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Post Info TOPIC: Jamie article-Finals Harlingen


Intermediate Club Player

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Jamie article-Finals Harlingen


PALM VALLEY It wasnt the best conditions for top-quality tennis on Sunday.
Not with the wind swirling around the tennis courts at Harlingen Country Club like an out-of-control mosh pit.
You never knew which direction the wind was going to come from, said Jamie Baker, who handled the conditions to win the singles title at the USTA Valley Baptist Health System/Harlingen Country Club $15,000 Futures tennis tournament.
Baker beat Jurek Stasiak 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) despite winds gusting up to 46 mph.
Its the second straight win on the Futures Tour for Scotsman Baker, who won last weeks event in Brownsville. Hell also play in the next event in McAllen. Baker won $1,950 and Stasiak took home $1,350.
Sundays conditions were very different from those of Friday and Saturday when the wind was calm.
Thursday was horrendous, said Baker. Friday and Saturday were good, but today (Sunday) was close to unplayable.
The wind gusts wreaked havoc with the ball, forcing both players to serve underhanded on occasion as well as making some shots do strange things.
On a number of shots, the wind just held the ball down as it hit the court and it didnt bounce as high as it normally would have.
In the second set, an exasperated Stasiak held up his hands and yelled: You cant play tennis in these condition.
And Stasiak was up 3-1 in the set at the time.
Baker said the key to his victory was his attitude.
I just tried to make a joke about it, he said. I was smiling. He was getting frustrated, but there was nothing to be done about it.
The wind played a role as early as the second game of the first set.
Baker broke Stasiak in Game 1, but couldnt press his advantage serving into the wind. On one of his serves, he made three tosses and caught them without trying to hit the ball. Stasiak broke back and the match was even at 1-1.
However, Baker won the next four games before Stasiak held his serve in Game 7 to make it 5-2.
But despite his win in that game, Stasiak just seemed to want to get the set over quickly and Baker obliged by winning the next game to take the first set.
I think we were playing about 40 percent of what we were capable of, said Baker, who came into the tournament ranked 269th in the world.
But if he had looked ready to head back home to Australia near the end of the first set, Stasiak started the second set with a new determination. He quickly took a 3-0 edge and the match appeared headed to a third set.
However, as quickly as Stasiak had gained momentum, Baker snatched it back and won five straight to take a 5-3 edge.
Stasiak held his serve to make it 5-4 and then broke Baker to tie the score at 5-5. Stasiak then held his serve to take a 6-5 edge and needed to break Baker again to win the set and force a third one.
However, Baker held his serve, including a point from an underhanded serve early in the game, to force a tiebreaker.
Baker acknowledged the wind made a mockery of the game before the tiebreak as he smiled across the net and asked Stasiak if he wanted to toss a coin for the tiebreak.
They played on, despite the wind, and Baker moved out to leads of 3-1 and 5-2, before Stasiak battled back to 6-5 before Baker clinched the match.
Nicholas Monroe and Phillip Simmonds won the doubles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Brian and Dann Battistone.


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Intermediate Club Player

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another article.

Tennis anyone?: Some of the greatest pro athletes the Valleys ever seen

Sportswriters are liberal with the use of words like great and fantastic when we talk about athletes.
Sometimes its hyperbole, sometimes its just plain exaggeration.
Since the great Red Smith, sportswriters havent listened to sports editors, who have told them to stop Godding up ballplayers.
However, the USTA futures tournament at Harlingen Country Club featured some of the best athletes you will get to see in the Valley.
Jamie Baker, who won this weekends tournament as well as the one in Brownsville last week, is currently ranked 269th in the world.
And while on first examination that doesnt seem like much, hes the highest-ranked professional athlete we will get to see perform in the Valley this season.
Of the minor leagues in the Valley, only the NBA D-League has a direct pipeline into a major league where the highest ranked athletes dwell.
There are 12 active players on an NBA roster and there are 30 teams in the NBA. So do the math, thats 420 players. Its not an equivalent, but the 269th best player in the NBA would probably be the second or third guy in a teams rotation.
When independent minor league baseball first came to the Valley, the league brass tried to sell the idea that the quality of baseball being played was at the Double AA level, which is two steps away from the big leagues. It wasnt and it still isnt.
But when Harlingen Country Club tennis pro Andy Carter holds his fingers about an inch apart and says the players in the Futures are that close to being on the ATP Tour, hes right.
And there are statistics to back it up.
Baker for example owns a win against Agustin Calleri of Argentina this year in Davis Cup play. Calleri is currently ranked 47th in the world and has won more than $100,000 this year.
Carter said the players in the Futures Tour are just looking for some more experience.
Harlingen also responds well to the tournament, Carter said.
Ive talked to the USTA officials and they say that we have the biggest crowds of the tournaments in the Valley.
And there was a good crowd at the tournament.
And while Baker and Jurek Stasiak, the other singles finalist on Sunday, were frustrated by the blustery wind conditions in the finals, it doesnt mean they werent entertaining.
The spirit of John McEnroe still lives in tennis as Baker had a long discussion with the chair umpire about whether Stasiaks hat hit the court, resulting in a hinder and a point for Baker.
The chair umpire didnt see it Bakers way, but in the long run it didnt matter for the result of the match.
While addressing the crowd after the match, Baker apologized to any officials he argued with during the tournament.
There was entertainment of a similar type during Fridays play as well as Kamil Capkovic from Slovakia questioned officials calls and tossed his racket a few times.
Its worth a trip out to HCC the next time the Futures Tour comes to town. And if you really like good tennis, its worth a trip to McAllen next week to watch the tournament there.
After all, you never know when you are watching the next Andy Roddick, James Blake or Maria Sharapova. They all got their starts on the USTA Pro Circuit, which the Futures Tour is a part of.



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Admin:Moderator + All Time Great + britishtennis.net correspondant

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Eurosport...small piece.

ATP Tour - Brit watch: Baker's Lone Star double

British men's number three Jamie Baker won his second Texas Futures title in as many weeks, claiming a hard-earned trophy at the $15,000 (£7,500) event in Harlingen.

The top-seeded Baker, who won an equivalent Futures event in Brownsville, Texas last week, beat Australian qualifier Jurek Stasiak 6-2 7-6(5) in the final.

The 21-year-old world number 249 beat Italian Marco Crugnola 6-7(2) 7-5 6-3, Korean Hyung-Kwon Kim 3-6 7-5 7-5, American Alberto Francis 6-3 6-4, and Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik 6-4 7-6(5) on his way to a second successive final.

Baker, a member of Britain's Davis Cup team, will continue his tour of Texas with another $15,000 Futures event in McAllen.

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-- Edited by Drew at 21:07, 2008-03-03

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"Baker won $1,950 and Stasiak took home $1,350."

Was it worth it, I ask myself?  Surely the differential between winner & runner-up could have been widened...! cry  shocked.gif

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Would not be to bad if he could pocket that each week...£900 per week is not bad !

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Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

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You have to love Baker Boy's attitude!

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Tennis legend

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unfortuneatly i dont think £900 goes very far for a touring pro. although he did get the nice pay off from AO and DC recently

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Thanks for the articles, Craig and Drew.

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Tennis legend

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I love the way Jamie 'does a McEnroe' and then apologises to the crowd at the end for arguning with officials. That's not very McEnroe! LOL smile.gif

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Tennis legend

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In case anyone wants to see these articles with pics in their original setting, here are the links:

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/sports/baker_20581___article.html/stasiak_set.html

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/sports/valley_20582___article.html/baker_tournament.html


Also found while looking for these, "Jamie Baker spars with Roger Federer" - http://www.thetennishacker.com/2008/02/jamie-baker-spars-roger-federer.html



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GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!

GB top 25s (ranks, whereabouts) & stats - http://www.britishtennis.net/stats.html

mjd


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quote
"Roger Federer -- for all his fame -- has a rather secretive training regimen. He lives and trains in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East."

Didnt know that - It makes Andy's win even more embarassing for Rog


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steven wrote:

I love the way Jamie 'does a McEnroe' and then apologises to the crowd at the end for arguning with officials. That's not very McEnroe! LOL smile.gif



Very British though wink.gif



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