Lets hope "Buster" gets bored with how easily he's winning after Murcia and drops out! Seriously, if he continues winning like this, wouldn't be impossible to sneak into French Open qualifying, especially if he goes for a few Challengers next in his comeback schedule.
Good luck Kyle, and all the best to "Scoop" Bob......a man who always gets his story!
According to the ITF site, Kyle was given a WC for the MD here in Cartagena.
L32: Kyle Edmund WR 554 v Joao Pedro Sorgi (BRA) WR 501
If Kyle can get through that one, there is a potential match with (3) Jose Checa Calvo in the L16. Kyle lost to him in 3 sets in the FQR in Murcia last year despite dishing out a bagel in the 2nd set - a match he commented on when I spoke to him last week. Would be a good yardstick to measure his progress over the last 12 months.
Have yet to find an OoP so if anyone has found one, please let me know.
I still get Sunday's OoP on the ATP site too, even after doing a hard (i,e, shift-F5) refresh, similarly on tenispain. Kyle has since confirmed that 10.30 local (09.30 GMT) is correct though.
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GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!
Thanks for all the info everyone. I am STILL getting the Sunday OoP on the ATP site and I have cleared cache and refreshed.
Anyway, Kyle has confirmed his start time on twitter and the fact that he is on Court 1 is great news, as it is the only one with spectators. I have my excuses for work in place and will be there in the morning.
Won't be able to report back until much later in the day though.
I still get Sunday's OoP on the ATP site too, even after doing a hard (i,e, shift-F5) refresh, similarly on tenispain. Kyle has since confirmed that 10.30 local (09.30 GMT) is correct though.
Mystery solved. If you follow the "Next Week" option and click the OoP for Spain F4, you get the Sunday OoP.
However, if you click the OoP for Spain F3 in Murcia, it gives you the Monday OoP for Spain F4 in Cartagena.
Good to see the ATP have it all under control - NOT.
I'm flagrantly discounting any possibility of Buster losing before the semi, but with 20 singles victories in a row (plus 4 doubles for good measure!) and 27 out of 28 this year.....it's a pretty good bet. I wonder if he's closing in on some kind of ITF tournament record?
Returning to the very same court where he picked up his first ever ATP Ranking point exactly one year ago, Kyle went out today and in simple terms, got the job done.
Given the tricky blustery conditions, the level of tennis was unlikely to reach the heights of the performances in Murcia last week, and so it proved - particularly in the early stages. But good players find a way to adapt to the conditions - they find a way to win. And this is what Kyle did today.
The Cartagena Tennis Club is a small enclosed arena in a city centre location. Surrounded on three sides by highrise apartment blocks, the "bowl" effect causes the wind to swirl in all directions, and today's gusty conditions only accentuated the problem.
Sharing the first 6 games, both players struggled to find any rhythm and their timing was often awry. Both had several mis-hits, although surprisingly these often worked in the "offenders" favour. A run of three games, then saw Kyle take out the first set. It was really a question of playing the big points better. In three of his five service games, Kyle found himself defending break points - 4 in total. The first was saved through a forehand error from Sorgi and the next two with unreturnable serves out wide to the backhand from the ad court. The fourth was a curious point when Sorgi broke a string (the second of three in the match) early in the rally but still managed to keep the ball in play for a further 3 or 4 shots, before Kyle saw him off with a forehand winner. On the other hand, Kyle only forced breakpoints once in the set, but took his opportunity in the 8th game.
There were signs towards the end of the first set that Kyle was beginning to come to terms with the conditions - and his opponent. This was confirmed with a break in the first game of the second set, which put him on a course for a routine victory. He was only threatened once in the second set. Serving at *2-1, Kyle found himself at 15-40. A strong, unreturned serve down the middle saved the first point. On the second, another strong serve to the backhand on the ad court was countered with a good return from Sorgi. However, Kyle stepped in to take the ball early and whipped his cross court forehand away for a clean winner. The danger was averted. It was plain sailing from then on as Kyle broke again for 4-1 and then at 5-2 he served out comfortably for the win.
So what changes did Kyle employ to up the pace in the second set. In his own words, he decided that the best way to combat the conditions was to "rip-it" through the wind. It worked. And as Kyle hit with more pace and confidence, he was able to take advantage of the most obvious weakness in Sorgi's game. Sorgi had an excellent forehand and a propensity to run round it at every opportunity, hitting several forehands from the tramlines on the backhand side. But this left the court exposed wide to the forehand side. By taking the ball early, and whipping his trademark cross court forehand he was able to execute several outright winners as Sorgi was unable to recover position. It was the dominant play of the match.
Another plus today was Kyle's serving. The ball toss was difficult given the blustery conditions, but he consistently found a big first serve on the big points. It took a lot of pressure of the rest of his game.
And with 3rd seed Checa Calvo going out in the first round, Kyle is now set to play qualifier Roca Batalla in the 2nd round on Wednesday.
-- Edited by Bob in Spain on Monday 25th of February 2013 09:23:42 PM