literally every result there went against where i wanted it to, that was horrific

oh wait no i wanted AWard to win, hope he wins the whole thing now

At least Evo's results recently have been so pathetic that today's shocker does not make me feel too much despair. Last year's dross was more painful as it was interspersed with results that made him potential top 200.

Let us not forget that this is a loss to someone who will be about as good as Josh Milton in a few years time (though I admit I've only seen Gabb play thrice). The last sentence was not a compliment.

indiana wrote:

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Last week, for Ilkley, someone noted that the GB v foreign score in the main draw was a remarkable  10  - 1  with the only defeat Eaton's retiral.  It was really good week with many notable surprise victories.

Already  1 -  4  this week  with shocks both GB v GB and foreign v GB

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At least we came back today from 4-1 down to gain a score draw. If only.....

Half of today's results were rankings upsets and in the top quarter (which is now all-GB ). they all were, with three of the winners coming back from a set down!

The new results include good wins v higher-ranked players for Fitzy , Morgan, Bradshaw & Brassington.

L32: (WC) Richard Gabb UNR  beat (1) Dan Evans WR 306 by 4 & 3
L32: Sean Thornley WR 648 beat Josh Milton WR 559 by  4-6 7-5 7-6(4)
L32: Kyle Brassington WR 925 beat Takanyi Garanganga (ZIM) WR 755 by 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2
L32: Dan Cox WR 787 beat (6) Chris Eaton WR 497 by 3-6 7-5 6-4
L32: (Q) Tom Farquharson UNR lost to (4) Alexander Sadecky (SUI) WR 367 by 5 & 3
L32: (WC) Oliver Golding UNR lost to Colin Ebelthite (AUS) WR 568 by 5 & 4
No-GB: Rudy Coco (FRA) WR 578 beat (Q) Christian Welte (USA) WR 1023 by 7-5 4-6 7-6(4)
L32: (7) David Rice WR 489 lost to (Q) Xander Spong (NED) WR 1180 by 4 & 3
L32: (8) Alex Ward WR 513 beat Colin O'Brien (IRL) WR 647 by 6 & 2
L32: (Q) Tim Bradshaw WR 945 beat Barry King (IRL) WR 713 by 3 & 0
L32: Burnham Arlidge WR 909 lost to Divij Sharan (IND) WR 902 by 7-6(2) 7-6(3)
L32: (3/WC) Josh Goodall WR 379 beat Marcus Willis WR 656 by 2 & 5
No-GB: (5) Blake Strode (USA) WR 488 beat Matthew Asciak (MLT) WR 924 by 4 & 2
L32: (WC) George Morgan WR 1343 beat (Q) Joss Espasandin (SUI) WR 1093 by 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2
L32: (Q) Andrew Fitzpatrick WR 1769 beat (Q) Philip Barlow WR 1223 by 4 & 2
No-GB: (2) Vishnu Vardhan (IND) WR 389 beat (Q) Francesco Vilardo (ITA) UNR by 2 & 3

L16: Sean Thornley WR 648 v (WC) Richard Gabb UNR 
L16: Dan Cox WR 787 v Kyle Brassington WR 925
L16: (4) Alexander Sadecky (SUI) WR 367 v Colin Ebelthite (AUS) WR 568
L16: Rudy Coco (FRA) WR 578 v (Q) Xander Spong (NED) WR 1180
L16: (8) Alex Ward WR 513 v (Q) Tim Bradshaw WR 945 
L16: (3/WC) Josh Goodall WR 379 v Divij Sharan (IND) WR 902
L16: (WC) George Morgan WR 1343 v (5) Blake Strode (USA) WR 488
L16: (Q) Andrew Fitzpatrick WR 1769 v (2) Vishnu Vardhan (IND) WR 389

-- Edited by steven on Wednesday 14th of July 2010 06:39:15 PM

A really good day at Frinton today, if you haven't been to a small futures event, I would recomend it.

I made straight for Goodall/Willis first and saw the last couple of games of the 1st set. To be honest, it was man against boy so I moved on but it seems the 2nd set was closer.

I was then able to watch bits of 3 matches at once. Eaton looked classy against Cox and was a break up in the 1st when I joined it. He didn't look troubled. Cox is really muscular though, he must train hard and he played like a terrier, really competing for every point. His own serve is good, he uses all the court, how comes he has so few ranking point???? Most service games were held fairly comfortably both ways but, Cox fashioned break opportunities when Chris was serving for sets two and three and took them both. Eatons serve is great as we know, he is also very accomplished at the net and smashed reliably when Dan tried lobs. Dan started to read his game better though and the breaks were deserved. It turned into a classic clash of styles match and was easily the best on show. Same old Eaton really, could easily have won the tournament or, is just as vunerable for a first round defeat.

Dan Evans just wasn't at the races. His main tactic seemd to float the ball back into play and hope Gabb would make an error. He rarely went for a winner. Richard has a good all round game and will be in with a shout at making the quarters. Well worth keeping an eye out for him, he certainly impressed. Dan didn't want to be there.

Arlidge seemed just ahead in each set but lost his service points in the breakers, both against the run of play. He made a lot of unforced errors and berated himself loudly and the racket took some abuse which earned the one warning. Like Dan Cox, he REALLY competes but, lacks the skills. He was up a break in the 2nd, lost it, fashioned two more break points straight away yet the unforced errors gave them back. He should be able to play well on clay because, considering it was Grass, boy can he slide!

Alex Ward started like a steam train, broke in the opening game and seemd to be walking it. When I returned at the end of the set it was going into a tie break which surprised me. He won that though and broke twice in the 2nd to seal it. He has a better serve than I thought, has a good build for a tennis player, really tries to place his shots and find the lines. He impressed me a lot.

Milton won the 1st set and was 5-3 up in the 2nd looking accomplished before his game collapsed. Thornley got his game going and the 3rd set was nip and tuck. Neither really impressed compared to others but both had serious complaints with the umpiring so, I think it became just one of those matches.

I didn't see much of Rice but, in the little I did, his Dutch opponent seemed a very handy player and on top.

I saw the first set and a bit of young Ollie. He has the statue and, a very decent all round game. I fully expect him to be the real deal and would already tip him for a genuine contender for top 100. His youth shone through here though, a match he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. His one main error was being too flat footed after a serve or big shot (almost admiring it) He got passed time and time again from anywhere on the court. When winning the points though, he looked the business.

Most Sportsman Moment of the day. Dan Cox received a serve that clipped the net, lost the point but the let wasn't called. 2 points later, another net cord went unnoticed by the umpire and this time he won the point, Chris Eaton having stopped playing. "I can't accept that" said Dan, "it clearly was a let" and so conceded the point that was then replayed.

Most UnSportsman Moment of the day. Oliver Golding served clearly in yet it was called out. He was dumbstruck at first and remonstrated. His opponent Colin Ebelthite agreed with him saying the ball was clearly in. The umpire suggested they replay the point but then but Colin said "Oh no, I'm just telling you (the umpire) you were wrong. You called out and it was in but I am not conceding the point" so the bad call stood.

Bad thing to see. There were complaints everywhere against umpires decisions. Some were no doubt wrong but, I am sure some were right. I try to imagine how frustrating each perceived injustice must be for a player (immense I am sure) but, I still cannot accept the level of abuse the players level at the umpires. They swear at them, one got called a loser, talk to them for points afterwards with sarcasm etc. I accept the level of officials might be very low, and this is people careers we are talking about in a very pressured tense situation but, the level of disrespect is, well embarassing really.

Good thing to see. A couple of years ago I was at the Surbiton challenger and then the Felixstow futures. The British players just seemed to hang out together between matches, almost like at a social club. At Frinton they were all out watching other matches, often offering support to fellow Brits. It just seemed to make for a more serious tournament from a British point of view.

All in all, a good day for any fan at this level.

Thanks Shhh, that was a very interesting read, and it was good to get perspective on quite a lot of players and results, particularly what seemed some surprise results.