Salmon wrote:

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This thread needs Ratty!!!

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Well, thank you, always happy to oblige.

I've sort of changed  my mind about my all-out opposition to wild cards. I confess that (say it quietly!) I was persuaded by the reasoning of other posters. 

I suppose it adds local interest to have local players, so why not?

And I guess that it is also sensible to have a ranking cut off to give an incentive and to try to avoid embarrassing thrashings. This sort of makes it inevitable that Johnny Foreigner ends up with the surplus. But hey, tribalism is so passé.

 

Fair enough, Indy!


This year is certainly fairer than before. But I hope they'll go back to an all-Brit policy if they believe that this isn't helping British tennis in any way, since that was supposed to be the aim. They did have four top 100 players up there and now there's only one guy (who incidentally was nowhere near the top 250 when he got his WC) so I am not sure how this is being successful. Obviously the sample is too small but when it's careers you're talking about it's probably better to err on the side of caution. 


Ratty, my biggest grief with keeping a cut off for wild cards is that it goes against the whole concept. You're supposed to give them on hunches and it's impossible to quantify a premonition. For one thing, Bloomfield and Boggo are far better on grass than many in the top 200.

And talking of preventing thrashings... you get far more bagels in the women's draw, I feel. Someone should try saying that women should play a 64 draw and see what happens!! *




* Obviously I don't think women should play 64 draws, just in case you wanted to be sure!

-- Edited by Salmon on Sunday 12th of June 2011 06:19:07 PM

LTA set criteria. Whether the cut-off is right is another debate (I'd say 300 rather than 250 for main draw). That is not the debate being had here.

I also don't like the '8' rule. If 12 brits meet the criteria the 12 should get wildcarfs!

Salmon, ur comment about about brits not moaning about USO is irrelevant and I'm not sure where it came from. The point I was making that we have some british players moaning about not getting wimby wildcards and them going to foreigners. That sense of entitlement has to go.

The reason I referred to foreigners not moaning was that u seem to believe my statement 'if ur good enough prove it' applies to these foreigners who got wc's. It doesn't - it applies to players who believe they should have gotten wildcards (regardless of nationality). I thought that was clear but sorry if it wasn't. To be clear, if some foreigner was moaning he didn't get a wimby wildcard I'd say he has to prove it too.

The point is these guys think they were wrongly overlooked - prove it. Same applies to any other player and every other event.

Yeah exemption would apply, as it has applied to Laura and Hev in past.

Just seen qualy draw - very interesting!! Where are everyones loyalties lying?!

PaulM wrote:

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LTA set criteria. Whether the cut-off is right is another debate (I'd say 300 rather than 250 for main draw). That is not the debate being had here.

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Umm, but why did they set the criteria?  

 

How does it hurt anyone in British tennis if a few more people get wild cards, that's all I want to know. And like I've mentioned numerous times - it does help a little bit with the creation of extra interest. A 1% gain is better than nothing, so go and give them to the Brits.

 

Someone please tell me how British tennis is harmed and I'll shut up.  

No I agree mate. I think the players actually like it as there is a bit of transparency. Before they just picked who they liked regardless of results/ranking.

I would love GB wildcards across the board, but I don't think it can be justified. And I for one can't put up with the moronic press coverage when our guys lose to people ranked hundreds of spots above them acting like its (a) a shock and (b) a disgrace. So if it saves a bunch of unfair negative press and let's the guys get on with their jobs until they are at a level across a year where a grand slam is not such a massive jump, I prefer it lol.

I don't think that anyone seriously believes that the LTA should be handing out wild cards to 7 or 8 British players just for the hell of it. There is however a sensible balance to be struck where by they do a little bit to help some of the more deserving cases and provide some home players for the fans to watch.