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Sheddie


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Boys: Junior Nationals 2007.
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So who do we think will win this year's title ?

Last year, there were a number of big upsets, the previously unheralded Tim Hewitt stunning top seed and big favourite Iain Atkinson in rd1 and then going on to take the title beating no 2 seed David Rice in a humdinger of a final. I think Rice led 4-0 in the final set but Hewitt came back to win it 6-4.   Evans and Cox both went out early aswell.

This year's tournament looks pretty open, there are quite a few guys who could win it. Evans, Cox, Rice, Dyce, Milton, Willis and Pauffley could all take it. It's held on clay in Bournemouth which will suit Milton's game with the heavy topspin, plus Rice had some great results in South America on clay this year as did Evans who won a G1. Cox also had some good results out there but it probably doesn't suit him quite as much, same probably goes for Dyce and Pauffley who prefer the faster surfaces. Not sure about Willis as although he has the big serve he really does like to scrap from the back which can be very effective on the dirt.

Could an outsider come through and cause some big upsets like last year ?   Coupland has that huge serve, no one will want to face him early on.  I dunno how Smethurst's game suits clay...he did win a title in the nationals last year though and will be a threat to the top guys - he beat Cox in 3 sets last autumn but Evo beat him 7-5, 6-0 on clay earlier this year. Matt James has also just made back to back finals..one on clay. Maybe Lewis Barnes could also be a threat  

Gonna be very interesting smile.gif  Hopefully Goldenslam will be there to keep us up to date with proceedings smile.gif


 

-- Edited by Arka at 15:31, 2007-08-13

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Goldenslam


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RE: Boys: National U18s
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I certainly will be!!! A few of the boys will be playing 2 G4 ITF back to back on clay in Portugal in build up for the Nationals, I think it is very open & the fact that the clay at the West Hants club is pretty fast I think it opens it up for people like Coupland, Smethurst, Barnes & Rice & then you have the players who like semi fast surfaces like Knights, Bull, Evans, Milton, Dyce & Cox. It is a big year for the 89's to really leave their stamp on the junior game as it is their last year & with so many perks of being U-18 National champion available to them in their 1st full year as seniors the pressure is huge for an 89 to deliver, will it happen? Im not sure as players such as Evans will want to prove their standing on the National scene, but this is shaping up to be the most competitive U-18 Nationals I can remember!!! I will let you in on a little secret too....this is the last year Nationals will be held in Bournemouth, it is moving back to Nottingham on hard...at last!!!

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johnnylad


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When does this take place?

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thornley 4 top 100


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i perosnally think that thornley is the favourite for the title
not only does he play well but looks the part aswell!


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Salmon


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Welcome to the forum. smile.gif

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Mervatron


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I'd say its between Evans and Cox. Dyce and Rice could pose a few problems. I would be shocked if anyone outside of those 4 won the title.

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Goldenslam


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This is by far the most open Nationals in a long time, I would not count Thornely out but would not make him the favourite by any stretch. In fact I would be surprised if one of the "top 4" actually won it, there are so many players gunning for them, I see it hard for them to rise to the challenge match after match in an event, that sadly is not a big priority for them.

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evski


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jus to let u no hueva sed the 90s want to stamp there authority was exactly ryt ill be up for it dont u worry



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RobC


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best of luck, Dan!

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Salmon


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To be honest I have no idea as to why Evans and Cox are doing this. There are low cut Futures in Europe where they could have made a killing.

I don't think that Dyce is going to do this. He seems to have disappeared from the draws! Where is he? Back to Bradenton?

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Ratty


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If the guy who writes the cheques says you gotta do something, you usually do it .....

The UK Nationals in the various age groups are "compulsory" for players getting LTA funding.


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Goldenslam


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I agree!! We need to stress how important Nationals is to the juniors, not only is being you countries champion a title every player should want, it also comes with some great perks...many of which are WCs in to futures, challengers & I have known U-18 Nat champs to get WC in to mens MD for Wimbledon.
Long term I think it needs to be made in to a Closed B1 or B5 ITF event so there is ITF points on offer too but I think, if a player wants funding from the federation they need to play the federations national championships.
As far as I am aware Dyce will be there, along with all the other guys, seeding will go off national ranking as well, so Dyce may be 8th or 9th seed? 
Glad to see Evo up for it & I wish him & all the guys a successful week in Bournemouth & hopefully between them they can deliver the most impressive tennis we have ever seen at a national championships.

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Salmon


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Ratty wrote:

If the guy who writes the cheques says you gotta do something, you usually do it .....

The UK Nationals in the various age groups are "compulsory" for players getting LTA funding.


That could explain it.





I don't agree, Goldenslam. Once you are good enough to beat the top 10 players in ITFs, your focus should be on Futures and not Junior events and definitely not on tournaments like this which count for nearly nothing in the long run. I am aware that heads wiser and more experienced than mine fix their schedules, but it beats me as to why top 50 players should play here.


Will it seriously be a big achievement if any of our top 4 guys win the thing? I doubt it, as they normally crush players who are ranked outside the top 200. So they have nothing to gain and everything to lose. As far as wild cards are concerned, they don't need to win the Nationals to get them. They are capable of beating ATP top 800 players and as long as they keep doing it, the wild cards will keep flowing.

The future lies in men's tennis once you master the Junior tour. All the top players in the world - Eysseric, Berankis, Elias, Pella and loads more do Futures regularly where as we make our players do useless tournaments like the ones in France earlier this year and now this.



And it'll be suicidal if the LTA make it a rule that the Juniors must play this if they want funding. The only top 100 guy we have had in the last few years wouldn't come anywhere near events like this when he was 18, mind it.

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thornley 4 top 100


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i think that seans big game will get the job done at nationals...
he is by far the most talented player in the field....
with a strong serve big fhand and trusty vollies he is by far the favourite 4 both singles and doubles!!
he has a great attitiude for the game his professionalism on and off the court will deffenatley make him stand out from the others.

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johnnylad


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you better back up those claims big man!!!!

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