Week 18 - WTA $235K - Oeiras, Portugal Clay

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

RE: Week 18 - WTA $235K - Oeiras, Portugal Clay

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

Laura has drawn Morita in the MD. Tough, but the quality of the field means it was always going to be.

Second seed Cibulkova potentially awaits the winner in R2.

steven · Tennis legend

LOL now I get the point people were making about a certain Tweeter being a bit desperate: disbelief

"Can we have a few more RT and favourites for @JoKonta91 That was a brilliant win!"

(name suppressed to protect the guilty - those of you who have talked about him before will know who it is)

indiana · Tennis legend

Hmm, Steven, I see he tweeted earlier that Mel's ranking was being held up by her WTA ranking points from Edgbaston last year.

Fukuoka ( I resisted any play on words ! ) 50K points due off in a couple of weeks are rather more relevant than non existent Edgbaston WTA points.

steven · Tennis legend

Did he? Clearly doesn't look at the best 16 tables then, so let's be thankful for small mercies wink

However, I shouldn't laugh too much at people making mistakes like that, should I - people in glass houses and all that

indiana · Tennis legend

Oops, best not to have a go while getting one's own facts wrong LOL.

Mel has got 15 Edgbaston WTA points to come off in June, though 32 Fukuoka points much more imminently.

She's not having a good time at all singleswise.

indiana · Tennis legend

I never make mistakes myself - bah !

korriban · Challenger level

Don't be too hard on "Person x", the phantom tweeter. There is superb comedy value! His excrutiating lists of pointless statistics are a particular favourite.........

"If Youzhny gets to the QF he will go past $5m career earnings". "Fed has saved 62% of his 4,324 BP faced over his career". Or equivalent. Pointless, unrevealing, but funny. If you have a desperate need to send lots of tweets, lists of stats are good news.

But his commentaries on live score only matches are so bad, they are sensationally good........

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

steven wrote:
LOL now I get the point people were making about a certain Tweeter being a bit desperate:

"Can we have a few more RT and favourites for @JoKonta91 That was a brilliant win!"
(name suppressed to protect the guilty - those of you who have talked about him before will know who it is)

And those of us who steadfastly refuse to join the "twitterati" (I don't even possess a smartphone! wink ) will remain forever in the dark!

DF · Tennis legend

ditto

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

A report on Jo's match:

Konta d. Putintseva 4-6 6-1 7-5

Last two sets. A good match (tightly contested, exciting third set) played before a large crowd for Court 1 standards.

I had seen Konta play at Eastbourne last year and I very much liked what I saw. She has aggressive instincts, a very big game, a very good serve, a rocket of a BH and is excellent at the net. She showed all of that today, particularly the net play - quite a feat at this disgusting muck they call "red clay".

Putintseva on the other hand I had heard a lot about but seen nothing. So I was a bit surprised by what I saw. Her ground game really has very little actual bite - her FH is a whippy moonball she uses mostly to push her opponents back behind the baseline, and she often slices her BH (biting, low bouncing slice even on clay, it must be said). Her serve is as good as it can be considering her size (her service motion is excellent, with some outward similarities with Federer's), but it's still attackable, though not her worst liability. She's extremely pugnacious and a born competitor though - she played her very best at all the key points of the match, but Konta didn't miss enough.

What I liked the most about her game was her ROS - usually a weakness in younger players, let alone players with such a small wingspan as Putintseva. She makes excellent use of a block ROS that is a sign that she has very good hands.

Seems promising to read! Good luck tomorrow JoKo!

steven · Tennis legend

Another report from david1610 on AMFF:

"Just back from dinner with a friend and after watching Johanna Konta's match.

Just had time to go for her match ( 5 for admission to the grounds i.e. all courts apart from the main one is amazing value considering!).
Got to her court as the previous match had started the third set - Melanie Oudin blowing hot and cold. A bit like the weather (never known Estoril to be so windy as today).

Assured match would be on that court by young guy on the court entrance. At the end of the match checked with umpire (very close seating) and he said that there were no more matches that day on that court. Match had been moved. I should have known better.... frantic headless chicken dash around for five minutes to find her match with Johanna having lost the first set 6-4 and players playing the first game of the second. Johanna won 6-1. Much much tighter third set. Jo had a break at 2-1 lost it in a very, very long game including being on the end of a pretty senseless time violation (some points were taking forever by both servers when the wind blew the sand in their faces) and went down 2-4. Then she got to 5-4 serving for the match. Again there was one moment were Johanna clearly served too quickly with the sand blowing as she (and I ) could see the umpire counting the time! Broken to 5-5. Then broke 6-5 and managed to get the win 7-5.

Her opponent was Putintseva (I adapted it to put in net serve) ... . I did not recognise the name but after a few points I suddenly started to remember that there were a couple of posts about her on one of the threads here - well I am not a saint but I rarely take an instant loathing to somebody but if a cheap teenage flick is short of an actor to play an absolute brat, she could have a second career. Unbelievable! I have never seen anything like it on a tennis court! At one point Jo won a point and I clapped vigorously. She glared at me and (reasonably mild mannered though I normally am) I was happy to glare back!

And just to emphasise how close things are on a tiny clay court with about 50 people watching, and how important one or two fans can be (c'mon Brits around the world) apart from her coach, I was definitely the person to give her most support. In fact, he was on the opposite side to the chair and the players' seats and at the end Johanna shook hands with her opponent, the umpire, put her racket down and looked at me with a great smile and I was smiling back. I know this sounds a cliché, but she was so pleased to have somebody to look at to share the victory with. That was a very special moment and made my week!"

korriban · Challenger level

Something's wrong. JoKo lost the last 4 games with barely a point in her favour, and now the score hasnt moved for over 10 minutes.

Now playing again, but a very long break, so assume a MTO as other matches continued

And 0-3 down in a flash with only 2 points won out of 14. Surely an injury sustained at 4-2 first set.

-- Edited by korriban on Sunday 28th of April 2013 03:33:50 PM

-- Edited by korriban on Sunday 28th of April 2013 03:41:16 PM

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

wolf wrote:
R1: Marina Erakovic (NZL) & Laura Robson v Stephanie Foretz Gacon & Eva Hridinova (FRA/CZE)

I hope Heather doesn't mind that Laura has stolen her doubles partner!

In singles, Laura plays 3rd on Court 1 tomorrow (matches start at 11am). She is actually a decent favourite according to Bet 365 (8/15 vs 11/8 Morita). Morita is having a good year at 31 in the race but at least she isn't a clay court specialist.

-- Edited by tony_orient on Sunday 28th of April 2013 05:02:01 PM

philwrig · Hall of fame

Nice reports and a great win for Jo, Putintseva hasn't been playing at her best recently but still a big upset. Very windy conditions yesterday and will be similar today but fractionally better. Today will probably be tougher eventhough Forest Gateau is lower ranked.

Isn't interesting how in sport adversity often acts as a catalyst for success, failure at the Fed Cup actually proving a motivation for future success. Jo would have been bitterly disappointed with how she performed at the Fed Cup and now looks to have the bit between her teeth to comeback and show people she's much better than that.