My belly is hoping that Amanda loses today because I can either go to the gym tomorrow or go to see the semi-final in Sutton but not both. The post christmas paunch is still very much in situ but I shall be off out in New Malden in the evening which is only round the corner from Sutton so it would be rude not to take in some tennis.
Fantastic Result from Amanda. She's certainly showing that she can play at Challenger level. This willhelp her ranking no end. Keep it going now and reach the final.
I managed to arrive half-way through the second semi-final so missed Amanda Elliott's match. Still, it was a fun afternoon (and I was standing next to the legendary Jeremy Bates on the gallery). I caught the doubles final which was a little disappointing though played in a good spirit - Anna Smith and Johanna Larsson (who reached the final in the singles a few minutes before the doubles final and showed no signs of tiredness) spent the whole match giggling to each other.
Now I know how to get to the Sutton tennis centre (signposted my a*se!!) I look forward to taking in many more tournaments there in the future. It's only an hour or so from Brighton.
Jens Gerlach, Coach of Amanda Elliott, said: Amanda had a good week in Sutton and justified her wildcard by beating three players ranked between 167 and 287 in the world. These wins should give her a lot of confidence for the upcoming tournaments. However, she needs to keep working hard and follow up on this result to show she is capable of consistently playing at this level.