Week 22 - Spain F15 ($10,000) - Madrid (Clay)

Spectator · All-time great

RE: Week 22 - Spain F15 ($10,000) - Madrid (Clay)

Tennis36 · Masters Series Champion

oli/alex win the doubles 6-3 2-6 10-5

Tennis36 · Masters Series Champion

and the top seed's just been dumped out, so oli's now the only seed left...

korriban · Challenger level

Well the top 2 seeds went out today, making Oli the highest ranked player left in the draw.

Even more interestingly, Senor Giraldi WON his QF, making a potential final between the Katie Price and Kelly Brooke of ITF tennis much more likely. Handbags at dawn! Hurrah!

steven · Tennis legend

Nice pic from Will Herbert, who seems to be doing coaching duties at the moment while Julien Hoferlin gets chatted up by Liz Curran in Paris. LOL

Campeones! @oli_golding and @AlexWard1990 take the doubles title in Madrid. Well done boys #superbuster! http://pic.twitter.com/VWDxILg6XI

steven · Tennis legend

QF: (6) Oliver Golding WR 584 beat Miguel-Ángel López Jaen (ESP) WR 733 (CH 171 in 2009) by 4 & 2

SF: (6) Oliver Golding WR 584 v Pol Toledo Bague (ESP) WR 710

thefollower · Improver

good to see that Oli has pushed on this week! it has been clear the last few weeks that his form has been improving! would be nice to see him take the title! Personally I think that far too many people are being too negative about him on here! nobody was there, so nobody can know exactly what happened unless someone asks im. As supporters of british tennis I thought we were supposed to SUPPORT the players. Far too much negative stuff gets said on here. Korriban, how do u think Oli would react if he saw what you write about him? All i have done since i started posting on here is defend him to you! i shouldnt have too, eveyone can have their favourites but some of the stuff that gets said on here about him is bordering on disgraceful. How about we get behind him and SUPPORT him, and unless we know all the details and all the facts, stop being so damn negative about him! I would quite like to find out exactly went on in the doubles though so if anyone knows him well enough do ask haha

Ratty · County player

Well, I like this board, and I like Korriban's posts, and one of the main things I like about this board is that it ISN'T full of nothing but stuff like:

well done Oli

indiana · Tennis legend

Indeed !

Not that I always agree with korriban ( as he no doubt well knows LOL ), but being supportive of British tennis players and wanting them to succeed ( as I think is the case with the vast majority here ) does for me not mean being uncritical when one sees reason to be critical. Many folk are not here just to flag wave.

Yes, I do sometimes personally think that some players get jumped on a bit too readily, with a few too many assumptions getting made. But that we can and do argue about on specific occasions. In many cases though, criticisms are well considered by folk who are indeed suppprtive of British players.

But please let us be saved from this forum ever just being a cheerleader Go, well done, super etc etc.

blob · All-time great

Aha! Ratty, I see now that it must be you that selects the sleeve quotes for Mr. Steven Seagal's latest straight to DVD offerings such is your mastery with selective quotation.
Alas, you assume too much in your new signature with your other assignation regarding me.

At least we finally agree though; the forums visual clarity is certainly a strong point in it's favour.

steven · Tennis legend

Ratty wrote:
Well, I like this board, and I like Korriban's posts, and one of the main things I like about this board is that it ISN'T full of nothing but stuff like:

well done Oli

LOL something we can agree on.

Someone not being a mindless fanboy/fangirl doesn't (automatically) mean they're not supportive. There is plenty of balance in most of the debates here - for me, that's what is most important.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

thefollower, I don't support anyone completely and unconditionally. I don't even support my own children unconditionally. And I don't expect them to support me unconditionally either.

And nobody minds mouthy players (not saying anything about this incident, just in general) - think Connors, think McEnroe, think Gulbis at the moment.

But think of their results too!

I'll be 'supporting' Golding this afternoon, and in general. But as a man with (a) quite a lot of talent, (b) a LOT of funding and help from the LTA, and (c) NOT a lot of results over the last couple of years, it's not unreasonable that people get a bit frustrated.

And, anyway. a lot of the posts were quite funny . . . .

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Saturday 1st of June 2013 07:59:19 AM

korriban · Challenger level

I hope Oli wins today and wraps up the tournament tomorrow.

Not for a second would I or (one presumes) anyone else on this forum want anything else than a GB victory wherever possible, and for each of our players to fulfill their potential as tennis professionals and as young adults in general.

Oli is no exception.

Based on the fact Oli won a Junior Grand Slam singles title, has the highest level of support from the LTA via Team Aegon, has a high profile sponsorship deal with Ricoh, for the past 2 or 3 years has been championed in various quarters as a potential top 50-100 player (LTA; newspapers; TV commentators), and received MDWCs into Queen's and Wimbledon in 2012 (and is likely to pick up 1 or 2 again this grass court season) he has a lot going for him compared to the vast majority of other young British players trying to make their way in the game, and indeed probably almost every other player he faces week in week out on the ITF circuit.

The above is not an opinion, nor a criticism, it is a fact.

His professional results and ranking to date have been below his own clearly articulated objectives, and the actual performance of his direct junior peer group. Not a criticism, a fact.

I hope his results start to improve in line with his potential; it would be great to see him really shine.

The only opinions I have stated are

1. that he appears to be rather "gobby" and perhaps speaks before thinking things through on occasion, and that perhaps there may be attitude issues to improve on the court. I don't think this is particularly new or controversial.

2. That his itineraries at times might be seen as profligate. Perhaps more contentious. I don't think so.

Is anything I have said (or anyone else for that matter), and I quote "disgraceful"?

-- Edited by korriban on Saturday 1st of June 2013 09:34:01 AM

Spectator · All-time great

I don't have an issue with Mr Golding's funding. If one accepts that the LTA is, based on potential rankings, going to bestow possibly excessive funding on some and too little on others, he seems to be one of the best candidates for the former. He has a lot of potential.

Nor do I have a problem with his results per se. I don't know enough to know whether the lack of immediate progress is due to lack of effort/discipline or simply to the fact that different players mature at different times ... and I would prefer to give benefit of the doubt. We need more value investors in tennis and fewer "short termers." And recent results have been good (like others, I hope that he can do very well indeed in this tournament)

But from what I have seen of his comments (which isn't much, as I don't "follow" him as others do), he could do with being a little more "boring." Or at least with learning that what is intended as clever sarcasm or in-group banter can come across to the wider world quite differently.

If saying that involves being unduly critical, then I plead guilty.

-- Edited by Spectator on Saturday 1st of June 2013 08:52:03 AM

-- Edited by Spectator on Saturday 1st of June 2013 08:53:03 AM

RJA · Hall of fame

Hopefully this is just another slow start from Oli. It would be very disappointing if he lost this match.

-- Edited by RJA on Saturday 1st of June 2013 12:13:18 PM