ATP Queens

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

ATP Queens

RobC · All-time great

Pavel and Tsonga are out, as is Kim......Luzzi, Patience and Zib to go

johnnylad · Tennis legend

So its May vs Kuznetsov set 3.

First of all, its important include at this point that Kuznetsov has been blurring the boundaries of professionalism/gamesmanship. Don't think the ref was timing him between points and MAy was too much of a gentleman to say anything but he was taking aaaaaaaaagggggggggeeeeeeesssssss and it was doing my head in. I had a word with him form the side when he queried a call on a May winner. I just said it was clearly in and he eyeballed me!

(later when I was watching Safin warm up behind me I was struck by a ball. Revenge of the tennis player!)

Jim upped his level again and looked great the whole of the third set. He was getting a good look in on all of Kuznetsov's games as well. It gets good now. I am standing next to Kusnetsov's coach now and he is doing well to look cool, especially with me mouthing off about the time being taken between points and the fact thar his man was getting 5, yes 5 balls from the ball girls and sending 3 back before every point. I tihnk its despicable.

SO Kuznetsov is serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the third and Jim plays two great points with punishing groundstrokes, getting to the net and putting him away. Its 0-30.

Now it gets good. Jim plays another blinding point forcing Kuznetsov really deep with his groundstrokes and hits what he thinks is a winner, but AK just reaches it and sends up a feeble lob. Now we see the difference between a journeyman Brit and a real hardened touring pro. Jim, after what seems like a century of the ball looping over towards his side of the court, finall yrealises it might reach over the net and advances to put away the smash. The burly, strong 25 year old man suddenly turns into a mouse and seems to shrink away from the ball but eventually gets his racket to it and puts it away. But because he didn't prepare for the shot properly I see out of the corner of my eyes his racket still coming down and its oh, so close to the net. Disaster. TOUCH, call sthe umpire and its 15-30 instead of 0-40. The american coach goes

! "You never see that!"

"What a let off!"

So even though May got it to 15-40 for 2 match points and had another chance at Advantage May later in the game I think that lost him the chance of the match and a good go at qualifying. The way he was playing after that was head down and he had no chance in the tie break. He'd almost given it up.

I think May has the weapons to keep going for a few years. Definitely in doubles but he'll be dangerous at Nottingham qualies, and the grasscourt futures and challengers this summer. He needs to get tougher though1 He as very gentleanly. Every Kuznetsov winner was greeted with a "nice Shot!", or a "well done" or a "yep! Too good."

Gutted I walked away thinking my day was over.

Only to see James ward was playing Dusan Vemic on Court 2. Hurray! I quickly found a seat high above the line of the net and settled in!

more later!

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

These blogs are great Johnnylad...particularly as they're coming at completely random moments in thread. Thanks

johnnylad · Tennis legend

Yeah, sorry about that. And its a pity its 5 or 6 days late.

Last blog and photo links.

Ward Vemic was great fun in the first set. Ward was much more impressive than he was against Evans and was extra solid form the back. Breaking early and serving out for 6-4.

Vemic really started to show his class and was extracting the michael at times in the second set. At least trying to. With drop shots and lobs he was trying to make Ward look stupid but to James' credit most of the time he was getting to the ball and putting it back in play. Did really well to nearly come back but couldn't make it.

Vemic realised what was at stake in the third set and played the percentages more rather than trying to be flashy. He was clearly a very talented player. A mix between the genius of Bahrami and the skill/guile of a top 50 player. I thought Ward did very well to keep up with him.

Tsonga was murdering Rushby just over the fence and the whole match seemed to take about 10 minutes!

Walked to BArons Court, got back to my sisters, anf haven't stopped talking about it since!

A great day for a fan who can't really say much about players backhand/forehand/style etc.... but who loved it and was impressed by Eaton. May, Slabba and Ward!

Some photos...

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/RoddickandConnors.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Henmanafterpractice.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/RicewatchingGoodallvsTsonga.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Wardtakesset1.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Slabbavolleyprep.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Slabbapostmatch.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/thatshirtagain.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/JimMayvsKuznetsov.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Mayconsideringbreakpoint.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Wardserving.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/SlabbaMelohandshake.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/JimMayhavingadrink.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/GoodallservingvsTsonga.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Evansabouttoserve.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/Boggoreceivingserve.jpg

https://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/johnnylad/BamfordvsHealey.jpg

I wish I had a better camera but hey.

-- Edited by johnnylad at 16:32, 2007-06-16

RobC · All-time great

click on "edit"
Make sure "Use Advanced Editor" is ticked
highlight the url
copy it (ctrl-c)
click on the link icon in the menu bar (looks like 3 links in a chain)
in the top field of the pop- up, paste the url (ctrl-v)
click "Insert"
That's it

steven · Tennis legend

Just as Johnnylad's blog reaches the end of Saturday, here's my almost-as-late blog from Monday and Tuesday ...

'Blog' from Queen's - Monday

A 5 am start on Monday, with virtually a whole day's work to get out of the way before I left for Queen's. I managed to leave home around mid-day, but missed my train due to a ticket machine breaking down and then the next train was late, making me miss another connection. Not a good start! cry

I eventually rushed in a little before 2 only to find that Bloomers, one of the players I really wanted to see, had already lost. cry

A nasty draw against Ginepri and an off-day for Richard had combined to finish that match off all too quickly.

It could only get better, and happily, it did! smile

I was going to drop into Court 2 and see how Jamie Baker was doing against Peya, but there was a long queue (which probably included quite a lot of those who had just watched the Bloomers match and didn't want to stay and see Count Duckula!) so I headed straight onto Centre to see:

(WC) Alex Bogdanovic WR 112 v (13) HT Lee (KOR) WR 47

Boggo gives the impression that he has to put a lot more effort into his shots than a higher-ranked player like Lee, but he was doing it very effectively and eventually won 4 & 4, an excellent straight sets win against a top 50 player. biggrin

Since last year, there seems to have been an amazing change in how resilient he is under pressure and how he reacts when things go wrong. Top 100, here he comes - though not next Monday, whatever the BBC are claiming! doh

Alex could do with standing up for himself a bit more though - he wasn't taking advantage of Hawkeye at all, not even when a call at our end looked badly wrong and quite a few of us shouted out "CHALLENGE" as a not-so-subtle reminder. wink

No big celebration when he won either - just a shy wave to the crowd and he was gone. I hope he finds a way to enjoy wins like that in his own way once he's out of the limelight.

Boggo was to play even better on Tuesday ...

(WC) Jamie Baker WR 252 v Alexander Peya (AUT) WR 100

I took a short break from Centre at the end of the 1st set of Boggo's match to stretch my legs and see how Jamie Baker was doing. Much to my (very pleasant) surprise, he was 1 set all and on his way to going up 4-3 in the 3rd. Wow! biggrin

I quickly joined the queue for Court 2 and as people hurried in, I got closer and closer to the entrance only to end up two away from getting in when the umpire called 'time' and the rather officious steward decided he had to put the barrier across immediately. cry

I waited there with just a partial view, assuming I would get in at 5-4, but Jamie was in no mood to be held up in his quest for a first-ever win over a top 100 player and he broke again to end up winning the set 6-3 and with it the match. It was brilliant to see how pumped up and happy he was about it. He was celebrating all the way to the umpire's chair, then turned to people in the crowd near the entrance where I was standing who must have been his parents or friends, punched the air again, mouthed something like "I did it" (first win against a top 100 player) with a huge smile and walked off still punching the air. biggrin

Good on you, Jamie, and I'm very happy he proved me wrong about the WC by showing that he is now up to beating a top 100 player after all. Having seen how much it meant to him, I'm not a bit surprised that he put on a good show against Boggo on Wednesday too and nearly beat him, even though Boggo is playing well this week too.

Butorac/Murray v Gulbis/Ljubicic

After that, it was back to Centre to see most of the 2nd set of the Boggo match, then a break and an interesting chat with one of Boggo's biggest fans, i.e. Jac/Count Zero.

Then back onto Centre to see Boo-ray taking on the serve responsible for the most aces on the tour last year and the guy who beat Tigger at the French Open. Well, Booty & Stretch (watched by Judy and Kim - apparently Andy was somewhere in Queen's too but I didn't see him) have certainly returned to form and their experience playing together showed through against the scratch pairing they were up against.

They won the 1st set easily and always looked in control in the 2nd too. They have a lot of presence on court and their play at the net was a class above that of their opponents.

I believe these two could do some damage at Wimby if they get a reasonable draw and I will be surprised if they don't reach the semis here at Queen's.

Btw, there were some challenges in this match - Ljubo didn't believe Hawkeye on one of them, and sitting right above the line, nor did I. Then when it got to the tiebreak with 3 Booray challenges left to Ljubo's 1, the umpire announced they would each get another challenge opportunity added, making it 4-1. "What?" I thought, and just as I did, so did Ljubo and queried it with the umpire. The umpire admitted it was 4-2 to much laughter ... but nobody seemed to notice the challenge board changing to 4-3! wink

Still some work to do before Wimby then!

Interlude

I then took some time out to walk off beyond the practice courts and deal with the pile of texts and voicemails that had been flooding into my phone from my staff during the afternoon cry

before it was too late to do anything about them. Monday is usually a hassly day at work, so I probably got off quite lightly, but Tuesday (when hardly any messages were coming in) was much more relaxing! smile

Treated myself to a Pimms after that then caught up with Jac again before he headed off. We did a bit of only-vaguely-successful player spotting - "There's Eric Butorac" "Where?" "Right in front of your eyes!" You get the idea ... wink

Actually, it's quite hard to recognise a lot of the players when you see them 'live' wandering around or on the practice courts. I'd be confident of being able to recognise nearly all current or former top 20 players and the top 10-15 Brits, but beyond that, it's tough!

Delgado/Hutchins v Delic/Fish (De-lick, apparently, not De-leech, like I had always assumed)

By that time, the del Potro-ToJo match on Centre had finished and by the time I got back there, Hutch & Del were taking the court for their match against Delic & Fish. The announcer made a big thing of Ross being Paul Hutchins' son, but didn't even mention the fact that Del had finally made it into the top 100 - I was waiting to cheer! cry

Our boys made a good start, but towards the end of the 1st set, my 5 am start really began to catch up with me and I called it a day before my eyes shut completely. Happily, Del & Hutch went on to win.

-- Edited by steven at 02:12, 2007-06-15

-- Edited by steven at 02:12, 2007-06-15

steven · Tennis legend

'Blog' from Queen's - Tuesday

I stayed up in town overnight, mainly to avoid getting sucked into working again on Tuesday morning and missing the start of play! Thundery showers were forecast, so I wanted to make sure I got there in time for the first matches on court, though in the event the forecast was totally wrong and the sum shone all day! smile

Does anyone know what John Inverdale is doing for the BBC at Queen's this week, because we arrived at the Talgarth Road crossing at the same time just before 12.30 and he didn't seem to be in any great hurry! Surely BBC tennis commentators/presenters don't go to watch tennis when they're not being paid to do it, do they? weirdface

Full marks to him if he does! smile

Anyway, it promised to be a great day if the rain held off, with Duckboy then Tigger due on Centre and a wonderful selection of doubles matches to choose from later on. In the end it was one of the most enjoyable days I've had at a tennis tournament so far. smile

RADEK STEPANEK (CZE) v ANDY RODDICK (USA)

I was taking my life into my hands (after writing that limerick), but how could I resist seeing Count Duckula (Mr Hingis to his friends!) take on Duckboy, in what promised to be an absolute quacker of a match! wink

Actually, it wasn't a quacker of a match - a relatively routine win for Roddick - but interesting to get a first-hand idea of what Boggo or Baker might be up against on Thursday.

TIM HENMAN WR 54 v (WC) MARIN CILIC WR 110

If the organisers gave Cilic a WC instead of a Brit in order to get more spectators in (a stupid idea that was never going to work anyway), that plan spectacularly backfired when he took out the bouncy tiger, their main crowd-puller in Andy's absence!

In came the (once-) middle-aged women in force, but it was not going to be their day. It looked like it would be when Tim went 4-1 up in the 1st (indeed, although Cilic was very good off the ground, Tim looked much the better grass court player throughout), but it was getting far too easy - time to lose concentration and let Cilic into the match then ...

The first set tiebreak was a lesson in how to build up our hopes only to dash them at the last moment. He went 2-6 down, won the next two points to close the gap to 4-6 and then played a brilliant shot which got a huge cheer to make it 5-6 and get the second mini-break back. smile

Here comes the double fault then ... game and 1st set Cilic. ashamed

Slight panic set in, but nerves were steadied in the 2nd set after Tim started to impose himself on the match again, winning the set 6-2. Into the 3rd then, and Tim seemed to have put his 1st set wobble behind him, quickly moving out into a 4-2 lead, with a tempting match against Falla waiting in R2.

Then suddenly the concentration tap was turned off, volleys and serves started finding the net and 3 games went as quick as a flash. Before we knew it, Cilic had 2 MPs. A good shot from Tigger to save the first gave us false hope again, but a tame shot floating out sealed a rather abject defeat. ashamed

I think Tim has simply forgotten how to win. cry

(WC) BOGGO/SAFIN v HAGGARD/LEE

There were lots of tempting doubles matches on offer (the queues for Lopez/Nadal and then Henman/Hewitt on Court 1 were enormous, so I passed on those) but I am glad I picked this one on Court 9. Partly because they decided to put Djokovic's doubles match on the adjoining practice court so we got to see two good matches at once, but mainly because of how this match went.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the last grand slam champion not to have been called Rafa or Fed, Mr Marat "grass is for cows" Safin, played like an absolute muppet. ashamed

Yet they still won easily in straight sets 2 & 3 thanks to an inspired display from Boggo, to all intents and purposes babysitting mad Marat through to the 2nd round by being by far the most impressive player on the court. biggrin

I know Peter Lundgren said after the match that he thought Boggo played the better of the two, but that understatement was just being diplomatic for Marat's benefit! Boggo was almost flawless at the net, always coming up with a winning volley when they really needed it. He was coming up with some pretty good groundstrokes too when he needed to.

In contrast, apart from one sublime reflex backhand volley while more or less moving backwards that went for a winner, Safin's grass court play was abysmal. The best example of this was at 4-3 in the 3rd set, when Marat hit no less than three easy volleys into the net (and remember that with no-ad scoring, it's first to 4 points wins the game, whatever happens), yet brilliant, nerveless play from Boggo still won them that game! smile

Boggo may not play much doubles, but on this showing he should be a shoe-in for a place in the DC team on grass in September, and maybe playing in the doubles with Jamie would be the perfect chance for him to go for a first DC win with a bit less pressure on him, as well as giving Tigger and Andy a rest day.

Or does he too play on the same side as Jamie and Aucks do ... ? (Boggo plays on the left side, my mind's gone blank as to what side Jamie and Aucks play on!)

AUCKLAND/GINEPRI v v DEL POTRO/GONZALEZ

The less said about this match the better. Let's just say that Aucks was playing like Safin on Tuesday, and for once, that's not a compliment! ashamed

Far more interesting was the amount of noise coming from Court 1 where Henwitt were turning their doubles match around. The crowd seemed to be making more noise there than they had on Centre earlier in the day!

By 7 pm, all the matches were finished except for an all-French doubles match on Court 1. I don't think many of us wanted the day to end, though - it was still sunny and Court 1 was packed with a long queue outside. The top of the north stand on Centre was covered in people two deep trying to watch too.

The latter group included me, but it eventually dawned on me that watching a match I didn't care that much about when I was only able to see 1/3 of the court was a bit sad, so I decided to call it a day and remember to get my ticket application in early next year! smile

steven · Tennis legend

Finally some pics - see http://www.flickr.com/photos/8902903@N05/page3/ - I can't work out how to stop Flickr showing the pics in reverse order, so it's best to start at the bottom of p3 and work back!

The best ones are probably the later ones (i.e. on pages 1 and 2) which were taken on the outside courts where I was closer to the action.

RobC · All-time great

Clement just beat Djokovic

Count Zero · Tennis legend

on boggos doubles i am not certain he plays on the left side. If you read his interview b4 the match he says he asked marat which side he played on and if he want to cross etc etc and marat told him to just chill and enjoy it

alex has never really had a steady dubs partnership but i think he could do well at it, he has a solid alround game so why not?.

RobC · All-time great

.....and in a move worthy of Henman vs Ivanisevic, The Tursunov/Gonzalez match ahas been suspended at 6-3 6-6 5-6* (Gonzo on set point!!!) don'tcha just love the London rain!

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

The doubles draw is turning into a bit of a disaster really, with there still being 2nd round matches that need to be played

The top half is fine, with all the players just playing doubles, and barring further rain, we will know the semi finalists by the end of the day

The bottom half currently looks like this

Henman/Hewitt vs. Mahut/Bennetaeu or Knowles/Nestor
Levinsky/Skoch or Safin/Bogdanovic vs. Del Potro/Gonzalez or Bjorkman/Mirnyi

Knowles and Nestor have 3 set points in the first set tie break, but are unlikely to get on for a while, as Mahut is still playing in singles, and is last on against Nadal today (although why they don't just play it at the moment, and then delay the last singles match for a while if Mahut needs the rest)

Boggo and Safin's match in on at the moment, so that is fine, but the Bjorkman/Mirnyi match won't be on for a while, and Gonzo is in a third set at the moment, so there will be a good hour after that match finishes before the doubles match goes on

There could be teams having to play 2/3 doubles matches tomorrow, and potentially a singles match as well, depending on who wins

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

Rain again... but enough time for Boggo/Safin to drop the opening game of the match, so are a break down

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

Boggo and Safin lose the first set of their doubles match 7-5