Week 9 - Challenger (€42500+H) - Cherbourg, France

Count Zero · Tennis legend

RE: Week 9 - Challenger (€42500+H) - Cherbourg, France

steven · Tennis legend

Noooo ... I got really busy and missed this completely. Looks like an excellent, very convincing performance from the Bogster though, assuming he won the 2nd 6-1/2/3. Given that the scoreboard now shows the next match, he must have won unless he got injured right at the end ... surely even Boggo's not that unlucky.

Let's hope a week with Brad since the last loss has been some help and he manages to impose himself on more opponents like this during the week. smile

-- Edited by steven at 17:58, 2008-02-25

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

64 62 is still a very respectable score

john · Top national player

Very good indeed from Alex, hoping for a big week from him now. It's been a while....

steven · Tennis legend

But have you seen who might be waiting for him in the next round? Put it this way, if he gets the no. 2 seed, he'll be getting off lightly!

Karol Beck was a top 50 player in early 2005 after beating Tim Henman at Queens in 2004 (after Tigger had just reached the SFs at RG), following that up with a wonder run to the last 16 of the 2004 US Open and a run to the Final of St Petersburg, beating Davydenko on the way in both cases.

He lost in R1 of the USO in 2005 and soon after got banned for two years for taking drugs in Slovakia's Davis Cup semi (against Argentina, ironically) - they won it, but he was banned for the Final and for two years after that.

He only came back from suspension in November last year and his record since the start of December reads:

- won a Czech Future in December
- qualified for and won a German Future
- qualified for and reached the semis of the Belgrade Challenger
- qualified for and reached the semis in Wroclaw, beating Chardy (who beat Boggo last week) in straight sets
- reached the semis of the Besancon Challenger last week, thrashing Santoro 1 & 1 on the way

He has thus gone from unranked and having to qualify for Futures to just inside the top 300 in three months and he is, to put it mildly, on a roll! bleh

The one chink of light here? That would be that in Beck's third week back, i.e. just before the run above started, Boggo beat him 4 & 4 in the Shrewsbury Challenger! smile

Support Boggo on his "crap draws 2008" world tour!

-- Edited by steven at 01:33, 2008-02-26

johnnylad · Tennis legend

Well done Boggo! (Omani)

You can repeat Shrewsbury or thrash Schukin. I don't mind!

Drew · Feb 25, 2008

johnnylad wrote:

Well done Boggo! (Omani)

You can repeat Shrewsbury or thrash Schukin. I don't mind!

Johnny...how could you get it wrong (theres no M in Bogdanovic)

OGANI !!! biggrin

Nathaliia · Lower Club Player

My "reporter" who watched that match said Boggo played really well (still was kinda slow), and that he hanged around with Gilbert, which is probably good.

I won't spam links, but you know where to click for the reports. Cheers!

Count Zero · Tennis legend

thanks for the report. i think alex has to hang around with gilbert whether he likes it or not :)

alex has always been a bit slow, i think its going forwards and backwards rather than side to side mainly. i dont know if he can improve it. i think it could be the reason he often doesnt approach the net.

Nathaliia · Lower Club Player

Which is a pity, because Alex plays good volleys, ehh :( (if not on breakpoints against him, I mean). Anyway I'm flying to London in a few hours!

steven · Tennis legend

Flying to London, huh? For anything interesting? Are you coming to try to find the amazing disappearing GB Challengers?

We can't find one until Surbiton in June.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

yeah he can play nice volleys. but his feet i think let him down.
so often in the middle of rallies he has the chnace to go in but you can see clearly on his face the indecision to make the move and once you have that you its too late.

also he gets way too tight on big points.

have a good flight its currently nice and sunny here. although was raining hard early this morning so bring a brolly just in case.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

steven wrote:

Flying to London, huh? For anything interesting? Are you coming to try to find the amazing disappearing GB Challengers? We can't find one until Surbiton in June.

they havent disappeared thay have just been relocated to tougher environmets and run by other national associations.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

beck serving at 42 up 1st set

Akhenaten · Pro player

Do anybody know why hasn't Karol Beck got a protected ranking to get him into ATP events?

He was out for 2 years from 24 Oct 05 to 05 Nov 07. And had a ranking of 61 on the 31 Oct 05.

But since his return he has only played 3 Futures & 6 Challengers (his one being the first he hasn't had to go thru qualifying.)

Seems a bit odd to me... confused