Davis Cup - Euro Africa Zone I - GBR v Ukraine 6-8 March 2009

Count Zero · Tennis legend

RE: Davis Cup - Euro Africa Zone I - GBR v Ukraine 6-8 March 2009

steven · Tennis legend

Ah, that's probably it (is OEM another "Norfolk is an island in the South Pacific" person?), I'd read wolf's post suggesting him as a possible option just before I skimmed Neil's article again.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

alex, josh, slabba, jamie, ward, evans & eaton are the 7 Neil seems to be talking about.

steven · Tennis legend

All the under-25s in the GB top 10 then, i.e. excluding Bloomers and Marray, who I'd put right in the mix with at least some of those on the list given that the tie's being played on indoor hard.

-- Edited by steven at 00:01, 2009-01-12

Count Zero · Tennis legend

really it should be Josh as the No 2 (assuming Boggo is a no go)
he is way ahead of the other contenders is terms of ranking and he also has the best doubles ranking, so a decent back up if AM decides not to play doubles.

hmm somehow boggo has got himself up in the dubs rankings too, now in the GB top ten. i hadn't noticed him paying more attention to it but i guess maybe he has?

steven · Tennis legend

I haven't noticed him playing lots of doubles either, but he hit a new career high in it today!

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i guess he did reach a couple of semi's etc, don't really follow them that closely as you say but they all add up .

Edit: Boggo reached 3 semi's and 4 QF's last year, plus 1 the other week.

also according to the ATP Boggo has a 21-7 win record over fellow left handers! not bad (especially as we know one of those 7 was Rafa).

-- Edited by Count Zero at 16:56, 2009-01-12

Drew · Jan 12, 2009

Media accreditation applied for today for me to represent bt.net.

Anyone got tickets / planning to go...you coming up for it John ?

-- Edited by Drew at 21:56, 2009-01-12

Count Zero · Tennis legend

Following the point Drew made about DC selection points, that's something i think we can keep going, and judge each achievement accordingly. might be interesting to see how they tally up as we get nearer the date, thenalso see who JL opts for.

So far i'd say:

Boggo 2 (qf in NC, win in AOQ)
Evans 1 (win over Eaton)
Slabba 1 (Q + 2nd rd in NC)

i'd expect Boggo to get more points but i think he'd need way more to get himself back in consideration.

john · Top national player

Well I don't have tickets yet but I'm considering going if I can get some. Will wait about 2 weeks and see how the money situation is then make a decision mate.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

from todays times:

Lloyd watched it all unfold in pained disbelief. There seems little doubt now, barring a miraculous resuscitation in form, that Lloyd will not pick any of the four who travelled to Australia - Bogdanovic, James Ward, Josh Goodall and Alexander Slabinsky - for the Euro Africa zone first-round tie against Ukraine in Glasgow in the first week of March.

I have suffered from this in the past but there is no doubt in my mind that I will only pick a second singles player for this tie that I know will bust his b***s for the team, the captain said yesterday. It has simply got to be that way. I was really disappointed with what I saw here, both in terms of results and some attitudes.

It is almost certain that either Jamie Baker or Dan Evans, and possibly both, will figure in the team to be announced in the next six weeks. Baker may have been forced to come to terms with a potentially life-threatening blood disorder and Evans has barely a trace of experience when it comes to this kind of occasion but both, Lloyd feels, have the requisite level of desire he wants to bring to his squad.

The form of Colin Fleming, a Scot who returned to the tour last summer after two years away completing his economics and finance degree, and reached the final of the ATP Futures event in Glasgow last week, has also been closely monitored

-- Edited by Count Zero at 07:22, 2009-01-19

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

So let me get this straight, Lloyd wants someone who will put in maximum effort regardless of where they are in terms of ability. He wants plucky losers - that's putting a huge amount of pressure on Murray to win the tie for us everytime.

It's also a huge insult to suggest that any of those four wouldn't put in maximum effort. I know Boggo, for example, has failed to fulfil his potential at the DC but I don't think he can be accused of not caring about it otherwise he wouldn't have put himself through the misery so often, especially when he knows certain areas of the press will take the chance to jump on him.

As for the other three, I'd imagine they'd all be delighted to play for their country and put in their best effort as well. Grr, that extract just seems to me to show the worst side of the lta in Britain and for all their talk of change, in my opinion it's that attitude that needs to change.

Rant over, back to nice Imoen again now :)

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i agree imo.

look at Slabba, has beaten 3 players ranked around 210 this year.
boggo has beaten 2 players ranked around 150, ok he lost tamely to sdc, but then sdc also thrashed Venture the 9th seed on hsi way to make the main draw.

i am not sure its fair to judge a players performable in a GSQ in Australia against ones in a futures held in Glasgow. if boggo, slabba etc had played there i wonder how they'd have done.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

link to full article

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article5543249.ece

mjd · Challenger qualifying

I particularly liked the humour attached to-
"... At least the British men did their bit to ease the pressure on the governing body's purse as three of the four in qualifying were beaten in the first round and the fourth Alex Bogdanovic, was ousted in the second. Lloyd watched it all unfold in pained disbelief. .."

But I would be surprised if the LTA funded their trip down under in any way, I think that the press assume that support is rolling in for British players, although I doubt that JL paid his own ticket.

-- Edited by mjd at 10:09, 2009-01-19