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

paulisi · Tennis legend

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

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

R1: (1) Ed Corrie & Josh Ward-Hibbert CR 1094 defeated Paul Daniel Gijón (ESP) & Jake Horton UNR by 1 & 0
R1: (2) James Marsalek & Gabriel Trujillo (ESP) CR 1189 defeated Jathan Malik & Harry Skinner UNR by 4 & 2

*****

QF: (1) Ed Corrie & Josh Ward-Hibbert CR 1094 vs Kamil Kaleta (POL) & Richard Stera UNR
QF: Chris Anguelov & Egbert Weverink (BUL/NED) UNR vs (2) James Marsalek & Gabriel Trujillo (ESP) CR 1189

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Richard's 'reitrement' today:

OK, this is not exactly the oracle speaking (!!) because it's only what I saw and how I saw it, and not from the horse's mouth so to speak, but I was courtside so here goes. . .

As soon as Richard started, even walking on the court, he looked uncomfortable and stiff. I'd have guessed he had a bad back, he didn't quite stand up straight adn was just moving rather gingerly between points. When he started playing, it was the same, he didn't look seriously stricken (and certainly wasn't moaning or complaining) but just looked rather uncomfortable.

At 2-1, though, when they turned, he talked to the umpire about seeing a trainer because he had a 'bad knee'. I assumed there'd be a MTO and walked off to the other court so I don't know if the trainer came (assume so if he actually asked for him). When I cam back they were playing again and Richard looked the same, no better no worse.
And, of course, he won the two games, thanks so some beautiful backhands (a joy) and excellent reflexes that completely surprised Josh and took the fizz out of his best shots.

But at 4-1 Richard went up to the net and simply shook hands and reitired. Everyone was a little surprised because nothing noticeable had happened (adn he was winning). Josh, bless him, who strikes you as a rather sweet, slightly goofy guy, looked quite taken aback (had he not noticed he was a bit injured?).

Anyway, I saw him later standing wiht the other guys watching other matches so he obviously wasn't poleaxed but he presumably didn;t retire at 4-1 up without a good reason.

My guess, though, is that he knew,, from the off, that he only has a slim chance of getting though today's match. I doubt he;d have entered the doubles though unless he thought there was some chance - I can;t think he took the spot just to get the very meagre first-round losers cheque.

A real shame - a brief match but some outstanding tennis from both players even so - a cut above most of the others (and that's not to say they were bad - of which, more later . .. )

steven · Tennis legend

Thanks for the details re. Richard, CD.

The day ends with a career high ranking scalp and first ATP singles ranking point for Joshua Paris (not to mention 'revenge' for a 3 & 5 defeat in Bournemouth earlier this year), so well done to him.

L32: (1) Dan Cox WR 302 beat (Q) Harry Skinner UNR by 2 & 0
L32: Luke Bambridge WR 863 beat (WC) Mark Whitehouse WR 1787 by 2 & 2
L32: Jathan Malik WR 1058 beat Sam Hutt WR 1243 by 2 & 0
L32: (7) Lewis Burton WR 667 beat Ronak Manuja (IND) WR 1317 by 2 & 1
L32: (3) Marcus Willis WR 431 beat Jonny O'Mara WR 1035 by 1-1 ret.
L32: Liam Broady WR 677 beat Rob Carter WR 1197 by 7-6(2) 6-1
L32: Toby Martin WR 1064 beat (Q) Isaac Stoute UNR by 2-6 6-3 6-3
L32: (5) James Marsalek WR 608 beat (Q) Tom Allen UNR by 3 & 3
L32: Josh Ward-Hibbert WR 723 beat (8) Richard Bloomfield WR 714 by 1-4 ret. biggrin bleh
L32: (WC) Evan Hoyt WR 1787 beat (Q) Oliver Hudson WR 2138 by 7-5 7-6(8)
L32: Myles Orton WR 1186 beat (Q) Shakeel Manji UNR by 3 & 4
L32: (4) Josh Goodall WR 488 beat (WC) Adam Thornton-Brown WR 1420 by 4 & 0
L32: Alex Jhun WR 1435 lost to (6) Tyler Hochwalt (USA) WR 580 by 5 & 2
L32: (Q) Joshua Paris UNR beat James Ireland WR 1052 by 6-3 2-6 6-1 biggrin bleh
L32: (Q) Scott Clayton WR 2129 beat (Q) Keelan Oakley UNR by 5 & 4
L32: (2/WC) Ed Corrie WR 342 beat (LL) Marcus Gan UNR by 2 & 1

L16: (1) Dan Cox WR 302 v Luke Bambridge WR 863
L16: (7) Lewis Burton WR 667 v Jathan Malik WR 1058
L16: (3) Marcus Willis WR 431 v Liam Broady WR 677
L16: (5) James Marsalek WR 608 v Toby Martin WR 1064
L16: Josh Ward-Hibbert WR 723 v (WC) Evan Hoyt WR 1787
L16: (4) Josh Goodall WR 488 v Myles Orton WR 1186
L16: (Q) Joshua Paris UNR v (6) Tyler Hochwalt (USA) WR 580
L16: (2/WC) Ed Corrie WR 342 v (Q) Scott Clayton WR 2129

H2Hs:

Dan v Luke 1-0 - 2 & 0, Wrexham 2012
Lewis v Jathan 1-0 - 4 & 4, Manchester 2013
Marcus v Liam 2-2 - 2-1 to Marcus this year but Liam won 1 & 1 in R2 last week
James v Toby 2-1 but 1-1 in seniors and Toby won their last Futures meeting (Ashkelon 2012)

Jaggy1876 · Grand Slam Champion

What happened to Tom F? Doesn't seem to be listed or withdrawn.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

R1: Rob Carter & Oliver Hudson UNR defeated Tom Allen & Adam Thornton-Brown CR 2884 by 3 & 3
R1: Alex Jhun & Stefan Sterland-Markovic CR 3327 defeated Shakeel Manji & Isaac Stoute CR 2989 by 3 & 5
R1: Chris Haggard (RSA) & Evan Hoyt UNR vs (3) Lewis Burton & Marcus Willis CR 1230 - result still outstanding; winners play Jhun & Sterland-Markovic

*****

QF: (4) Scott Clayton & Toby Martin CR 1471 vs Rob Carter & Oliver Hudson UNR

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Just two points (one good, one bad) that follow on from other threads this week:

1. Alex Jhun - RJA was at pains to point out that, though Alex sometimes has slightly special court behaviour, it was in NO way a criticism. I'd, on the other hand, heard that it was sometimes on the limit of gamesmanship.
Anyway, I just want to say that I saw most of his match today and RJA is completely right - his behaviour was perfect, competitive, a bit down on himself when he was frustrated but, given the fact it was an important match, his opponent was about 8 inches taller, the match was actually quite close and that, finally, he lost (so he could have been expected to be a bit out of control), Alex played a really competitive, fair-play match - blameless.

2. Marcus Willis - OK, I've stood three foot from the guy and there's no other way of putting it : he's seriously overweight. By which I mean, he's overweight by even healthy, normal 22 year-old standards. And by top athlete standards, he's seriously overweight.
Now I know that you can (to some extent) be fit and overweight and that that's better than being skinny and unfit but . . . And I also know that tennis players come in all shapes and sizes and Marcus is a stocky guy - his knees and calves are twice the size of some of the guys - but he's not stocky in the way that Marcus Bagdahtis is stocky, he's overweight. (And I heard his family group saying, giggling, that he likes his beer and burgers too much - well, you don't say - you don't get like that from eating fresh air . . . )

Having seen Heather Watson walking around (pure muscle, a body fat index of next to nothing), there's a lesson Marcus. I hardly saw him play (O'Mara retired at 1-1 having, I believe, turned his ankle) so if he's really that talented (and everyone says he is, and given his WR he's obviously got a lot of skills) it is a REAL shame if he doesn't work on his physique. But. hey, I expect he knows that . . .

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Good stuff by Isaac. I was pleased to read recently in another thread about someone seeing one of his matches recently ( he lost ) that was played in a very good spirit with mutual respect.

Isaac was, again, a truly well-mannered, respectful player on court. He's 17 but looks very young and, bottom line IMHO, doesn't quite have the physique to play senior tennis yet. (But he certainly has the talent).

Which is fine because he's doing A levels next summer I believe (having got excellent GCSEs) and so wants to do well at his studies. So he's got the time to fill out a bit, study hard and see where he is in a year's time (worth noting that he also plays a very 'smart' game of tennis as well as a skillful one).

In terms of other youngsters, Josh Paris is a pleasure to watch and, as a 1996, a real talent (good build for tennis too).

And it's the first time I've seen Evan Hoyt - and loved his game. He puts you in mind of Kyle - both physically (similar physique, blonde, cap) and the tennis - excellent technique (well done his coach), very focused, concentrated, commits to each and every ball and, like Kyle, should learn to follow in when he's got the point won and finish it off but tends to think about it, and then change his mind, and get caught betwixt and between.

Spectator · All-time great

Great to have your insights, CD. Thank you.

steven · Tennis legend

Thanks CD. Jonny's mum confirms he retired because he turned his ankle badly. Hopefully it won't keep him out for too long.

Sounds like Marcus needs an Evo moment (if you see what I mean) - you do wonder how good he could be if he got really fit, if he can already make top 500 when he's not, and it would be good (especially for him!) if he gave himself the chance to find out.

RJA · Hall of fame

Coup Droit wrote:
James Marsalek was exxtremely disappointing. I know he's had a hard time this year but Tom Allen outplayed him for practically all the second set and was seriously unlucky not to win that set (long story) He shanked a lot of balls, just plain missed a lot and had nothing to scare Tom, who played well.

Which makes it all the more worrying that James described today as a "good day day at the office". Probably says a lot about where his game is at the moment that he regards any win as a good result. In fairness Tom Allen is a better player than him being unranked suggests, there are a fair few ranked Brits who are worse than him but he has had no luck whatsoever with draws. His main draw opponents in futures this year have been Carter, JWH, Slabinsky, Fitzpatrick, Gabb and now Marsalek. He took Carter, Sabba and Fitzy to a deciding set and ran them all close.

Coup Droit wrote:
The Josh/Adam TB match was truly bizarre - Josh was charming as long as he was winning points and pretty foul-mouthed when he wasn't. Adam, with a face like a choir boy, argued the tinkers from the first ball and got himself so worked up I'm almost positive, at only 2-1 down in the first set, he was actually crying (from vexation, in the way kids do when they play). Very strange . .

Sounds pretty much normal for both of them. I doubt that Adam was actually crying but his expression when he is unhappy frequently gives the impression that he is about to burst into tears.

Coup Droit wrote:
I'd be interested anyone who knows Liam better than me (almost everybody!) because all I saw was a fit leftie, very solid, with good court coverage. His shots had very little penetration and he was seriously lucky to win the first set - Rob, on the other hand, has some real force, uses his height, and played a great first set, marred only by a tad too many UE (which is natural given the offensive style he has). Maybe when it's less windy Liam has more power ?

Sounds very odd. Liam's forehand is normally a pretty powerful shot. If it was windy he might just have been playing more cautiously than normal.

indiana · Tennis legend

I'm looking forward to when JWH's result start matching the hype he quite often gets on the forun.

Read recently him being put ahead of Golding and Broady and CD's very good words again here about a player who was 4-1 down against an apparently less than fully fit looking Bloomers.

RJA · Hall of fame

indiana wrote:
I'm looking forward to when JWH's result start matching the hype he quite often gets on the forun.

Read recently him being put ahead of Golding and Broady and CD's very good words again here about a player who was 4-1 down against an apparently less than fully fit looking Bloomers.

Personally I think he has been a bit over hyped on this forum. His game clearly works well on grass but for me doesn't look anywhere near as effective on hard courts.

BradMarx90 · County player

RJA wrote:
indiana wrote:
I'm looking forward to when JWH's result start matching the hype he quite often gets on the forun.

Read recently him being put ahead of Golding and Broady and CD's very good words again here about a player who was 4-1 down against an apparently less than fully fit looking Bloomers.
Personally I think he has been a bit over hyped on this forum. His game clearly works well on grass but for me doesn't look anywhere near as effective on hard courts.

Over hyped - maybe. When I saw him at Ilkley he definitely wasn't flawless, although beating Goodall isn't something to be frowned at. He showed a great deal of promise and, as CD says, an array of shots that he doesn't seem to know what to do with. His service needs to be more consistent too - with his height, it should be his most powerful weapon.

I think JWH has had some tough draws recently, especially when he ran into Dan Cox three times in three weeks or something like that, and the way Cox is playing at the moment it seems like not that many can beat him. However, JWH's draw this week looks to be very navigable - Hoyt, while he shows promise, shouldn't pose too much of a problem, and then Goodall again in the quarters, which is winnable. I don't think I've seen JWH in a semi since I joined the forum, which was back in June. It would be nice to see if he can do what his doubles partner Broady did last week and have a decent run to the final - he's definitely in the right half of the draw this week.

BradMarx90 · County player

Coup Droit wrote:
2. Marcus Willis - OK, I've stood three foot from the guy and there's no other way of putting it : he's seriously overweight. By which I mean, he's overweight by even healthy, normal 22 year-old standards. And by top athlete standards, he's seriously overweight.
Now I know that you can (to some extent) be fit and overweight and that that's better than being skinny and unfit but . . . And I also know that tennis players come in all shapes and sizes and Marcus is a stocky guy - his knees and calves are twice the size of some of the guys - but he's not stocky in the way that Marcus Bagdahtis is stocky, he's overweight. (And I heard his family group saying, giggling, that he likes his beer and burgers too much - well, you don't say - you don't get like that from eating fresh air . . . )

Having seen Heather Watson walking around (pure muscle, a body fat index of next to nothing), there's a lesson Marcus. I hardly saw him play (O'Mara retired at 1-1 having, I believe, turned his ankle) so if he's really that talented (and everyone says he is, and given his WR he's obviously got a lot of skills) it is a REAL shame if he doesn't work on his physique. But. hey, I expect he knows that . . .

While I enjoy Marcus' playing style, I am inclined to agree. I saw/spoke to him in Ilkley (ironically recommended him a curry place in town that I once worked at as they were looking for a take out...) and, while he's clearly not fat, he is bigger than most of the other boys. However, he does have gorgeous groundstrokes and a very fluid way of playing, and I did notice that a lot of the time, when he's in control, he tends not to need to cover much ground on the court. Obviously his size doesn't necessarily diminish his fitness levels, but you do wonder if it does affect his game at all.