Boys: AEGON Junior International Roehampton - Grade 1 (Week 26)

RJA · Hall of fame

RE: Boys: AEGON Junior International Roehampton - Grade 1 (Week 26)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

steven wrote:
I was a bit surprised not to see Jonny O'Mara on the list, but this explains it:

"Tough to watch everyone getting ready to play Roehampton ITF. Forgot to enter as I am a shambles. Same for Wimbledon. #gutted #sadtweet"
Sounds almost unbelievable (though it may be easier than we think to miss deadlines when you are travelling all the time), but hopefully it means he has learnt a valuable lesson that will stand him in good stead in the future, i.e. he'll make sure he is never in this position again.

Feel very sorry for Jonny.

Yes, there's a lesson to be learned, and he may well be a better 23 year-old as a result, and there are obviously 18 year-olds who are holding down difficult, stressful jobs etc. etc. but I think that having to do all your own admin as a junior is pretty rare, and not that straightforward.

murray_2k9 · Challenger qualifying

Sad. I had naively assumed the system for junior slams would be the same as mandatory tour events - ie. that it is assumed you are playing unless you opt out for whatever reason. Seems a fairer system to me.

domara · Junior player

jonny was playing in milan at both tournies deadline time so was rightly fully focussed on that tournie rather than entries. we and his coaches should take some of the blame for also forgetting to remind himgive him but if you want to be a top player,18 yrs old seems a reasonable age to start taking ownership of your own career which includes handling all the lifestyle challenges. unfortunately this simple mistake has led to an awfully tough lesson. I, for one, feel a huge amount of sympathy for him- tennis is a tough sport to be in for sure.

steven · Tennis legend

RJA wrote:
steven wrote:
I was a bit surprised not to see Jonny O'Mara on the list, but this explains it:

"Tough to watch everyone getting ready to play Roehampton ITF. Forgot to enter as I am a shambles. Same for Wimbledon. #gutted #sadtweet"
Sounds almost unbelievable (though it may be easier than we think to miss deadlines when you are travelling all the time), but hopefully it means he has learnt a valuable lesson that will stand him in good stead in the future, i.e. he'll make sure he is never in this position again.
Well my first reaction on reading his tweet was something along the lines of 'how big an idiot do you have to be to miss the deadline for two consecutive tournaments' but then I discovered that the entry deadlines were the same day so not as bad as I initially thought. All in all very sad for Jonny and while I do understand the LTA's policy with regard to wild cards for late entries I would like to think that a little bit of flexibility could be shown, especially as Jonny strikes me as a cracking lad with a really good attitude. A QWC for Wimbledon really wouldn't be too much to ask for, especially after the Eastbourne fiasco.

I hadn't checked the deadlines, but assumed it must have worked like that for him to have missed both.

If the LTA wanted to give Jonny a second chance in this case by giving him a WC or QWC for Wimbledon but didn't want to set a precedent by giving a WC to someone who entered late, then surely the Eastbourne fiasco gives them the perfect excuse to make a one-off exception. Not to mention the fact that both deadlines being on the same day means he misses two tournaments for the price of one, so if they gave him a QWC for Wimbledon, he would still be missing out on one of the two.

Then again, they may have assigned the WCs already by the time this came to light, though I doubt it - indeed, if they had assigned them before this came to light, I assume he would have been in line to get one anyway, so it's not as if he would be taking one from someone else.

Of course, Jonny could have asked his parents or coach to take responsibility for doing his entries, as I am sure many juniors do, but Liam might have advised him against that! Seriously though, if he is taking responsibility for stuff like that while he is still a junior, I think that can only be a good thing - making the odd mistake like this now could well make him much less likely to do the same in future (when there might be far more at stake) than those juniors who aren't currently doing this kind of stuff for themselves. It also suggests that he isn't the shambles he implies in his tweet - if he was, you can bet someone else would be doing this for him.

steven · Tennis legend

I see you got in while I was writing, Dave! Thanks for posting about this. Hopefully you'll gather from my last post (and in particular the last paragraph) that I completely agree with the things you were saying.

I don't know whether there is still a chance for the LTA to make an exception re. Wimbledon (and I can understand that you might not want to say anything about it on here even if there is), but to me, Jonny's oversight seems far more forgivable than the one made by someone who presumably really should know better that saw him miss out on Eastbourne qualies.

RJA · Hall of fame

steven wrote:
It also suggests that he isn't the shambles he implies in his tweet - if he was, you can bet someone else would be doing this for him.

I think it is the fact that his tweet, his only one on the subject, seemingly acknowledges that he only has himself to blame is what really makes me feel sorry for him. If he had tried to make excuses or blame someone else I would be much less sympathetic.

What I really can't understand is why the LTA are happy to offer wild cards to established players who don't initially enter events but are unwilling to cut a bit of slack to young kids trying to make their way in the sport.

Twizzle · Improver

Clay Crawford also forgot to enter. The tournament opens for entry about 6-8 weeks before entry closes, there is plenty of time to enter. I am sorry for both boys and others that forgot to enter but the Lta have set rules in place and many have been caught out before. It would be unfair if the Lta should now suddenly change policy.

I noticed spaces in qualifing - it's a shame the lta didn't communicate and slot Jonny in. cry

-- Edited by Twizzle on Tuesday 25th of June 2013 06:25:03 AM

korriban · Challenger level

I agree. As a pro player of the future, this is part of the job. And very simple. If he forgot to bring his racquets would anyone feel sorry for him? I wouldn't

domara · Junior player

yep there is a window of opportunity to enter but its my experience of teenage boys that they tend to leave things til the last minute, maybe you know different twizzle, and taking jonny in isolation his tweet implies he is feeling a bit sorry for himself but taking it on the chin and not looking for exuses- as noted by slightly more empathetic voices on the forum. its a tough lesson and one I wish he hadnt had to learn in this way but tennis is brutal for those aspiring to be pros, and for me it gives him his best chance in the future if he remains grounded in what is involved. Its only wwhen you reach the very top that you can concentrate simply on your tennis. Until then, just like any other career choice for a youngster, all the logistics that go with trying to get to the top need to also be your own responsibility.

domara · Junior player

korriban, if it was a pro player then neither would I, but as a junior learning the ropes of one of the most demanding of sports then yes i would feel very sorry

RJA · Hall of fame

Twizzle wrote:
Clay Crawford also forgot to enter. The tournament opens for entry about 6-8 weeks before entry closes, there is plenty of time to enter. I am sorry for both boys and others that forgot to enter but the Lta have set rules in place and many have been caught out before. It would be unfair if the Lta should now suddenly change policy.

As I said I understand the LTA's policy but what grates is that they hold young kids to a higher standard than established professionals. We frequently see wild cards for British futures "wasted" on players who should have entered in the first place and who after several years on the tour really should know better. Yes it was a dumb mistake, as Jonny has himself acknowledged, but he is paying a severe price for it. I can't help feeling that a slightly more flexible policy from the LTA wouldn't be more beneficial for all concerned.

DF · Tennis legend

Agreed

Spectator · All-time great

I think that Mr O'Mara (Jonny)'s response is to his credit, as is his father's. Regret it; acknowledge the fairness of the policy; take it as a learning time. Would that all parents and young people in all circumstances were so sensible. That doesn't stop me feeling sorry for him; it's a rotten way to have to learn a lesson when you're in your last year of playing juniors and you would have almost certainly made the major tournaments in your home field. Nor would I, given the mess at Eastbourne, regard it as ill-advised were the LTA to make an exception on this occasion. Yes, hard cases make bad law and all that, but ...

DavidC · Tennis legend

In early results there are good wins over seeds for Josh and Tom

R1 (L64)

(Q) Josef Dodrige v Daniil Medvedev (RUS)
(WC) Alexander Sendegeya v Mazen Osama (EGY)
(Q) Robbie Ridout v (6) Borna Coric (CRO)
Kamil Majchrzak (POL) d. (Q) Alexander Jhun 6-4 6-4
(14) Nicolas Jarry (CHI) d. (WC) Peter Ashley 6-4 6-4
(WC) Joshua Sapwell d. (9) Pedro Cachin (ARG) 7-6(3) 1-6 6-3
(7) Filippo Baldi (ITA) d. (WC) Billy Harris 3-6 6-3 7-6(0)
Maxime Janvier (FRA) v (Q) Jamie Malik
(WC) Samm Butler v (LL) Adrian Ortiz (MEX)
Cameron Norrie v (3) Alexander Zverev (GER)
(WC) Thomas Colautti d. (12) Guillermo Nunez (CHI) 6-2 7-5
Luke Bambridge d. Young Seok Kim (KOR) 6-3 7-5
(WC) Evan Hoyt d. (WC) Thomas Kokkinakis (AUS) 7-5 6-4