It's refreshing to see a 35 plus player have the appetite in an age when most think of retirement after 30. I hope that whoever wins this match goes on to take the title.
That's pretty accurate - he lost 2 & 2 to Diaz-Ventura in R2 last week, but other than that, all of his matches have gone to three sets or had at least one set score with a 7 in it since the early rounds in Cuba last month.
Like JL says, hopefully the 'old boy's' age will start to catch up with him tomorrow, since it will be his 7th match in this tournament. Having said that, he only lost 4 games total in 6 sets in qualifying, but all of his matches in the main draw have gone to 3 sets and he's been averaging 32 games per main draw match to Ward's 31.
Of course, this being the 11th tournament in 12 weeks for James, he must be getting a bit tired too!
-- Edited by steven at 20:34, 2008-03-21
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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!
Eep! I've just noticed that this is Ward's 10TH Futures semi (his 9th in the last 12 months) and he has lost the previous 9!
Conversely, he is our most consistent player at scoring at least one point per tournament at the moment - this is the 19th time he has done it in the last 11 months.
Anyway, a former world no. 14 would be a good person to break your duck against!
-- Edited by steven at 21:16, 2008-03-21
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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!
Great win for James today and he's really start to get back to moving up the rankings again and hopefully he won't be too far away from joining Slabba in the top 400.
Good to see him getting some good results on the clay as well as if you can score points on clay it gives you so many more oppotunites to pick up points throughout the season
El Aynaoui will be a great test for him tomorrow to see what kind of level he is playing at and would be a great scalp if he could somehow overcome him. Not expecting much from the match as he is still a class player, but his age and lack of tournaments could catch up with him
I remember El Ayanoui's match against Roddick in the Aus Open. Went on for something like 5 hours for a 17-15 scoreline in the 5th or thereabouts. That's my main memory of the guy. That and the Davis Cup of course. I remember he made a bit of a main tour comeback a couple of years ago (think he'd had some serious injuries) and actually picked up one or two results I think.
Wonder if he still thinks he can make a main tour comeback or if he just plays these tourneys for fun these days.
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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
I remember El Ayanoui's match against Roddick in the Aus Open. Went on for something like 5 hours for a 17-15 scoreline in the 5th or thereabouts. That's my main memory of the guy. That and the Davis Cup of course. I remember he made a bit of a main tour comeback a couple of years ago (think he'd had some serious injuries) and actually picked up one or two results I think.
Wonder if he still thinks he can make a main tour comeback or if he just plays these tourneys for fun these days.
I think Roddick picked up an injury in the match which meant he could barely move but he kept firing unreturnable serves which meant El Ayanoui just couldn't break him.
I'd presume he's trying to prove his fitness for Casablanca where I'd expect he'd get a WC
SF: James Ward WR 504 lost to (1/Q) Younes El Aynaoui (MAR) WR 190 by 6-3 7-6(3)
A 10th Futures semi-final loss for James and he's the only player not to have taken a set off YEA in the main draw this week but he did keep both sets close against the former world no. 14 at least he is getting to these semis (9 times as many in the last 12 months as he'd ever made it to before! ) and he has made sure that he will storm into the top 500 at the end of Miami so it's been a pretty good week!
-- Edited by steven at 15:11, 2008-03-22
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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!