Week 15 - Challenger ($50K) - Baton Rouge, LA, USA - Hard

helki · Futures qualifying

RE: Week 15 - Challenger ($50K) - Baton Rouge, LA, USA - Hard

Josh · Challenger level

Not looking good, Evo 3-1 down in the 2nd and just saved a break point to momentarily avoid a double break

SMC1809 · All-time great

Dan now 1-3 in the second set.

SMC1809 · All-time great

Dan saves a bp to make it 3-4*. Needs to break now though.

SMC1809 · All-time great

Domijan holds to 15. *3-5.

SMC1809 · All-time great

Dan's score disappeared from the live-score really quickly, but I think he lost the second set 6-3. cry

The Magician Santoro · Top national player

Disgusting!

Ratty · County player

Well I don't know whether disgusting is the right word, but it is worrying for Evans that the last time he beat someone higher ranked than him was 14 weeks ago, when he beat Sergeyev on 3 January.

The Magician Santoro · Top national player

Smyczek (USA) def Baker (GBR) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Goodall (GBR) def Bester (CAN) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

indiana · Tennis legend

I am afraid Dan Evans' defeat is no great surprise to me. Akhenaten's adjusted ranking in the 400's, significantly lower even than his recently plunged ATP ranking, refects his lack of victories of substance over the last year.

Dan and those who advise him really do need to get a grip of why he is clearly regressing, and although the recent lurid headlines were apparently operhyped and unfair, I do wonder if this is a guy as focussed and committed as he should be to really developing his talent.

Much is wrong here. I really do hope it can be turned around sooner rather than later.

Meantime, well done to Josh on his win and hard luck Jamie ( someone who appears much more to try to really make the best of what he has ) on losing what was a pretty tough test after his time out.

steven · Tennis legend

Sad stuff from Evo, though nice to see Josh winning. Akhenaten should really be arbitraging the bookies based on his rankings, he'd be making a packet!

(of course, as soon as he started putting money behind it, it would all go horribly wrong ...)

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i feel sorry for evo, pro tennis is such a confidence based sport and his has obvisuly taken a huge knock that things can just spiral and gte worse worse, same i think has effected josh in the past.

i think baton rouge are super slow courts too, thats why boggo didnt go back, last year it was a joke when he played, maybe vs matosevic.

Ratty · County player

... and it's bitchin' hot (27C) and steamy way down South in Louisiana, maybe not so clever to come straight there from a British winter. Domijan is from Florida and has been playing down south for the last few weeks.

Not exactly surprising that our pasty-faced Jocko lost too!

steven · Tennis legend

Count Zero wrote:
i think baton rouge are super slow courts too, thats why boggo didnt go back, last year it was a joke when he played, maybe vs matosevic.

That's right, he got beaten pretty badly by Matosevic, if the match he lost to him last spring was in Baton Rouge. Shouldn't they pool info on stuff like this and save each other wasted trips?

Edit: (shouldn't be so lazy, so looked it up) the Matosevic loss was indeed in BR, 4 & 2 so pretty dire.

-- Edited by steven on Tuesday 13th of April 2010 08:48:10 PM

clayfan · Lower Club Player

Pasty faced Jocko, Ratty? When I saw JB play in January I thought he had a good tan. Probably from Australia! We will have to give him a few weeks for him to get back into the grove. I hope Josh's result it is a sign of a leaner, fitter Goodall, ready to move up the rankings. With his talent he should be far higher.

Evo seems to have several holes in his game, but I think his serve has been mentioned as the main problem. When it is off his opponent finds it all too easy to hit a good return and take the initiative in rallies on Dan's serve. What I would not question is the effort he puts into a match. He is a gutsy fighter. It is up to his coaches to improve his game. I hope he has good ones. All too often you see British coaches who are scarcely watching their charges, in contrast to foreign coaches who watch intently and sometimes video entire matches to go through weak points etc.