Week 37 - Great Britain F19 ($10,000) - Roehampton (Hard)

steven · Tennis legend

RE: Week 37 - Great Britain F19 ($10,000) - Roehampton (Hard)

RJA · Hall of fame

korriban wrote:
Marcus beat James 2&1. Just the 5 breaks of serve to zero.
As CD's report from the Tuesday suggested, James clearly isn't playing well at all. He's just about beaten 2 opponents he ought to be beating easily this week, then as soon as he comes up against a "player", albeit one who probably isn't even remotely fit by pro standards, he is absolutely taken apart.
What an earth is going on? On one level I really feel for James and the likes of George Morgan, but with all the support and backing over the years they have received from the LTA, and the fact that they and 1 or 2 others have been earmarked as potential stars amongst the wider population of players, to be resoundingly beaten again today and to see your ranking edging slowly backwards does beg a few questions about what is going on at the coalface. This isn't a blip, it's been a trend.
This Mr Willis must be quite a talent.......if only he could......well we all know the rest!

Well I don't know exactly what James' current status is regarding Team Aegon but from what I gather he doesn't have a coach travelling with him and he is now training in Barcelona so whatever backing he has from the LTA it certainly isn't up there with what the likes of Oli and Kyle are getting.

indiana · Tennis legend

It's a real pity about how James is so out of form, especially when I thought he made really encouraging progress last year.

And George has not really shown form for some time.

BUT that happens in professional sport and however much one may seek out answers to what has happened, where has it gone wrong, whose fault is it ? etc etc etc .. there can often be no obvious answer. No natter how much the player and support people think about it, analyse and practice, that once great backhand or whatever has lost what it once had. Sometimes even, I imagine, the more one worries the worse it gets.

I know some folk really like order in an often unordered world, for a problem there should be a reason and a solution. Needs to shed some weight, needs to work on serve or whatever.

But sometimes there just is no clear answer !

I do hope that James can turn things around, because he has shown such better form in the past. And if you have done it once, you would really hope and imagine you could do it again. Does anyone really know if there is a particular area(s) of his game that has gone backwards.

indiana · Tennis legend

I do love the tennis scoring system, with having to cross a winning line in games, sets and ultimately the match, the mix of points of very varying importance.

Experience can often count and so it seems to have proved in the Josh match-up.

It's all a learning experince, for JWH more than many re recent discussions.

To me disappointing, yes, "depressing" not really, especially if JWH has added a bit more to his tennis education.

john · Top national player

Top 4 seeds in the semis!

indiana · Tennis legend

That will maybe console these who seek order in an unordeted world !

Tennisnow · Lower Club Player

john wrote:
Top 4 seeds in the semis!

Hold your horses! Ed hasn't won yet...

Spectator · All-time great

korriban wrote:
Marcus beat James 2&1. Just the 5 breaks of serve to zero.
This Mr Willis must be quite a talent.......if only he could......well we all know the rest!

Mr Willis is a talent ... and if the work he has put in thus far has led to this year's rise in rankings, it's a good sign for the future. Welcome to the board, ktttttt (not sure that's quite the right number of consonants, but you get the drift) ... and yes, your point about there being a certain irony in commenting negatively about someone's fitness in a year where they are improving their ranking by 500 is a valid one. But I think it's a sort of backhanded compliment ... people recognising how much talent Mr Willis has, and so willing him to be more than one of the best Futures-level players in the UK ... not really something that would have happened a year ago.

scottie1 · Futures level

ktttt wrote:
I may be a bit late to this, but I do feel the criticism of Willis is quite unfair. First of all he is, and always has been, a big build. Secondly, to put in this criticism in a year where he has risen up the rankings by over 500 places is even more unfair. Thirdly, if you have watched him play, or even seen his results, I really don't think his perceived lack of fitness is an issue. He is quick around the court, and has won an awful lot of 3 set matches, I remember earlier in the year him coming back from down and out on numerous occasions to win in three.

I am not saying he is the perfect professional, and has always liked to joke about and not take things too seriously, but he has come a long way in that respect recently, as evidenced by his excellent year to date, and to criticise his efforts this year, of all years is quite unfair.

I have seen Marcus play a few times and I like watching him.

He has the talent to make a break through just as Dan Evans has!

My worry is Marcus happy travelling around UK on the futures tour or can he raise his game to get inside the top 250?

Marcus is a good player but has he the desire to move up the rankings. I see some of the other semi finalists in this tournament and Marcus is the most talented,

He is a big guy and I am not going to make comments about his stature or fitness.

I think most people on this site want him to do better.

RJA · Hall of fame

Coup Droit wrote:
There was one man who was sitting separately and was 100% for James, who I took at first to be James' father (about the right age) but, on reflection, he didn't look anything like him and spoke with a (Spanish?) accent and I then thought maybe it's his coach from Spain.

Possibly the guy who James is playing doubles with this week. He is only 33 but might look old for his age.

James certainly didn't have a coach at Sheffield, his Mom was there and his little brother (about 10 years old) but that was it.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

RJA wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
There was one man who was sitting separately and was 100% for James, who I took at first to be James' father (about the right age) but, on reflection, he didn't look anything like him and spoke with a (Spanish?) accent and I then thought maybe it's his coach from Spain.
Possibly the guy who James is playing doubles with this week. He is only 33 but might look old for his age.
James certainly didn't have a coach at Sheffield, his Mom was there and his little brother (about 10 years old) but that was it.

Yep, well done Sherlock - gone and googled him and, yes, it was definitely Gabriel Trujillo-Soler. Bravo to you. And so BIG apologies to him for thinking he was about about 45 !!!!

http://tennis-pronostics.com/sites/default/files/photosplayer/gabriel_trujillo.jpg

Truly sorry, Gab, but I've posted the photo - it's a dark, craggy look and, hunched into his sweatshirt, I promise it was difficult to tell, and I wasn't staring!

Anyway, off to specsavers - but it certainly backs up the fact that the only one really watching was a friend and playing partner, not the NTC.

indiana · Tennis legend

Re Marcus, from my viewpoint, the criticisms of him and his fitness levels have come from people who want him to do even better, who generally care about British tennis players.

It is a fair point that Marcus is bigboned, it is also I presume ( without checking) fair that he has a good 3 set / comeback record. BUT he is clearly not as fit as he could be, to not accept this is to be in denial of the truth. He needs to get fitter to have any chance of being all he could be.

Many on this forum criticised Dan Evans for years, very largely because we saw a real talent there that was being wasted. Eventually he certainly does seem to have listened, if not to us, certainly to such as his father and Leon Smith and credit to himself for listening, taking on board and maturing.

steven · Tennis legend

QF: (1) Dan Cox WR 302 beat Jathan Malik WR 1058 by 7-6(6) 6-1

QF: (3) Marcus Willis WR 431 beat (5) James Marsalek WR 608 by 2 & 1

QF: (4) Josh Goodall WR 488 beat Josh Ward-Hibbert WR 723 by 7-6(5) 7-6(5)

QF: (2/WC) Ed Corrie WR 342 beat (6) Tyler Hochwalt (USA) WR 580 (= CH) by 6-7(4) 7-5 6-3

SF: (1) Dan Cox WR 302 v (3) Marcus Willis WR 431 - H2H 7-2 (1-1 this year)
SF: (2/WC) Ed Corrie WR 342 v (4) Josh Goodall WR 488 - H2H 0-3

Futures singles SFs reached this year for these four semi-finalists:

10 Dan - W 7 L 2
8 Ed - W 5 L 2
7 Marcus - W 4 L 2
7 Josh - W 1 L 5

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Shame for JWH but, hey, that's life and Josh G said he (Josh G) played well:

joshua goodall ‏@joshuagoodall 3m (re his retirement)

@mewebb1 @GBtennis Ive always said il play odd tournament until Ive done my badges and right job comes along! But I'm playing well #carefree

Will be interesting re Ed tomorrow. Sounds like Ed had a narrow escape today (and, whether it's confidence or whatever, Ed was certainly not playing his world ranking either on Tuesday - long way off).

Impressed by Dan's results - it's difficult to stay focused week in, week out, to win and then start the week again in R1 and still manage to produce. He's had lots of very close matches, saved SPs, etc. etc. - don;t know about the tennis but the mental concentration and approach must be excellent.

So, it'll be a bit of a David and Goliath tomorrow between Dan and Marcus . . .

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Much as I wanted to see JWH win, will the result between the two Joshes be enough to keep Josh G in the top 500 a bit longer ?