really interesting imo. qute a bit how he thinks the new lta set up have helped him. also JB bit at the end. From sportinglife.com
Alex Bogdanovic insisted the resilience he has developed over the last year rescued him from defeat in his Artois Championships clash with Jamie Baker.
Bogdanovic struggled in the first half of the match but survived to clinch the all-British showdown 4-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 and set-up a daunting third-round tie against Andy Roddick.
The 23-year-old, who edges closer to the ATP top 100 with the victory, admitted that in the past he would have wilted under Baker's assault - but he has now added steel to his game.
"I was just happy to get through that match. Jamie played really well and I thought he was better throughout," he said.
"But I was very pleased with the way I was able to turn the match around even though he was on top.
"Six months or a year ago, I would have crumbled after that first set when nothing was going my way.
"Here I stayed calm. I didn't panic, even when I was a set and break down, and I did well to battle through.
"It's all about just trying to stay in tough games like this. I remember [Lawn Tennis Association coach] Paul Annacone telling me in California that I needed to win matches while playing badly.
"He said that he knew I could beat good players when I was playing well, but told me it was more important to win when playing badly.
"I wasn't playing good tennis but I got through it. Mentally, I'm a better tennis player now."
Bogdanovic, currently ranked 117 in the world, credited last year's appointment of Roger Draper as LTA chief executive as key to his increasingly positive frame of mind.
"In the past, people said I was talented but also thought I had an attitude," said the British number three.
"Brad Gilbert pulled a whole team behind me. Peter Lundgren has been unbelievable. He helped me a lot with my mind.
"I remember reaching a point when I got really down with the LTA. Before Roger came in, not many people believed in me. That's really tough.
"If they don't believe in you, you kind of start doubting yourself. Everything keeps going downhill. Roger came in and changed things round.
"He called me on the first or second day he got the job to say he thought I was a great player and that he believed in me. That was fantastic."
Baker was left smarting by the defeat but will head to the Nottingham Open next week with the biggest win of his career under his belt.
A first-round victory over world number one Alexander Peya and his battling performance against Bogdanovic, who he had broken at 4-3 in the second set, have lifted confidence.
But the 20-year-old admitted he must continue harnessing his preference for being the underdog if he is to continue making an impact.
He said: "On the whole, I play better when I'm behind - it's something to do with my mentality. I prefer being backed up against the wall.
"Now, for most points, I'm trying to recreate the same feeling or atmosphere for as if I'm behind.
"If I could play that tennis the whole way through a match, I'd be even more difficult to beat.
"But I'm very happy with the way Queen's has gone. Beating Alexander Peya was the biggest win of my career."
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Count Zero - Creator of the Statistical Tennis Extrapolation & Verification ENtity or, as we like to call him, that steven.
really interesting imo. qute a bit how he thinks the new lta set up have helped him. also JB bit at the end. From sportinglife.com
[...]
Baker was left smarting by the defeat but will head to the Nottingham Open next week with the biggest win of his career under his belt.
A first-round victory over world number one Alexander Peya and his battling performance against Bogdanovic, who he had broken at 4-3 in the second set, have lifted confidence.
[...]
Pity the journo didn't check his (her?) facts before s/he went to print: Peya's the world number 1? Typical! Ian Laybourn of the Indy apparently thinks Marion Bartoli's Italian ( For the record she's French!). That said, there's a good interview with Roger Draper in today's edition!
thanks for posting this, a nice antidote to the Beeb article which was all about Baker. Nice but barely mentioned the fact that Boggo is through to the third round which confused me a little!
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To look at a thing is quite different from seeing a thing and one does not see anything until one sees its beauty
yes i found the beeb artcile a little werid. but he is scottish so by leading with that it allows them to link in the murrays. cant have any single arcticle on british tennis that doesnt mention 1 of them
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Count Zero - Creator of the Statistical Tennis Extrapolation & Verification ENtity or, as we like to call him, that steven.
lol, of course! I hadn't thought of that. It just seemed bizarre to me that after a Brit v. Brit match they'd concentrate on the fact that a Brit lost Oh well. By that logic i'm sure boggo will have a large article if he loses to Roddick this evening something like 'Brit tamely loses to unknown' Of course if he wins, they'll just tag it onto the bottom of a the article about 'Roddick, three time Queens Champion loses'
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To look at a thing is quite different from seeing a thing and one does not see anything until one sees its beauty
I can only assume whoever wrote the article didnt realise Boggo was British lol.
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Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
Boggo gets wildcard into Nottingham Open next week -
"...............Bogdanovic will now head to next weeks Nottingham Open in a far more optimistic frame of mind after being handed a wild card into the event.................."
Who gets the 3rd one ? Hewitt? (to keep Tim company Baker, who had such a good match against Boggo? Or Bloomfield, who beat Boggo 6-2 7-5 a week ago?
baker has a strong case, being a young player and having had a good queens bloomers also has a strong case being brit no. 4, and seeing that lta said WC's should be based on results over whole yr Goodall also has strong case, being another young gun, who missed out on queens WC despite being higher ranked than baker.