Week 1 - Challenger (75K) - Nouméa, New Caledonia, FRA

The Hoose · Satellite level

RE: Week 1 - Challenger (75K) - Nouméa, New Caledonia, FRA

seagull · Hall of fame

Go Alex's!!

2/3 ain't bad!

freerider · Futures level

excellent season really feels like its underway now, shame about josh but no seeds left in their section now (although florian mayer ...) still good win for boggo especially and i think that slabba has shown that he is worthy of his top 300 ranking by beating good opposition,

who do people want to win in Rd 2

im leaning towards slabba, because i think the points will be more crucial in his ranking rise to get him DA's into more challengers etc

Count Zero · Tennis legend

got to say am really pleased for alex here. as i said before i had my doubts so its nice for him to prove me wrong, of course its 1st match of the year and we dont know what kind of shape De Voest is in.

Interesting to see how the match between alex and slabba pans out, they have known each other for ages so should know each others games very well. Slabba is obviously playing well here, on a 4 match streak now, with a nice amount of points in the bag too, and can go out hitting with no real pressure, but Boggo has a good record vs other Brits

of course i want boggo to win, the points are crucial for both players really, they would give slabba the bigger jump obviously, but Alex needs to to get heading back in the right direction too, but its not too bad if he doesnt as i'll be pleased for slabba.

wolf · Tennis legend

BOGGO IS BACK!!!! I know it is only one win but it must feel like such a relief for him. Seeds have been falling like flies today so a good chance for whoever wins in R2 to go deep. I don't mind who wins really, they both need the points.

Happycynic · Pro player

All played higher ranked opponents. 2 of 3 won. The other got close. A nice start to the year. Hope Boggo takes heart!

Strange how tournaments shift from being weak-strong year-to-year. I guess the players all look at last year's entries and individually think - must go for that one this year- converting it from weak to strong.

Sheddie · administrator

great results from the two Alexs....

I wouldn't expect the winner of Wednesday's 2nd round match to go much further though....he will probably face Florian Mayer in the quarters who's been well inside top 50 in the past and trashed the 2nd seed today

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i agree i am sure some players look at the various cuts and think must go there next year so you get this see saw effect. I don't know if Steven was joking about the plane being delayed last year. Also it could be that the event is a bit later this year maybe?

is kindlemann ranked higher than josh, i would have assumed not given josh was a DE?

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Well done Slabba. Super win for him.

Nice to see Boggo back to winning ways.

I'd prefer to see Slabba win the battle of the brits but I'm not sure his return game is good enough to beat Alex. Will be interesting to see how it plays out. I'd expect Boggo to win fairly comfortably. If Slabba serves brilliantly then it could be close.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i agree with Slabba's return game not begin as good as Alex's, but i think he has the advantage of knowing boggo's serve well. i think it can take a while for players to pick it up normally.

Mayer sitting there in the bottom half is a tough one tho (harsh luck for no2 seed!) still a nice test fopr which ever of the 2 guys makes it.

johnnylad · Tennis legend

Nice results! So 1 Al into the quarter finals. Bonus.

Kindlmann definitely has Josh's number.

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

A shame to see Josh lose though I can't say I'm surprised when the ranking difference is as small as it is I always think the qualifier has the advantage.

Great results from Slabba and Boggo though, brought a huge smile to my face

I'm torn as to who I'd prefer to win in round2, basically I don't want either of them to lose...is that possible?! I think I'm leaning towards a Boggo win though as I think him losing to the lower-ranked Slabba would be worse than Slabba failing to get the upset.

steven · Tennis legend

Just to recap, with the rankings:

L32: Josh Goodall WR 201 lost to (Q) Dieter Kindlmann (GER) WR 235 by 5-7 7-6(3) 1-6 bleh

L32: Alex Bogdanovic WR 190 beat (8) Rik de Voest (RSA) WR 157 by 4-6 7-5 6-3 biggrin

L32: (Q) Alex Slabinsky WR 350 beat Scoville Jenkins (USA) WR 213 by 5-7 6-2 6-4 biggrin

L16: Alex Bogdanovic WR 190 v (Q) Alex Slabinsky WR 350 - Wednesday

So, three rankings upsets in three matches! Who'd have thought Josh would have done an old-style Boggo? (win the 1st, lose a tight 2nd, crash and burn in the 3rd) It's a pity about that, but I'm very happy about the two wins, and in Challengers at the moment a guaranteed quarter-finalist is probably better than both being left to take their chances separately.

Breaking his 10-match losing streak since just before DC and ending a 3-match losing streak against de Voest is exactly the kind of start to a season Boggo needed, while Slabba has now beaten three higher-ranked players in a row! biggrin

As an added bonus, the no. 2 seed went out of this quarter too, though Mayer (who beat him) is a former world no. 33 who was still in the top 60 at the end of 2007 but has been out injured since May, so it might be out of the frying pan into the fire there!

goldfish · Futures qualifying

Not quite the old style Boggo - Josh lost the first set and won the tight second then crashed and burned.

I'd like to see Boggo win his next match. Think he's really suffered with Davis Cup matches and this year I'd love to see him just chase his own personal ranking. Surprised Neil Harman even mentioned a possibility of Boggo being picked for the next Davis Cup match if he had a great run at the start of the year. Please let him just get on quietly pursuing his own dream and choosing the schedule that suits him. I'm sure that's when he plays best.

steven · Tennis legend

goldfish wrote:
Not quite the old style Boggo - Josh lost the first set and won the tight second then crashed and burned.
Oops yes, you're right. Even more surprising that he ran out of steam in the 3rd then.

goldfish wrote:
I'd like to see Boggo win his next match. Think he's really suffered with Davis Cup matches and this year I'd love to see him just chase his own personal ranking. Surprised Neil Harman even mentioned a possibility of Boggo being picked for the next Davis Cup match if he had a great run at the start of the year. Please let him just get on quietly pursuing his own dream and choosing the schedule that suits him. I'm sure that's when he plays best.

I agree with all of that. As for the bit in the Thunderer, perhaps Neil's public were complaining about the fact that he hadn't found an excuse for a gratuitous dig at the Bogster in , let's see, almost a month! (having said that, I've brought up Boggo's 10-match losing streak a couple of times in the last month too ... just makes it all the sweeter that he started the year by snapping it!)