RBBOT wrote:

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Harriet lost 6-2 2-6 6-2

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That's a big shame. I'm surprised, given the way she finished the senior season. Plus she started well in this tournament, and it was a very weak draw for a Grade A tournament (lots of points on offer with only a few top players, but hardly a surprise given the time of year!), with her L16 seed already beaten  - a quarter final seemed like the minimum she would have been happy with.

Nonetheless, if I read her itinerary correctly, she's on the road for 4 or 5 weeks with huge points on offer, so there's time to step it up. Next week another weak South American Grade 1 (with most of the same faces as this week). Then a few days to recover, travel and acclimatise before a much stronger Grade 1 in Australia. This is the warm up for the Aussie Open, which Harriet also plays, but most of the top juniors who are making the long trip for the Grand Slam will also be playing (except Ana Konjuh, who probably hopes to just turn up and win! I wouldn't bet against it).

I believe Harriet will be just outside the cut-off for the Australian Open main draw. Katy Dunne and Eleanor Dean are both entered in the 2 Aussie tournaments as well. It's Katy's last year as a junior and I recall she was singled out by Roger Draper in interviews as the one to watch a few years back, but whilst performing solidly in the bigger junior ITFs, she's never broken through as a contender for the later stages. I just hope Eleanor is fit enough to play, and can show us a glimpse of her past form on the biggest stages. With none of the top GB boys bothering with Australia (I think), we need some nice surprises on the girls side.

Update: Eli Dean has withdrawn from both The Aussie Open and the warm up G1 tournament. It's a long trip if you aren't sure about your fitness I suppose, but that would have been 6 or 7 weeks since her false start at the Eddie Herr. I don't think she trained at La Manga. Lets hope it was a scheduling decision, rather than a fitness decision once again.

Update 2: This is the LTAs take on Harriet in Mexico - Is there some "spin" course that everyone at the LTA is forced to take: "a round away from QFs" must be the new "came second" when describing a match! Let's be clear - she won just a single round in the doubles, and lost in the last 16 to a considerably lower ranked player in the singles!

BritishTennis Harriet Dart was a round away from QFs in both the singles & doubles before suffering defeats.

-- Edited by korriban on Thursday 27th of December 2012 10:12:48 AM