Girls: 51st Junior Orange Bowl - U14/U12 (Week 52)

indiana · Tennis legend

RE: Girls: 51st Junior Orange Bowl - U14/U12 (Week 52)

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

And also Heather wasn;t really doing much at this age. Every player is different and breaks through at different speeds.

Priesty · Challenger level

DavidC wrote:

Mervatron wrote:
Heres hoping for an all british final
You get your wish - they both won in straight sets
The only British girl to reach the final here before was Jo Lewis in 1981. No idea what happened to her, but her conqueror Manuela Maleeva went on to reach world number 3

If that's Jo Louis, she never did anything of note in seniors, I'm almost certain she never cracked the 100.About all I can remember her doing was beating Jo Durie unexpectedly in the '85 nationals.

Agree with Mervatron too - everyone develops at different rates.As I recall before Laura won the Wimbledon juniors she was in the shadow of the Ren sisters.They were being talked up as big hopes for the future but look where they are now in comparison.

indiana · Tennis legend

DavidC wrote:

LTA coach Helen Reesby said there are a variety of reasons for the recent surge in British tennis, both at the professional and junior levels.

"We've had a great year throughout, with the 14s particularly very strong, but in general all the way through," said Reesby. "I work for women's tennis, but we have a very strong group of women now, with Laura Robson and Heather Watson and another three girls who are inside or around Top 100, and our juniors are also starting to move that way. I think it's showing we're becoming a very strong tennis nation. We have a good system in place now, we have a new CEO since 2007, when we had quite a big shakeup, and I think we've got the right coaches in the right places, working with the right players."

I have been enjoying the girls' progress here and as I have said it's good that we have these three 1998 girls. I look forward to following their progress in 2013

Clearly overall there have been some great things this year from such as Andy, Heather and Laura and some good things among the juniors although I'd say that it still seems a bit patchy from year to year. And clearly the LTA and their set up has contributed to this to different degress. To deny that would be very unfair and we can all see such as the close season training groups going on.

But also clearly not all is rosey. It has not been "a great year throughout". What about the top GB men's rankings after Andy ? What about the depth in the women ? Have indeed all the junior years been progressing as would have been hoped ?

But then we have some more absolute OTT spin from an LTA person. Are such err "abilities" part of the employment criteria at the LTA ?

-- Edited by indiana on Sunday 23rd of December 2012 12:34:54 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Maza1987 wrote:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/23/3153772/friendly-rivals-ready-to-clash.html

piece in miami herald

Thanks for the link, but oh gawd that woman is there again :

"Reesby said this is a golden age of tennis for Great Britain."

-- Edited by indiana on Sunday 23rd of December 2012 01:02:17 PM

DavidC · Tennis legend

Maia wins 6-3 7-5

So Maia starts and ends the year in fine style, seemingly more at home on hard courts or indoors than clay, the opposite to Jazzi, whilst Gabi has had a consistent year across all surfaces

-- Edited by DavidC on Sunday 23rd of December 2012 05:39:41 PM

DavidC · Tennis legend

Thanks Priesty for the snippet of information about Jo Lewis

From ZooTennis (Colette):

Eighth seed Maia Lumsden and Gabriella Taylor, a No. 17 seed, both of Great Britain, will meet in the girls 14s final, and that will be a rematch of a much closer previous meeting.

Back in May, Lumsden defeated Taylor 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of a 14s tournament on clay in the Czech Republic.

"It was hard, especially because it was in the final," Lumsden said of the three-hour match. "We were both a bit tired, but it was a good match."

Neither girl will likely be tired for Sunday's final, as neither has dropped a set in their six victories this week. In their semifinals Saturday, Lumsden took care of Theo Gravouil of France 6-1, 7-6(1), coming back from 5-2 down in the second set, while Taylor cruised past Eddie Herr champion and No. 5 seed Fanni Stollar of Hungary 6-2, 6-0.

Lumsden, who has never played the Junior Orange Bowl before, said her belief in the strength of the British contingent grew as the week progressed.

"I wasn't expecting it at the beginning, but as the tournament went on, I though that maybe could happen," said Lumsden, of Glasgow, Scotland. "When I got further into the tournament I started playing better, and I could see Gabby was playing well as well, so I had a feeling."

Whether it is Taylor or Lumsden collecting the winner's bowl of oranges Sunday, she will be the first girl from Great Britain to take the 14s title. Jessica Ren won the Junior Orange Bowl 12s title in 2006.

LTA coach Helen Reesby said there are a variety of reasons for the recent surge in British tennis, both at the professional and junior levels.

"We've had a great year throughout, with the 14s particularly very strong, but in general all the way through," said Reesby. "I work for women's tennis, but we have a very strong group of women now, with Laura Robson and Heather Watson and another three girls who are inside or around Top 100, and our juniors are also starting to move that way. I think it's showing we're becoming a very strong tennis nation. We have a good system in place now, we have a new CEO since 2007, when we had quite a big shakeup, and I think we've got the right coaches in the right places, working with the right players."

korriban · Challenger level

Well done Maia. What a performance. She took a set off Lisa W at a senior ITF earlier in the year, and now 7 straight set victories in a row, including a double B to win the JOB. Hard luck Gabriella, but a fine end to the season. And we should commend Jazzi for some breakthrough performances this year at grade 3 and 4 level, and a ranking around 100, well ahead of her 2 rivals. A difficult end to the year, but arguably the pick of the 3 overall. They are very much inside the LTA firmament, so we should doff our caps on this one, both to Judy Murray and to the wider support network. I'm sure their contribution was extremely important. I must admit, however, that some of the spin from head coach Helen from the LTA was bordering on preposterous. It was very much over the top, factually incorrect regarding our top 5, and it appeared that the ghost of Mr Draper may have been behind her in the room. The 1998 girls are going well, but 94 is all about Laura (old news) and nobody else, 95 is very average, perhaps with Katy Dunne the only prospect, albeit no major breakthroughs of note. 96 has Harriet (good prospect but still below 100 juniors - good luck this week!), Eleanor (big talent, big injury concerns) and Katie (well below 100 ranking, no major breakthroughs). I'm not aware of any big name players in the 97 year group that are on the radar at all. I'm not saying the cupboard is bare, but it's hardly a golden age is it?! Anyone who says this openly to the press is, I'd argue, either premature or foolish. Anyone who believes this, based on a few early successes, is either immature or deluded. I am the first to want sustained success and I'm delighted for Maia and the LTA. But if there's a single person out there who thinks it is a good idea to start talking of a golden age of British tennis at this point (apart from coach Helen) I'd like to hear from them!

-- Edited by korriban on Sunday 23rd of December 2012 07:15:06 PM

philwrig · Hall of fame

I really think that Judy Murray's arrival has been a breath of fresh air to the girls side of things. She to me provides a perfect blend of having fun but at the same time having the right level of professionalism needed to succeed.