Week 31 - Challenger ($100,000) - Vancouver, Canada (Hard)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

RE: Week 31 - Challenger ($100,000) - Vancouver, Canada (Hard)

RJA · Hall of fame

johnnylad wrote:
RJA wrote:
johnnylad wrote:
Exactly Steven. Unfortunately there is way too much analysis of people's impressions when it comes to Dan.
Maybe, but his performance last week was truly bizarre and certainly warranted the criticism it received on here.
in your opinion

Well yes, what ever I post on here is my opinion, I thought that went with out saying. It is however perhaps telling that 3 people on this site, of which I was one, all posted very similar comments within a few minutes of last weeks match being completed.

As I have said many times I have a lot of time for Dan and a very high regard for his ability. I also think he often gets criticised for things unfairly but last week's match was just horrible in so many ways. I have watched him play at least 15 times in the last couple of years and never seen him produce anything like that. I have seen him play worse, but I have never seen him play a match with seemingly so little thought or to appear so accepting of his errors.

I am not going to dwell on it further as he has clearly had a superb start here. If this is the beginning of a good few weeks that last week can easily be written off as just one of those things. He does however have to back this performance, beating the top seed in the first round is great, but it doesn't count for much if you put in a poor performance in round 2.

Sally · Grand Slam Champion

Great news for Dan!

spud · Challenger qualifying

Well done Dan, now to move on

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Sounds like Evo has himself a Top 100 "Bunny".

Anyone fancy writing a book called "Ricoh Revisited" ?

philwrig · Hall of fame

Evo seemingly back to his mercurial best for this match, long may it continue.
He could be a legend of the British game in the future if he gives it 100%, fingers crossed he does.

steven · Tennis legend

johnnylad wrote:
Exactly Steven. Unfortunately there is way too much analysis of people's impressions when it comes to Dan.

To be fair to those who express despair over Evo (and I've done that myself more than once!), he does make it pretty easy to do so sometimes with his on-court demeanour, past behaviour, etc. I just prefer to give players the benefit of any doubt where possible (it's certainly not constructive to dwell on past problems and assume it's impossible for him to change) and I really don't think it's possible for a player like Dan to beat a top 100 player if they really don't care, whatever it may look like on court.

Having said that, I didn't see last week's match, but maybe he was just playing really badly rather than not caring. And I do still wonder whether someone has suggested coping mechanisms to (rightly or wrongly) avoid getting too angry and maybe that's why he's coming across a bit care-free.

I definitely think it's fair to say that this only becomes a really worthwhile week for him if he backs up last night's upset with at least one more win.

RJA · Hall of fame

murray_2k9 wrote:
Congrats to Dan, fantastic win and certainly a fairer reflection on his ability than last weeks result. Perhaps seeing Wardy take the title has got Dan's focus back!?

Yes, it did occur to me that sitting in stands watching James have a great week might have had an impact on Dan. I am sure he was happy for James but when there are two compatriots playing several tournaments in a row together and probably socialising together quite a bit there should be a bit a healthy competition between them. Nobody really likes being the guy who just tags along while your mate gets all the glory.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Excellent win and his ranking is slowly but surely moving closer to the top 200. One more decent result here and a positive result next week, should be enough to defend the 27pts due to come off shortly.

RJA · Hall of fame

paulisi wrote:
Excellent win and his ranking is slowly but surely moving closer to the top 200. One more decent result here and a positive result next week, should be enough to defend the 27pts due to come off shortly.

He defends 35 points over the next few weeks. 8 to come off on 12th August and 27 the following week. Coincidentally a run to the SFs here would get him 35 points.

johnnylad · Tennis legend

I'm just fed up of Evo bashing - warranted or not, constructive or not - I think its the last thing he needs to be reading or made aware of - he needs encouragement and support and its up to his ACTUAL coaches etc... to do all the constructive criticism, mental ability stuff. (I think the end of my sentence proves I'm a hypocrite because that's my opinion on the solution when I'm criticising others' opinions on the solution)

I know you disagree because this is 'a forum for discussing these kinds of things' but that's the source of my tautology today (probably also the subconscious reaction to Vandenburg's random drivel that I deliberately ignored (oops - not any more!) making me especially crabby and defensive) . Hopefully we can draw a line under it and return to celebrating a good win and our hopes for a good tournament on the remainder of this thread.

thejester · Satellite level

Absolutely, we'll all have our opinions on Dan - his effort, attitude and demeanour. One thing we can all agree on I'm sure is hoping he can keep moving forward and maximise his excellent potential.

I suppose it is easy to become over-critical, but Dan is at a career high, so he's heading in the right direction.

Would love to see both Evo and Wardy make the quarters here this week.

chavkev · Intermediate Club Player

Whatever the politics, that was a very good win. Lets hope he can back it up in the 2nd Round.

briteny · Intermediate Club Player

Congrats to Dan, excellent job. Didn't expect this. :)

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

Great win for Dan. Hope he can keep it going and get some big points in the bag here