Week 19 - Challenger ($50k) - Sarasota USA

Count Zero · Tennis legend

RE: Week 19 - Challenger ($50k) - Sarasota USA

steven · Tennis legend

Thank goodness someone's noticed - maybe Petch has been looking at AM.com again LOL

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

Great news. Good to see 2 different men winning challengers this year after a big drough except for Andy M

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Just got in - fantastic, James, well done!

-- Edited by Madeline on Saturday 16th of May 2009 10:36:10 PM

steven · Tennis legend

steven wrote:
I've asked the person in Sarasota who replied to my email last night to pass on our congratulations to Wardy if he speaks to him. It would be nice for James to know that some Brits other than his family and friends have noticed ...

Update: The guy in Sarasota wrote back and said he would. smile

James · Satellite level

Having clicked onto the thread looking for an array of smilies to suggest the outcome, you guys didn't disappoint! biggrin

A big big well done to James. He must be feeling that he has conquered another rung on the tennis ladder. Having been a little stagnant at the start of the year he seems to have finally moved up into one of the gears we had hoped he had in his locker. Onwards and upwards!

steven · Tennis legend

Bradenton Herald report on Wardy's win - sounds like he had a few fans there yesterday:

http://www.bradenton.com/534/story/1446068.html

His opponent hit nine aces in three service games!

It does sound like he isn't going to play in Kuwait and is going to spend time at home preparing for the grass court season instead and that seems reasonable enough under the circumstances.

There's also a similar article with a picture at http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090517/ARTICLE/905171060/2050/SPORTS?Title=Ward-outlasts-Ball-in-Sarasota-Open-final

Drew · May 17, 2009

The Lta have a report up...not as good as the local reports...no mention of Stevens stats etc..

steven · Tennis legend

It's better though - it mentions that he beat Spadea who's a former top 20 player and that he had to win 7 matches to take the title. You can hardly expect them to overload it with stats like I do - the only stat I can't understand why they didn't include is the bit about it being a first clay title for a Brit at Challenger level or above since Henman won Seoul 14 years ago ... unless it's because they aren't 100% sure that nobody has won a clay court title since.

Drew · May 17, 2009

steven wrote:

It's better though - it mentions that he beat Spadea who's a former top 20 player and that he had to win 7 matches to take the title. You can hardly expect them to overload it with stats like I do - the only stat I can't understand why they didn't include is the bit about it being a first clay title for a Brit at Challenger level or above since Henman won Seoul 14 years ago ... unless it's because they aren't 100% sure that nobody has won a clay court title since.

Im sure they could chk your stats....I wonder if Robxon's email 'helped' this piece to be done over the weekend?

Drew · May 17, 2009

OMG the BBC have a good piece...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8054117.stm

They have been reading here Im sure....LOL

To quote...

"This is an outstanding result for James Ward and one which hopefully will be noted by those in charge of wild cards this summer and Davis Cup selection later in the year," said BBC tennis correspondent Jonathan Overend."

"Tim Henman is believed to be the last British man to lift a clay-court title at the top two levels, when he won the Seoul Challenger in 1995. "

-- Edited by Drew on Sunday 17th of May 2009 09:02:53 AM

steven · Tennis legend

Wow, this is unexpected, a proper article on the BBC which includes virtually everything * keels over * biggrin

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8054117.stm

Drew · May 17, 2009

steven wrote:

Wow, this is unexpected, a proper article on the BBC which includes virtually everything * keels over *

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8054117.stm

Cmon Steven that article is at least 30 mins old and your 3 mins late behind my post above...where you 'out on the town' last night LOL !

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

Fantastic result for Wardy

:w00p:

Thanks to everyone for the commentary/scores (and in the Rafa/Nole match) it was a lovely result to come home to late last night.

I'm very glad to see the Beeb putting an article up about Ward, and the lta, thoroughly deserved in my opinion, now all we need to complete the set is for Neil Harman to mention it in his net post tomorrow (you reading this OEM?

)

I think coming home to prepare for the grass season is a very good idea, particularly given we now hope Ward will get a few wildcards during said season, he needs to get used to the surface again and keep this excellent form. I guess he'll be seen next in not-Surbiton, any ideas?

steven · Tennis legend

I see you noticed it minutes before me, Drew ... the 'believed to be' does sound a bit like it could have been lifted from here doesn't it.

Anyway, whether they did their own research evileye

or read some of it here or on AM.com (if they did, it's a bit annoying that they don't say where they sourced it, but there you go, that's life), who cares, the important thing is that good news for GB tennis like this gets covered. A heck of a lot more people are going to read about it there than here, and if anything we've written has prompted this article, then it's great to see our random musings on here doing a bit of good. wink

As Bethan says, OEM is surprisingly slow off the mark on this one, especially since he did a very supportive article about James a while back and came across as quite a fan. I'm sure it'll be in the Net Post though, hopefully in the paper version too.

-- Edited by steven on Sunday 17th of May 2009 09:14:31 AM