for some reason i can never log into the the timers to post comments, always tells me my password is wrong so i reset it and it still wont work.

Madeline wrote:

---

I'm surprised at Neil Harman. I had a bit of a barney with him long ago when I said I despised all journalists, and he took exception to the remark. I backtracked to say I really meant tabloid journalists, but in this instance his article has shades of tabloidism (is there such a word? If not there should be!)

---

Neil did spend most of the 80s at the Daily Mail (or so it says on the jacket of "Duel for the Crown") so maybe old habits die hard.

Actually, I've always thought he was quite good at mixing serious, well-researched journalism with a slight tabloid edge but sometimes I think he goes too far, and it's usually about the same player (though he may well think some of us are too biased the other way here ... I don't think so, it's not as if we're unhappy for the press to criticise him, it's the unfairness of some of it and the misrepresentation of the way Alex put his points across that got to me ) - "racketgate" around the time of the Argentina DC tie was another shocker that I know the Count in particular won't forget in a hurry!

 

interesting piece on Evo

Davis Cup captain witnesses spirited effort by Daniel Evans
Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent

If Daniel Evans succeeds in securing a place in the main draw for Wimbledon, you would expect to hear a resounding chorus of approval from the British hierarchy.

It is, after all, the kind of spirit needed from the home players now that the wild-card hand-out culture in the mens game has been all but deferred, unless your name is Jamie Baker or James Ward.

Evans reached the second round of the qualifying competition at Roehampton yesterday with 4-6, 6-1, 12-10 victory over Tim Smyczek, of the United States. The match lasted 2hr 24min, during which Evans bridged a gap of 146 places in the ATP Tour rankings and recovered from 5-2 down in the third set to join Alex Bogdanovic and Josh Goodall as the three British players standing from the ten who heard the starting gun.

In the second round, he will play Ricardas Berankis, of Lithuania, a player and a country that makes anyone in this vicinity break out in a sweat. In March, a Great Britain team that included Evans lost 3-2 in Vilnius, an outcome that sparked such a furore that John Lloyd resigned the Davis Cup captaincy and was replaced by Leon Smith, who was given the job even though a poll of players suggested a preference for Greg Rusedski. It was another comical moment in the laugh-in that the British game has become.

Smith was at courtside yesterday charting Evanss progress, but, for the 20-year-old from Birmingham, his applause rang particularly hollow. In the period since the Lithuania defeat, Evans was headline news when it emerged that he had been questioned by police over an alleged sexual assault during a tournament in Bath. He may be called to give further evidence but vehemently protests his innocence.

The upshot of such notoriety was that Smith, as the incoming head of mens tennis at the LTA, informed Evans that he would be funded to some extent when he travelled abroad but could expect no help in domestic events. As such, rather than receiving a wild card into qualifying, Evans had to pre-qualify something of a comedown for a player whom Andy Murray regards as the best of those striving to emerge from his considerable shadow.

This is not the first time that the iron fist of the LTA disciplinary machine has clobbered Evans. He has heard the stories that he rarely gets to bed before 4am and is the nearest thing that the sport has to a playboy. Im not from a tennis background, Im not one of them, but I am the way I am, he said. At school I was the lad who was always messing around. Its not an excuse, its just me. Im having to pay for a lot out of my back pocket, but Ive done it before. It would be nice if someone from the LTA came and met me to plan for what they want from me, but I dont know if it will happen.

I didnt have much time to dwell on Lithuania because I was travelling to Italy and the States and it was while I was away that I found out about the assault case. I didnt mind the headlines because I know its not true, but there were journalists outside my parents house and my sisters and I couldnt do anything about it because I was out of the country.

Evans finds it hilarious when it is suggested that he could be selected for Europe/Africa Zone group II relegation play-off tie against Turkey on grass in Eastbourne next month, Smiths first in charge, but should he carry Britains colours into the main draw at Wimbledon, it would be impossible to resist his claims.

The indication from the recent wild-card decisions is that Baker and Ward will be Smiths singles selections against the Turks. Evans will wish them well even if he does not mind saying that he is a better player than them but wonders if the same would be true if he got the nod.

Believe me, there isnt anyone out there who really wants me to do well, he said. Who did you see of the other British players supporting me today? Im out there doing this for myself.

------------

not sure i quite get the last part, he did realise most of them had their own matches to worry about right?

Jeez....what an attitude

the sun run an article - without using 'bog' in the title!
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/tennis/3014119/Alex-OK-at-losing-wild-tag.html

Times Online is closing.

Dear??????? , We would like to inform you that the Times Online website, timesonline.co.uk is closing today. It will be replaced by our two new websites: thetimes.co.uk and thesundaytimes.co.uk. As you are already registered, you can continue to enjoy access simply visit thetimes.co.uk or thesundaytimes.co.uk and enter your login details in the box on the bottom right to explore. We hope to see you soon. The Times and The Sunday Times