Week 28 - Manchester Challenger [35K+H] - 2009.

spud · Challenger qualifying

RE: Week 28 - Manchester Challenger [35K+H] - 2009.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Evans and Eaton are now in the main draw.

But who gets the wild cards, now that Slabba is out? Broady has a shot, I think.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Actually I'd prefer it if Coxy were in qualies than directly in the mains. He's not tired since he has played just one match in the last two weeks, so this is a chance to pick up 3 points.

But there's no chance of that happening.

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

The only danger with Cox being in qualies would be that he could happen to be in a section with either a strong grass courter who just missed the cut here, or a ringer who didn't originally enter but has now decided to play qualies and thus is vastly overranked for qualies.

Not sure that the extra 3 points is a huge motivation either as it won't do much to his ranking.

Guess the wild cards are looking like going to Cox, Fleming, Smethurst but no idea on the 4th wild card...maybe someone like Willis may get one if they choose not to play Frinton, but otherwise, looks a bit bare.

Malteaser · Junior player

If Fleming is going to get a wild card, why not his doubles partner Skupski?

I'd suggest that they will blood a few youngsters as Wild cards though.

I can't see the logic in having a challenger and a futures on at the same week personally. We don't have sufficient players to fill all the possible places going, so it's just lining up points for players from other countries. We had plenty of space for futures earlier in the calendar, so it would have made more sencse to have it then. Another opportunity missed IMO. I mean it's not rocket science is it?

johnnylad · Tennis legend

I'm assuming one of the withdrawals is Klein too which gives Joosh and Alex a seeding

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

johnnylad wrote:

I'm assuming one of the withdrawals is Klein too which gives Joosh and Alex a seeding

I think Klein's ban doesn't begin until the 20th July, so he's available for this event (or at least that's what I thought I read).

steven · Tennis legend

Yes, I think that's right. Typically, he's probably going to win this and then start playing GB Futures as a 'ringer' (since Challengers are ATP events and Futures are ITF events) and gobbling up all the points from them as well. doh

steven · Tennis legend

Only 13 players in qualifying - ridiculous! Hopefully good news for Jonny though!

QR1: Callum Lloyd UNR v (q7) Andrew Anderson (RSA) WR 975 - winner to play (q1) Dustin Brown (JAM) WR 400
QR1: Josh Bolt UNR v (q8) Artur Romanowski (POL) WR 1184 - winner to play (q2) Igor Sijsling (NED) WR 444
QR1: (q4) Jonny Marray WR 518 v Neal Skupski UNR
QR1: Michael Ward UNR v (q5) Alexandre Renard (FRA) WR 592

I assume this means that if Ken and Colin are coming to Manchester to play doubles, then they've also been given singles WCs ... other possibilities among the GB Top 25 are:

- Dan Cox (definite, I'd say)
- Dan Smethurst (wasn't on the original entry list though)
- Sean Thornley (on the Alt list here, but also a DA for Frinton)

Illy & Dr No are DAs for Frinton and, unlike Sean, weren't on the entry list here the last time I looked.

-- Edited by steven on Friday 10th of July 2009 08:45:39 PM

Vandenburg · Futures level

ken a singles wc! what next Eto'o to man city.

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

I bet all those British players who chose to play Frinton rather than Manchester as they thought it would give them a better chance of getting points are feeling disappointed now as the level of player they'd have to beat here is similar to the top players in Frinton, but with 3 times as many points for a win.

Hopefully Jonny can come through qualifying here, but don't hold out much hope for the others.

Can't see Flemski playing on clay next week, and even though they are headed to the US, I'd imagine they'd rather play here than go to Atpos, as at least for Manchester they may get a singles WC.

Not too sure whether Ken will have a singles WC or not as he hasn't played singles for a long time as hasn't tried to qualify for any events when at the same time Fleming has. But if everyone else chooses to play Frinton, then he may get that last WC by default.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Cox would have been the favourite to qualify from this draw.

Salmon · Tennis legend

Draw out - http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2009/583/mds.pdf

alex03maccy · Grand Slam Champion

eaton has a chance versus amritraj?

ForeverDelayed · Grand Slam Champion

(1) Sergiy Stakhovsky vs.Alexander Peya
Robert Smeets vs. Alex Bogdanovic
Qualifier vs. Dan Evans
Pavel Snobel vs. (6) Marsel Ilhan

(3) Karol Beck vs. (WC) Colin Fleming
Josh Goodall vs. Qualifier
Ruben Bemelmans vs. Qualifier
Riccardo Ghedin vs. (8) Brydan Klein

(7) Lukas Lacko vs. (WC) Dan Smethurst
(WC) Ashley Hewitt vs. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos
Qualifier vs. Michael Koning
Dan Cox vs. (4) Nicolas Mahut

(5) Prakash Amritraj vs. Chris Eaton
Martin Fischer vs. Conor Niland
George Bastl vs. Frederik Nielsen
Sergei Bubka vs. (2) Oliver Rochus

It's not the worst draw that the Brits could have had, but it's nowhere near as good as it could have been.

Boggo gets Smeets, who is woeful at the moment, so hopefully that won't be the moment for Smeets to rediscover some form. Davis Cup revenge in round two though as he'll either face Peya or Stakhovsky, whose the top seed

Evans and Goodall get qualifiers. Evans to face either Snobel or Ilhan and Goodall to face either Beck or Fleming if they win.

Fleming gets 3rd seed Beck in a rematch of the Pozoblanco doubles final. Don't give him much of a chance really.

Smethurst has 7th seed Lacko, while Hewitt gets Duclos. Be surprised if either of them could pull off the win.

Cox has 4th seed Mahut while Eaton faces 5th seed Amritraj. Don't see either of them winning given the draw, but perhaps they have a slight chance.

-- Edited by ForeverDelayed on Saturday 11th of July 2009 01:24:05 PM