Week 21 - Roland Garros Qualifying - Paris

Count Zero · Tennis legend

RE: Week 21 - Roland Garros Qualifying - Paris

The Hoose · Satellite level

Count Zero wrote:

who do we want to win:

dabul or lopez jaen?
both probably better on clay than an Alex. dabul is the higher ranked so i guess lopez. but neitehr seem attractive
lopez has an early break.

I've just got back from Roland Garros. Will give you my thoughts on Alex shortly but I did catch the first few games of Dabul v Lopez-Jaen and Alex will have a very tough match against either of them. Dabul appears to be a classic clay-courter: gets everything in, finds the corners but nothing too flashy. Lopez-Jaen hits the ball very hard but is slightly hit and miss. I think I'd like Lopez-Jaen to get through and Alex to catch him on a bad day.

-- Edited by The Hoose at 14:38, 2008-05-20

seagull · Hall of fame

First set on t/b to Lopez Jaen

steven · Tennis legend

Count Zero wrote:

wow the lta already a news up on alex win. grease lightenign by their standards

That is good. Am I missing something though, or is there still nothing up about the exploits of Ken & Alex at the weekend?

Very envious of TheHoose btw!

-- Edited by steven at 14:24, 2008-05-20

The Hoose · Satellite level

Right, some thoughts on the Boggo match. I got to Roland-Garros hoping to catch a Josh fightback but he'd already lost by the time I arrived. So I waited around outside Boggy's court and followed him and Brad in (mainly so I could sit near Brad!).

Overall, it was a good, dominant performance by Boggo but it's hard to read too much into it as his opponent was a clear class below the rest of the qualifying field.

Boggo started well, and was clearly the aggressor throughout. He was hitting cleanly, particularly off the backhand, and was mixing up his shots well, varying the trajectory of his ground strokes and playing the occasional drop shot. His opponent, on the other hand, lacked pace and accuracy, and appeared out of his depth for long periods of the match.

If anything, Boggo looked happier receiving than serving and there were a few double faults, as well as a couple of second serves that were lucky to stay in, and a handful of tame unforced errors. He seemed to either play a really excellent point from start to finish (most of the time), or throw in a very early unforced error - there wasn't much in between. I could see how he's had a few topsy-turvy matches with this style of play; thankfully today he had enough consistency, and seemed mentally strong enough, to limit his errors and play freely on the big points. He summed this up in the first game of the second set when his opponent came out particularly fired-up. Boggo had to defend five break points (several of the opportunities being gifted by errors) but produced some scintillating shots under pressure, including a drop shot, a screamer down the line and a good volley (in fact, Boggo's net play was very good throughout).

The rest of the second set was tight, but comfortable, the break being gifted in the sixth game through a poor error and a double-fault as Rodrigues struggled to live up to the occasion. To Boggo's credit, at every stage where it looked like his opponent might be about to build up some confidence, he came up with a good response. He did everything that was asked of him in this match and played a lot of excellent points - he'll hopefully draw a fair bit of confidence from the performance. His movement and mental focus also seemed pretty good.

However, he's not a clay-courter and walking round the other courts it was clear that he had a very easy R1 draw and faces a tough task to qualify. If he can keep playing well he has an outside chance, but he probably also needs to cut the unforced errors down a further notch.

-- Edited by The Hoose at 14:36, 2008-05-20

seagull · Hall of fame

Thanks for that Hoose....Dabul wins second set 6-0

The Hoose · Satellite level

I told you Lopez-Jaen was very hit and miss! Let's hope he can hit a few in this third set and then miss a load tomorrow.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

thanks for the report Hoose, very interesting read.

it definalty sums up boggo well i think. i dont know if you saw it but often if he makes 1 silly error he then makes another one in the next point.

his net play is generally good, but often he doesnt appraoch then net and cant be quite indecisive on when to approach, you see him 1/2 thinkign about it then bottle it, its is odd when you consider his best reuslts come on faster surfaces, but i think that itjust suiotsa the rest of hsi game better.

pleased to see he played well under pressue, if often been thought that he doesnt. i cant see him maing it past the next rd though, thsi was a bonus match really to get some extra cahsand cover his points.

in his opponents match Lopez won 1ts on a TB, dabul won 2nd to love!

wolf · Tennis legend

There has been 157 points so far in the Dabul - Lopez Jaen match, just shows how many mammoth deuces there have been. First game of the third has lasted 16 minutes so far!

The Hoose · Satellite level

Yes, the silly errors sometimes came in twos, - but never in threes, which was a relief! It's only the second time I've seen him play but it looks (to my completely untrained eye) like he plays in some sort of mental "zone" of focus and relaxation. It appears that he doesn't have a higher gear (some players can raise their game by getting pumped up) - rather, he can only let his game slip, through going out of the zone. He held it together well today, but it's always easier when you're winning.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

2-1 in the 3rd, 185 points so far.

hopefully the winner will be knackared, although will prob get a day off, which means al will be playing on thursday (his birthday)

Count Zero · Tennis legend

204 points and lopez is 4-2*

boggo's match was 115 pts.

seagull · Hall of fame

So it will be Lopez Jaen - looks like he plays mostly futures (beat Morgan Phillips last year) so not impossible for Boggo

wolf · Tennis legend

Lopez Jaen wins 7-6(4), 0-6, 6-4 in a match comprimising 227 points. 27 of 37 break points were saved.

steven · Tennis legend

Count Zero wrote:
204 points and lopez is 4-2*
boggo's match was 115 pts.

227 in the end, and 115 was how many points Dabul scored ... and lost! Lopez-Jaen won three points and three games less than Dabul yet still won the match. That's got to be good for Alex ... smile

QR2: Alex Bogdanovic WR 243 v Miguel-Angel Lopez-Jaen (ESP) WR 266

Apart from his mad match today, another hopeful sign is that in his previous match (in the Aarhus Challenger), Lopez-Jaen lost 2 & 2 to Olejniczak, whom Josh Goodall took 8 games off today.

He beat David Rice 6-0 3-0 ret. in his last match against a Brit and holds a 2-1 record against Morgan Phillips, but he also lost to Richard Brooks a couple of years ago, which is just one example of what happens to him on a bad day.

On a good day, as in Valencia recently, he can manage to take 8 games off Almagro.

Anyway, Boggo must have getting on for a 50/50 chance of winning this one depending on which M-A L-J turns up, and I wouldn't have given him nearly that high a chance had he ended up facing Dabul.