Week 31 - ITF ($10K) - Nottingham, UK Hard

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Week 31 - ITF ($10K) - Nottingham, UK Hard

steven · Tennis legend

Yes, as Jaggy implies, it's amazing quite how diametrically opposed the situations in the men's & women's games are at the moment - the men have the top British player by far, no depth at Challenger level but near-record numbers in the top 700, whereas the women are beginning to have some depth at WTA/Challenger level but a near-record low number in the top 700. I wonder how it's all going to look in 5 years time ... and how we will have got there.

Peter too wrote:

QF: HORN, Pippa (GBR) UNR lost to INOUE, Miyabi (JPN) 1 342 4-6 3-6
QF: BROWN, Lucy (GBR) 6 700 beat BOWTELL, Amy (IRL) 3 474 6-3 6-4
QF: SOUTH, Melanie (GBR) 5 648 los to HISAMI, Kanae (JPN) 4 449 4-6 7-6(2) 3-6

SF: BROWN, Lucy (GBR) 6 700 v INOUE, Miyabi (JPN) 1 342

Lucy has played Inoue once before, in the SFs of a junior event in Thailand in 2009 where Lucy was a qualifier and Inoue was (as here) the top seed ... and Lucy won, 5 & 5!

Wouldn't it be good if she could repeat that tomorrow. I can't say I'm too hopeful, but she does seem to have (re-)found some form recently and beating her in a similar situation has to be a good memory to have going into the match, so you never know

P.S. Thanks for finding the article, CD - impressively informative (and apparently accurate) article relative to most tennis articles in local papers.

-- Edited by steven on Friday 2nd of August 2013 01:48:53 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Is Pippa intending to go the American college route ?

A few years ago she looked a hell of a prospect and sounded very ambutious.

Now that she is seemingly fully fit, clear I presume of school and beginning to make some strides in senior competition, in many ways I'd like to see how much she can really progress in seniors in the short to medium term.

This recent article from the Bury Free Press gives a lot of detail about Pippa and her plans for US college and tennis in general.

http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/sport/other-sport/pippa-still-has-eyes-for-the-top-after-disappointment-at-this-year-s-wimbledon-1-5250422

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Friday 2nd of August 2013 02:16:27 PM

PockyTastic · Futures level

Coup Droit wrote:
scottie1 wrote:
well jade curtis is over there dont know if she intends returning to the tour

Thanks. Perfect.
From looking it up, I believe that she's got one more year and will graduate next year in 2014.
But she's certainly been winning 'player of the year' awards and all that sort of thing, having had her second undefeated singles season and leading her team to the national championship title (if I understood it all right).
So hopefully next year she'll be back and raring to go as a professional.
Anyone know anyone else of a similar age?

Not to put a downer on Jades achievements but I believe her college competes in a smaller division. Amy Sargeant should have graduated this year. She's at the same college as Daneika.

-- Edited by PockyTastic on Friday 2nd of August 2013 04:08:16 PM

-- Edited by PockyTastic on Friday 2nd of August 2013 04:09:02 PM

WD40 · Club Coach

In the case of the all Brit SF its the old guard v the new guard (referencing the discussion on this thread)

SF :Anna SMITH (GBR) / Melanie SOUTH (GBR) [1] beat Lucy BROWN (GBR)/ Jocelyn RAE (GBR) (4)6-7 7-6(3) [10-6]
SF :Daneika BORTHWICK (GBR)/Anna FITZPATRICK (GBR) [2] beat Gabriela VAN DE GRAAF (NED)/ Monique ZUUR (NED) 6-4 3-6 [10-7]

At least it will be an all Brit final in the doubles here.

F :Daneika BORTHWICK (GBR)/Anna FITZPATRICK (GBR) [2] v Anna SMITH (GBR) / Melanie SOUTH (GBR) [1]

-- Edited by WD40 on Friday 2nd of August 2013 05:04:08 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

The QF have started.

Lucy hit 3 DF in her first service game, still held serve and then broke so leads 3-0 !

Mel and Kanae have 2 breaks a piece - Mel 2*-3

steven · Tennis legend

PockyTastic wrote:
Not to put a downer on Jades achievements but I believe her college competes in a smaller division. Amy Sargeant should have graduated this year. She's at the same college as Daneika.

In May, Amy won the Florida leg of the US Open national playoffs, which gets her into the US Open's rough equivalent of the Wimbledon qualifying wild card playoffs, which will take place during the New Haven WTA event the week after Cincy.

I say 'rough equivalent' because it's far more open than the Wimbledon version, with anyone able to enter the regional qualifiers (infamously, Redfool got slaughtered in the men's event at one of the other ones recently)

-- Edited by steven on Friday 2nd of August 2013 05:53:30 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Both Mel and Lucy break in their opponents' opening second set service game.

Jumping ahead (BAD thing to do), if Lucy were to win, I make her to be about WR 618 when the points are added - that's beginning to be a decent-ish ranking . . .

scottie1 · Futures level

mel south in her day would walk this field sad reflection of how far she has tumbled in the rankings.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

yes, she was always an excellent striker of the ball.

However, I guess we were all a bit more awesome 'in our day' (with apologies to anyone who is truly still 'in their day' - I'm about 7 p.m. in mine, which at least is G&T time . . .)

In the non-Brit match, Oceane's tide has finally gone out, losing 6-1 6-1 to Higuchi.

Pippa has started an dis 3-0 down. Kanae is now serving for the match against Mel. And Lucy is battling away to hang on to her break . . .

scottie1 · Futures level

Are you there watching coup droit

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Mel breaks and will serve for the second set... though she has only held on 3/10 occasions so far.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Lucy wins on her third match point - well done !

6-3 6-4 to Lucy Brown - as it stands, that's her second best result of the year

Peter too · Tennis legend

QF: HORN, Pippa (GBR) UNR lost to INOUE, Miyabi (JPN) 1 342 4-6 3-6
QF: BROWN, Lucy (GBR) 6 700 beat BOWTELL, Amy (IRL) 3 474 6-3 6-4
QF: SOUTH, Melanie (GBR) 5 648 los to HISAMI, Kanae (JPN) 4 449 4-6 7-6(2) 3-6

SF: BROWN, Lucy (GBR) 6 700 v INOUE, Miyabi (JPN) 1 342

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

Sad reflection that from 20/32 we only manage 1 semi finalist. Players like Anna Smith Fitzy and Mel a couple of years ago would have walked into the semis. We are struggling below our top players up to Lisas ranking. The mens game is the opposite of course.