Week 30 - Challenger ($125,000) - Astana II, Kazakhstan (Hard)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Week 30 - Challenger ($125,000) - Astana II, Kazakhstan (Hard)

Bright Spark · Lower Club Player

Would be interesting to see a Kyle v Oli match, should the latter qualify.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Oli is 1st up tomorrow morning at 11am local time. If my maths is correct, that is 6am UK time or 7am for moi.

BeefyDeedz · Pro player

Looks like Oli should qualify, he's been given a seemingly kind Q draw. Kyle looks to have a not-too-bad draw with a good R32, relatively kind R16 and a prospectively tough QF. Still a chance for decent points and then a good test. Tougher draw for Dave but again, a nice R32 match for him.

Priesty · Challenger level

Hopefully Oli can pick up a few wins to get his confidence back after the recent Milts fiasco and this week's loss from holding 5 MPs. Such things can be the start of a major mental block unless they are nipped in the bud.

paulisi · Tennis legend

I'm not sure you can call it the recent Milts fiasco. Milts did win the tournament.

Don't forget Oli has to win two matches to qualify and he may be jet lagged.

If Oli qualifies the draw is fairly kind, but will want to avoid Kyle

It's not the strongest 125k I have ever seen, so great opportunities to pick up decent points given the draws.

Dave will be pleased with that draw and a win should cover his costs for the week.

5pts for qualifying, 9ts for a first round win

Priesty · Challenger level

I was referring to the fact that he lost from a set and 4-1 up and then 5-0 up in the 3rd but as you say Milts was obviously on form too. Just hope the recent experiences of losing from big winning positions doesn't start to affect him too much psychologically.

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, Priesty, I agree.

Much as I support Oli, well most certainly his potential, and recognise Josh Milton's ability and overall performance that week, I think "fiasco" was a reasonable description of that match, a much more extreme example compared to Oli's late slump last week from missed MPs, but still a break up.

Hopefully he has learned some useful lessons from recent events rather than say just think that somehow the fates are against him.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Priesty wrote:
I was referring to the fact that he lost from a set and 4-1 up and then 5-0 up in the 3rd but as you say Milts was obviously on form too. Just hope the recent experiences of losing from big winning positions doesn't start to affect him too much psychologically.

I agree. And with Indy too. Losing a match from those scores is a complete embarrassing disaster.

BUT it's only one match (and, yes, I know there was a similar one a week or two later). Plenty of others have done the same and lived to tell the tale. Time to cut to the chase, Oliver.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Q2: (1) Oliver Golding WR 351 beat (wc) Vladimir Gnilozubov (UKR) UNR 6-0 6-3

FQR: (1) Oliver Golding WR 351 v (5) Yaraslav Shyla (BLR) WR 591 (=CH)

paulisi · Tennis legend

Potential banana skin in FQR??? The way Oli has player recently and against a guy on the up.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

paulisi wrote:
Potential banana skin in FQR??? The way Oli has player recently and against a guy on the up.

Why would he be a banana skin ? The guy's done nothing this year (made two futures final, I think, but lost in the R16 or QFs of all the others, and got knocked out in qualifying in all the challengers).

Oliver could obviously still lose but that'll be, on the stats, because Oli messes up, not because Shyla is an under-ranked potentially scary player.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Dave Rice really branching out now:

R1: Ilija Bozoljac (SRB) & Dave Rice CR 556 (336+219) vs Roberto Ortega & Jaime Pulgar (ESP/ESP) CR 662 (327+335)

Bozo at least has a bit of pedigree: he & his fellow Serb, Goran Tosic, took the title in Recanati yesterday, beating Cluskey & Grigelis (also unseeded) in three.

Jeff Stelling · Club Coach

paulisi wrote:
I'm not sure you can call it the recent Milts fiasco.

You most definitely can call it the recent Milts fiasco. Firstly he was playing Josh Milton and secondly it was a fiasco.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Oli was a set up and 4-4, but managed to lose the second set and a break down in the final set.

It's all in his head and needs to sit down with a sports psychologist.