Entries Week 14 - 01/04/2013

steven · Tennis legend

RE: Entries Week 14 - 01/04/2013

indiana · Tennis legend

I let you away with the little ones. When have you seen me PM about anything trivial ? Oh, OK apart from...

korriban · Challenger level

I'm confused again.

So Josh Goodall plays 8 weeks of $10k GB Futures. He is very clear that this is a make or break year for him, he must get towards 150 with a changed gameplan (more aggressive, etc etc), and that these 8 GB tournaments are a warm-up for this assault on Challengers and above. I was waiting to see what his first overseas trip of the year was going to be therefore......

.....and I just noticed it's a $10k Futures in Greece!! Now perhaps there are local Challengers in week 15 or 16 (I'll check), but otherwise this is baffling, and I can't see what the point is. Anyone more clued in?

Spectator · All-time great

It's not that illogical, is it? If the only Wk 15 challenger is a strong one in Mexico, he'd be highly unlikely to get in. Might as well try to build up points somewhere ....

korriban · Challenger level

Seagull. I see from your new list (thanks as always!!! ) that he's also in the second Greece $10k in week 15. Frankly there are 8 $10ks in a row in Greece if he were that way inclined.

But after 8 in GB and at least 2 in Greece, that's already 10 tournaments, which for most players would already be a third of their season - even more than a third perhaps. Without a single Challenger, and with ambitions to reach 150.

The maths don't work, and there's a bit of "talking the talk" over "walking the walk" of what he says he's going to do versus what he's actually doing. If he's not careful, he'll leave himself in no man's land without a Wimbledon or Queen's WC, and a ranking too low to enter by merit.

Obviously winning matches would be a more pertinent concern in the short term - otherwise all the above is moot anyway, and perhaps his form has thrown everything up in the air.

steven · Tennis legend

I've been very sympathetic towards the Brits (and others, for that matter) over the lack of Challengers in Europe recently, which makes it all the more shocking that when at last there is one (the first hard court Challenger in Europe for 3 weeks and the last for a while), the qualifying draw is half empty - http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2013/1796/qs.pdf

I guess the fact it is so isolated in the calendar makes it difficult to build a schedule around and DC has removed some of the potential Brits who could have played in it, but given that it's just across the Channel in NW France, it's a particular pity that no Brits are having a go. (maybe they didn't realise the Q draw would be so empty)

I hope the fact Ed is not in the qualifying draw is his own choice and not something the powers that be have insisted on for him to be allowed to be a hitting partner at DC.

steven · Tennis legend

Julien Hoferlin says St Brieuc is on indoor clay, not hard (it says hard on the ATP Challengers page), which adds a bit of context.

What with that and the ITF getting Lisa's score completely wrong earlier in the week, it's hard to know what source to trust these days!

steven · Tennis legend

As you were - turns out it was on indoor clay up to last year (hence Julien's comment) but it's now on indoor hard.

SMC1809 · All-time great

Jennifer Allan has a WC in Monterrey qualies. 1 point and $500 too.

steven · Tennis legend

Amanda Carreras withdraw from Torrent on Wednesday but it looks like Emily has made it into the main draw in Dijon.