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The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

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    #51
    The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

    US style brackets, seeing as these are essentially 8-person mini-tournaments. Including Ward for completeness/obsessiveness.

    Men's

    Denis Kudla USA [4] b Daniel Cox GBr 6-4 6-1
    John-Patrick Smith Aus b Benjamin Mitchell Aus 7-5 6-3
    Axel Michon Fra b Alex Bolt Aus [WC] 6-4 3-6 11-9
    Alex Kuznetsov USA [20] b Theodoros Angelinos Gre 7-6(1) 6-4

    Jan Hernych Cze b Marc Gicquel Fra [11] 6-7(6) 6-1 6-1
    Vincent Millot Fra b Bradley Mousley Aus [WC] 6-2 6-4
    Marton Fucsovics Hun b Benjamin Balleret Mon 6-1 6-2
    Daniel Evans GBr [26] b Huang Liang-Chi Tpe 6-1 6-2

    Rajeev Ram USA [15] b Marco Cecchinato Ita 6-1 7-5
    Blaz Rola Slo b Alessio di Mauro Ita 7-6(2) 6-4
    Andrea Arnaboldi* Ita b James Ward GBr 7-6(2) 6-4
    Pierre-Hugues Herbert Fra [27] b Amir Weintraub Isr 6-7(10) 6-5 8-6

    * - who he, James?!?

    Women's

    Johanna Konta GBr [3] v Grace Min USA
    Sachie Isizu Jpn v Olga Savchuk Ukr
    Ana Konjuh Cro [WC] v Diana Marcinkevica Lat
    Nigina Abduraimova Uzb v Mathilde Johansson Fra [18]

    Heather Watson GBr [7] v Arina Rodionova Aus [WC]
    Stephanie Foretz Gacon Fra v Tammi Patterson Aus [WC]
    Maria Elena Camerin Ita v Chanel Simmonds RSA
    Zheng Saisai Chn v Irina Falconi USA [23]

    Vera Dushevina Rus [10] v Ilona Kremen Blr
    Erika Sema Jpn v Tara Moore GBr
    Tamira Paszek Aut v Sara Tomic Aus [WC]
    Duan Ying-Ying Chn v Sesil Karatantcheva Kaz [22]

    Comment


      #52
      The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

      Thoughts;

      Tough start for Cox. But if he can get past Kudla, it looks promising.

      Evans is rocking already. Hernych is a very experienced guy, so he looks the main stumbling block.

      Ward - oh dear. I've not heard of Arnaboldi at all before.

      Konta has landed in a tough looking bracket. Min is another of the promising young American players. Then probably Savchuk, who definitely knows her way around the court. And finally Johansson, who is an experienced tour pro or the wild card (in both senses) of Konjuh who was the Girls Champion in Melbourne and also New York last year and world junior #1. If Konta makes the main draw, she will have really earned her spot.

      Watson has a somewhat smoother looking path. The most interesting thing about her first opponent, Ar. Rodionova is that she is only Australian for Slams, being Russian for the rest of the year. Her sister, Anatasia, is Australian all year round, though... Foretz Gacon is likely in q2, who is a journeyman player of the sort that Watson is good at beating. As is likely to be the q3 opponent, be it Falconi or Camerin.

      Finally, Moore. Her q1 opponent is not a name I know so I assume it will be OK, but q2 looks a problem. Dushevina is a solid tour player with a tour title and other finals to her name, in what ought to be her peak playing years (she is 27). And if Moore gets past that, then Pazsek lurks. She was seeded in 30 in the main draw last year (and also seeded at Roland Garros and Wimbledon), but had a disastrous run through most of 2013 to drop down to #180 currently. However the class must still be in there somewhere, as she proved when beating Konta twice in ITF events at the back end of last year, defeats which we can now see cost Konta a main draw spot.

      Comment


        #53
        The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

        Hmm, that post again shows my knowledge is skewed towards the WTA rather than the ATP. So, SSK, anyone notable amongst the names that the Daniels have to get past, beyond Kudla and Hernych?

        Comment


          #54
          The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

          Scratch the part about Cox. Kudla wins 6-4 6-1. Must have been ongoing as I was typing. Anything on Evans next opponent, Márton Fucsovics?

          Comment


            #55
            The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

            No, the name Fucsovics vaguely rings a bell but I don't know anything about him. My first thought was he may have played in Hungary's Davis Cup tie against us two years ago but apparently not. He won his first match very comfortably but I think Balleret is a total clay courter - I'm surprised he bothered making the trip really - so that doesn't say a lot.

            If it's Hernych though that will be tough. As you say, he has a lot of experience and Evans was very lucky to win their match in Doha, winning 13 fewer points in the match. You don't see that a lot. But on the plus side, perhaps that result will give Dan confidence and prey on Hernych's mind.

            That's a pretty bad result from Ward, I don't know Arnaboldi either but as he's Italian I'm going to go out on a limb and say clay courter. It doesn't matter much though as I doubt he'd have got past Pierre-Hugues Herbert in round 2. He looks like a pretty useful prospect, he demolished (an admittedly disgracefully disinterested) Benoit Paire in the first round of the Paris Masters and was playing some great aggressive shots in the process. He then took Djokovic to a tie break in the first set of their second round match. He would have beaten Ward and ought to break the top 100 this year.

            Not really anything to add to your WTA analysis. Paszek will be too good for Moore if she's anywhere near her best, though she is a bit of a streaky ballbasher so it's not beyond possibility that she could implode and beat herself in one of the three rounds.

            Watson really has to get through her section, it's weak.

            Comment


              #56
              The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

              Why does Arina Rodionova change her nationality for slams. Is it to do with a Grand Slam hosting nation having better access to wild cards?

              Comment


                #57
                The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                I can only assume so - the Aussies have a mutual arrangement with the French and Americans to trade wild cards for each others' slams. Quite why the Aussie Tennis Federation lets her do it though is anyone's guess. Janik?

                Comment


                  #58
                  The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                  Tennis Australia seem to be making agreements with nearly everyone on wild cards. Wozniak got one into qualifying, which appears to be a new reciprocal arrangement for an Aussie to get a wild card into the Canadian Open (?qualifiers?). Its getting close to the point where hardly any Australian youngsters get a run at their own event, as all the wild cards are going to French, American, Chinese and Canadian players.

                  As for Arina Rodionova, her application for Australian citizenship was refused, whereas Anastasia's was approved. God knows why. But Arina then applied for residence, and got that. The federation she represents is similarly a halfway house, maybe as a consequence. Dunno who she would play Fed Cup for if selected. Maybe she would choose to rise serenely above such a question and play for neither...

                  Comment


                    #59
                    The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                    I'd assume Australia as the slams and Fed Cup are both ITF whereas the rest of the WTA Tour is independent.

                    Is Wozniak a reciprocal agreement with Canada, or just that a relatively decent player who's been out with a lot of injuries probably deserves one on merit?

                    Comment


                      #60
                      The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                      Could be that for Wozniak, I guess. Should stop giving credence to random people spouting off on the internet, I guess.

                      Talking of which, some thoughts on who is on form or otherwise.

                      Comment


                        #61
                        The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                        wrong thread

                        Comment


                          #62
                          The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                          still wrong thread

                          Comment


                            #63
                            The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                            Why are you here? Make your way over to the correct thread.

                            It would take a fool of epic proportions to post general stuff on the British thread, or British stuff on the general, wouldn't it?

                            Comment


                              #64
                              The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                              Evans and Moore both out in straight sets. Watson and Konta both win in 2, very comfortably in Konta's case.

                              Comment


                                #65
                                The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                Good news, bad news from todays qualifying play

                                The good;
                                Wins for Heather Watson, 6-4 6-3 over Arina Rodionova, and Johanna Konta, impressively comprehensively 6-2 6-1 over Grace Min. Solid starts for both, but as noted up thread there is more work to do if they want to defend their points from the 2013 Aussie.
                                As an aside, Konta is now the top seed left in the qualies as Sharon Fichman and Coco Vandeweghe were both beaten in q1.

                                The bad;
                                After all the stressing about whether Moore would get in or not, she is out straight away, beaten 0-6 5-7 by Erika Sema. More disappointingly (Sema is ranked higher than Moore after all) is Dan Evans going down 4-6 1-6 to Matron Fucsovics. Jan Hernych also lost, so the final round in that qualifying section is Fucsovics vs Millot, which is not as projected.

                                Comment


                                  #66
                                  The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                  Next up for Konta is Olga Savchuk, and for Watson its Stephanie Foretz Gacon.

                                  Comment


                                    #67
                                    The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                    Foretz Gacon made her professional debut two months before Ana Konjuh was born. I don't see all that many professional tennis players who are older than me any more, especially on the women's side.

                                    While her career may be long though it's far from distinguished and Watson really has to be winning this. They have a 2-2 record but SFG's two came when Watson was only 18 with the Brit winning the two more recent clashes. I'm sure she'll have the experience to make things difficult but it won't be a good sign for Heather if she loses.

                                    Savchuk, while not as old as SFG (or indeed me), is in the same category really as someone who has been around a long time without really achieving a lot. It will be tough for Konta but Savchuk is the sort of player she has to be beating if she wants to become a top 100 player.

                                    Having looked Fucsovics up I see he's a former Junior Wimbledon winner and is still only 21 so perhaps a decent talent for the future. Still, Evans should have made it more competitive.

                                    Some other bad news to come through overnight is that Jamie Murray and John Peers retired from their doubles match without a game being completed. Hopefully whichever of them is injured it's only precautionary as they had a great year last year and have now got their rankings up high enough to get into much better tournaments. Missing this would be a real blow.

                                    The other three British/part-British teams in Australia are all done for the week as well, while the Skupski brothers missed the cut by four places. Without doing the maths to the nth degree, I'm pretty sure if they'd won the title in Moscow (they lost the match tie break 12-14) they'd have made it.

                                    Comment


                                      #68
                                      The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                      OK, seeing as all the minor level Brits are out, time to start picking over the bones.

                                      I'll start with Heather Watson.

                                      As was said on the Aussie Open thread, by many in the media and by the player herself, there are lots of emotional positives to take from how she has acquitted herself. But there is also the stark reality, which has been limitedly and slightly grudgingly acknowledged, that she flies back north 125 ranking points worse off than when she departed.
                                      In the very short term, things could get worse before they get better as she has another 100 points out of a post-Aussie Open total of just 405 on the line in February.

                                      Her status in w/c 27th Jan gives a clue as to the problems she now faces. She has signed herself up for the Paris Indoor WTA Premier event. Except the acceptance lists for that have come out, and even based as they are on todays rankings, she is outside the cut to even play the qualies. Not even in the top three alternates as things stand. But it was a tough choice, as the only sensible ITF event to play is still in Australia! Two weeks further down the line, with the Qatar Open, there will be a further 30-40 players ahead of her in the pecking order, as the ranking change will have taken affect by then.

                                      She needs a good tournament run pretty darn fast is she wants to get into the qualifiers of the two big US-based events in March (cut-offs for the qualies last year were 156 for Indian Wells and 129 for Miami). Sitting out weeks in early Feb is not ideal, then.

                                      Comment


                                        #69
                                        The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                        Next is Tara Moore.

                                        Not a great deal to say on her. She sneaked into the qualies and then got beaten straight away. This prompted an instant, and I really mean instant return to the ITF circuit.
                                        She won a $10k event in Glasgow last January; after being eliminated in Melbourne she got in touch with the tournament directors for this years version about a wild card into qualifying (points to defend, y'see, if only 12 of them).
                                        This was granted, so she flew halfway around the globe and basically straight on to a Tennis court.
                                        Must have come as a shock for her opponent in the qualifiers, a player without any WTA rankings points, to be facing a player who had been playing in a Slam a handful of days previously. Moore won 6-3 6-3 and can now begin to get over the jet-lag.

                                        Comment


                                          #70
                                          The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                          She must really love playing tennis.

                                          Comment


                                            #71
                                            The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                            Well quite, but that's the life if you're outside the top 100. And if she gets the wrong draw at Wimbledon and gets thrashed in the first round, things like this won't register when the Daily Mail run a story about her earning £16k for an hour's work. Nor will the fact that £16k probably doesn't go all that far in flying yourself and a coach round the world to play tournaments with low prize money the rest of the year.

                                            Comment


                                              #72
                                              The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                              Considering Tara's latest event is about 30 minutes walk from my home, i am tempted to have a wander down at the weekend and take in a match. I have never seen a professional tennis match live and i assume that even these ladies would impress when it is in the flesh.

                                              Comment


                                                #73
                                                The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                                Do it, it should be impressive, depending on what facilities they actually have for spectators (possibly not much). Doubles is really impressive live as well, great reflexes. It might well be free as well, futures and women's 10ks often are.

                                                Crikey, Tara's playing the doubles as well. Trooper.

                                                We used to have a challenger here in Surbiton which was cool, it was a warm-up for Wimbledon. Tsonga won it one year.

                                                Comment


                                                  #74
                                                  The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                                  Moore's globetrotting was worth it as she picks up the title in Glasgow. Onto glamorous Sunderland next for a $25k.

                                                  A nice win for Kyle Edmund as well, bagging a futures title on clay in Florida.

                                                  Comment


                                                    #75
                                                    The Andy (and Jo (and Jamie)) show: British Tennis 2016

                                                    I didn't go as i woke up on the Saturday feeling rather off colour. Perhaps it was the come down after going to see The Wolf of Wall Street on Friday night. I have never taken recreational drugs in my life but after 3 hours of that movie, it felt like i had.

                                                    Comment

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