Week 37 - Challenger (€42,500+H) - Seville, Spain (Clay)

steven · Tennis legend

RE: Week 37 - Challenger (€42,500+H) - Seville, Spain (Clay)

paulisi · Tennis legend

Alex is fighting and has taken the second set 6-4 even if it did take a while to hold serve....

steven · Tennis legend

1 set all

4-6 6-4

freerider · Futures level

a-ward wins 4-6 6-4 6-4 and I must say he looked to be serving very well indeed in the decider - I was only half paying attention but I think his last two service games were both to love, and he finished off with 2 back to back aces

steven · Tennis legend

Another excellent win, which should with any luck enable Alex to take out his February 2012 career high at last

L32: Alex Ward WR 346 beat Alberto Brizzi (ITA) WR 294 (CH 230 in 2010) by 6-4 4-6 6-4 biggrin

L16: Alex Ward WR 346 v (3) Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) WR 83 (CH 68 in Mar)

korriban · Challenger level

It's good to see Alex playing Challengers almost exclusively topped up with the occasional $15k or even ATP qualifying - very bold. Also good to see him being a regular qualifier (last weeks strange loss being the exception rather than the rule), and winning MD matches too. It would appear that he "belongs" at this level now, perhaps more so than 1 or 2 others who may well finish the year ranked higher than him, but haven't yet shown they can win regularly (or at all) at CH tournaments.

The only slight concern for him must be the fact that he hasn't yet gone deep in Challengers (QFs or SFs), therefore he isn't picking up regular points to match or beat those from 2012. So it may well mean his ranking falls, even though his standard of play has improved. It's not an issue yet, but it's going to start becoming one from the end of September, and Alex still needs about 60 points from the remainder of the year just to tread water.

So I'd love to see him break through to a few QFs and SFs quickly, perhaps even starting this week to relieve the pressure and reward both his ambition and his play. The next match against Kuznetsov looks very very tough on paper, but as we saw with Dan Evans, if you can beat your first player "of note" (and Kuznetsov has been tipped as one of the younger generation to burst through, although it hasn't quite happened yet), it does wonders for your self-belief and confidence.

indiana · Tennis legend

Good stuff if another 1990er takes out his CH.

Pauffley got his CH last month ( admittedly not really because of rampaging recent form ), Evans and Willis are at CHs, A Ward looks like going to a CH and Cox ( with nothing to defend ) must have a fair chance of getting a new CH befote year end.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Excellent win, especially as he has a lot of points to defend in the next 2-3 months.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Great result, Alex, well done.

The French players were tweeting that the special yellow clay that they have there is a lot faster and more slippery than traditional red clay - maybe that suits Alex (and not Kutnetzov, hopefully . . . )

korriban · Challenger level

This is a much higher level than I expected from Alex. Whether he holds on for the set, or even wins today, this is impressive stuff and his ranking most certainly has some upside.....top 200-250 for sure, then who knows.

Broken back immediately.....but on the upside, due to UEs going for forcing shots to try and WIN the point, not due to being passive or UEs on rally balls.

-- Edited by korriban on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 10:18:18 AM

korriban · Challenger level

Given the momentum of scoring beforehand, if it's a MTO, I'd assume it would be for Alex, unfortunately. But since the video feed seems to have partially failed, it's hard to tell.

Scores back on, Alex breaks again straight away, now *6-5. Looks like the MTO theory was wrong fortunately!

-- Edited by korriban on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 10:44:24 AM

steven · Tennis legend

It took 7 match points (and 1 break point served), but he does it!

L16: Alex Ward WR 346 beat (3) Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) WR 83 (CH 68 in Mar) by 4-6 7-5 7-5 biggrin

From a set down and a break down in the decider too. It's his 2nd top 100 scalp and the first without the aid of a retirement.

The way he celebrated (trudge + racket chucked into the net), I feared for a moment something had gone badly wrong LOL

-- Edited by steven on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 11:41:22 AM

korriban · Challenger level

DWH wrote:
Great win for Alex Onwards and upwards. I wonder how far he can go..
Just curious, was he someone who hadn't been in shape in the past? And did he not look in shape today? Just wondering because he posted a photo 3 months ago (granted a lot can change in that time) where he looked in pretty good condition. http://instagram.com/p/aObs4hqQuE/

Wow! Impressive. Mind you, if you put in THAT much work, any drop off in intensity will show and turn to tyres very quickly unless you also drop your calorie intake - my view is that he looks naturally stocky, so will need to work harder than most in order not to let things go. I certainly know the feeling!

-- Edited by korriban on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 01:59:46 PM

paulisi · Tennis legend

Yellow clay not the easiest to follow the ball on live stream.

Wardy holding his own so far, Kuznetsov struggling to get a first serve in.

korriban · Challenger level

Coup Droit wrote:
Great result, Alex, well done.

The French players were tweeting that the special yellow clay that they have there is a lot faster and more slippery than traditional red clay - maybe that suits Alex (and not Kutnetzov, hopefully . . . )

Alex clearly playing well at the moment, giving Kuznetsov a real fight early on!

Don't want this to become a theme, CD, but having just switched on the livestream from Seville, my initial impression is that Alex is certainly not the most waif-like tennis player I've ever seen - more Nalbandian than Djokovic, perhaps. Clearly pretty fit, but probably not in an optimum fighting condition. Is this something one sees in France? My impression would be......no.....never.......simply doesn't happen........