandra Wozniak is involved and Elena Bovina was involved in the qualifying. Indeed Bovina beat Emily Webley-Smith in q2 before losing in final q to Jessika Ponchet, who had beaten Samantha Murray in the previous round. However defeat wasn’t the end of Bovina’s singles involvement as she has landed a lucky loser spot and now plays Katy Dunne in R1 of the main draw. One other Brit is involved in R1 by right, number 7 seed Katie Boulter. She plays Sherazad Reix first up. Bovina also figures in the doubles as she is partnering Murray. Their R1 opponents are fellow half-British pairing Dunne/Patterson. Webley-Smith/Sema are the #3 seeds for the dubs.
The only other player in action on the ITF circuit was Suzy Larkin who reached, but ten lost in, final qualifying in Hua Hin, Thailand.

[Satchmo Distel]

RIP Peter Doohan.

[Antepli Ejderha]

RIP Peter Doohan.

I've just read that he's passed away, remember the name more than anything else. RIP.

[Janik]

Doohan's name came up during a Wimbledon match where Pat Cash was the co-commentator, and Cash said how badly ill he was. So both not a surprise for anyone who heard that, and a terrible shame at the same time.

[Janik]

Update:

Kyle Edmund is through to the QFs in Atlanta after wins over Marcos Baghdatis and Peter Gojowczyk. He plays #1 Jack Sock in the last eight today.
Edmund is the only Brit left involved at the full tour, as Aljaz Bedene went out of the Hamburg singles in R2 (three set defeat to #3 Karen Khachanov following an easy win over Jose Hernandez-Fernandez in R1) and the doubles in R1 w/Simon and Smith/Melichar lost in R1 of Bastad Doubles.

Still one action at Challenger level as Cameron Norrie (who, like Edmund, needs some better results) has made it through to the QFs in Binghampton following wins over #3 Ramkumar Ramanathan and Daniel Ngyuen. He plays #8 Blaz Rola in the last eight. Ed Corrie went out in R2 to Dominik Köpfer, having beaten Dekel Bar first up. Norrie is also through to the Doubles SFs w/ Rybarkov, where he will face Nguyen again as well as Kudla. Both his Singles QF and Doubles SF are today. The two other Brits at this event, Corrie and Hignett, both exited the Doubles at the first hurdle.
When we last popped into Granby Luke Bambridge was about to play his final qualifying match in the singles. He lost it. That left Liam Broady as the only Brit in the men's main draw; he won his R1 encounter with Marc Polmans but then lost to #1 Blaz Kavcic in R2. The Brits-on-both-sides-of-the-net doubles match between Bambridge/O'Hare and Broady/Purcell went the way of the top seeds (that is Broady/O'Hare). Unfortunately they subsequently lost in the QFs. At the other extreme of the draw #2 Salisbury/Withrow are through to the last four, where they will meet the #3 seeded pair.
On the Women's side in Granby, Katie Boulter is through to the QFs after wins over Sherazad Reix and Alexa Guaracha. Boulter now faces #2 Marie Bouzkova in an all-seeded QF today (Boulter is #7 for this event). Bouzkova reached this round by beating Elena Bovina in R2 following Bovina's win over Katy Dunne in R1. There was a R1 Women's doubles pitting two half-British pairs against each other just as in the Men's, Dunne/Patterson edging out Murray/Bovina. Their QF is today, and if they win it the SF follows later on. The Semi won't be against Webley-Smith/Sema though as the #3 seeded pair lost in the QFs.

[Janik]

Really good win for Kyle Edmund over Jack Sock in the Atlanta Quarters, running away with the match from trailing 4-3 in the opening set by winning 9 out of the next 10 games. Edmund plays #4 seed Ryan Harrison in the Semi (Kyle is seeded #5). This is a potentially big moment in his career, as he is yet to make an ATP World Tour final. The other Semi is #2 Isner vs #3 Muller, making Sock, the only top 20 player who entered the event, also the only one of the top seeds not to make the last four.

Whilst Edmund is playing Ryan Harrison in Georgia, Cameron Norrie will be facing his brother Christian Harrison in the Semis in Binghamton, NY. This follows Norrie beating Blaz Rola in yesterday's QF (Harrison beat #2 Bublik to also reach this stage). Norrie will be hoping for better fortune in the singles Semi today as he and Rybakov had in losing their doubles last four match yesterday.

Over in Granby, Katie Boulter went down to #2 Marie Bouzkova in the singles QFs, whilst in doubles Dunne/Paterson lost heavily in the Women's QF, only for Salisbury/Withrow to provide some cheer by winning in the Men's SF.

I think that counts as a pretty good day overall

[Southport Zeb]

I note that Harrison beat Christopher Eubanks in his quarter final. This raises an important question - are players allowed to wear monocles on court?

[Janik]

No reason why not. Eubanks has often sported a yellow jacket (kit).

If Edmund wins his Semi, he will face John Isner in the final. Isner hasn't been broken all week in Atlanta. Indeed he is barely losing points on his serve, just seven combined in R2 and his QF. Isner clearly finds this court conducive to his game; the tournament was first played in 2010 and since then the only final he didn't feature in was in 2012. He won the title in '13, '14 and '15.

Edmund vs Harrison starts at midnight, btw, and will be live on British Eurosport 1.

[Satchmo Distel]

Isner also won last week's event in Newport RI

[Janik]

Kyle Edmund takes the first set from Ryan Harrison on a tie-break. Not the most inspiring Tennis - all power and almost a total absence of subtlety. It's like that because the surface is lightening fast, which I suppose should have been clear by Isner's seven finals in eight years and some of the other names who have made it to the title match such as Roddick, Muller, Anderson and Kyrgios (last year's champion).

Edmund has had a few issues with his ball toss, which was beginning to get under Harrison's skin a little. Something similar apparently occurred to Harrison's kid brother as well earlier, with Cameron Norrie struggling to throw it up straight. That would appear to be the sum of any issues Norrie experienced as he beat Christian H 2&2. Norrie has been in one Challenger Final previously, which he lost. So an important day for him tomorrow.

If Edmund wins it will be 3/3 today as Salisbury/Withrow claimed the Granby doubles title.

[San Bernardhinault]

One astonishing stat I saw about Isner is that he's held service for 69 straight games now across something like 7 matches.

[Janik]

69 straight holds for Isner? That's just a sets worth...

It will be Harrison trying to end that run sneak/through on breakers. Edmund's propensity to play one shonky servic game per set proved too much of a hurdle.

[Sam]

69 straight holds for Isner? That's just a sets worth...

Pretty good, that. Took me a minute.

[Janik]

A minute? Took big John rather longer...
Isner won the final, btw. Two breakers. He did lose his serve once in the second set, so didn't manage the whole tournament unbroken. Which must be a pretty rare achievement.

On the Brit front, Cameron Norrie claimed his first ever Challenger level title by beating Jordan Thompson (the man who beat Murray at Queens) in three. Slightly bizarre score; 6-4 0-6 6-4.