Of the 3 teenagers, Luke seems again to have picked up the toughest opening match, Kyle again the easiest. Liam beat Folie last week, and Luke beat Heller (Kyle's likely opponent if both players win their opening matches again qualifiers), so with some note swapping, there's room for optimism once again.  

Last week we debated whether there was an advantage in playing high seeds early, and it certainly worked out that way.....even #1 seed Reynet started slowly, but got better and better, finishing off with a 0 and 0 win in the final. He's in Kyle's half.......and looks the class act of the field both on ranking and form.

Good to hear that Liam feels he's playing well again.

Would be nice for Luke to get a strong run in while all 3 boys are together. I noticed in the LTA videos of the 3 players before they left for America, that Luke seems to be very harsh on his own performance - implying that his 2012 was OKish at best in an almost apologetic manner, before listing his achievements and conceding that he'd actually done pretty well! His friends (Liam, Kyle, Oli, George) have all had standout moments/tournaments in their brief juniors/futures tennis lives (and dips too), but Luke is still waiting for his. The 5 of them are often lumped together, rightly or wrongly, as possible future British contenders. I think Luke "needs" a break-out moment to boost his belief and sense of belonging. Hopefully this week or next.  

Of all, I'd be most keen to see Kyle really kick on as this appears to be his last tournament on this swing. Does anyone know where/when he is planning to play tournaments next. Is that it for 2012? I notice that he's not entered in either Eddie Herr or Orange Bowl juniors (Luke's in both), which are the 2 big grade A/grade 1 tournaments ending 2012. Suggesting perhaps he may limit himself to the Grand Slam juniors and perhaps 1 or 2 warm up events in 2013 (eg the Canadian Juniors).  

Bob in Spain wrote:

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It is a shame the didn't leave the draw for the MD until after the qualies were finished. Had they done so and therefore used today's updated rankings, Kyle would have been seeded. As of today, he is above the number 8 seed (Fratangelo) in the rankings.

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They would still have used last week's rankings for seedings so it would have made no difference. The only time waiting until qualifying ends can make a difference to seedings is when a player in qualifying (usually a player who has changed their plans and got a late QWC) was ranked high enough the previous Monday to be seeded if they manage to qualify.

L32: Matthew Short WR 719 v Mitchell Krueger (USA) WR 795 (= CH)
L32: Kyle Edmund WR 636 v (Q) Andrei Stefan Apostol (ROU) WR 1507 (CH 1460 in Jun)
L32: (JE) Liam Broady WR 1024 v (6) Benjamin Balleret (MON) WR 511 (CH 204 in 2006)
L32: Luke Bambridge WR 919 v (2) Alexandre Folie (BEL) WR 459 (CH 334 in Apr)

(5 Nov rankings)

luke only one playing today

L32: Matthew Short WR 719 lost to Mitchell Krueger (USA) WR 795 (= CH, also junior CH 5 earlier this year) by 6-4 6-7(7) 6-3
L32: Luke Bambridge WR 919 lost to (2) Alexandre Folie (BEL) WR 459 (CH 334 in Apr) by 6-1 7-6(3)

Tomorrow:

L32: Kyle Edmund WR 636 v (Q) Andrei Stefan Apostol (ROU) WR 1507 (CH 1460 in Jun)
L32: (JE) Liam Broady WR 1024 v (6) Benjamin Balleret (MON) WR 511 (CH 204 in 2006)

-- Edited by steven on Tuesday 6th of November 2012 10:45:53 PM

Luke getting a beatdown unfortunately: 1-6 1-4*