A fantastic effort from the boys. Irrespective of whether they get the 6 points or not, they've notched up wins against players who are regulars in Challengers; and AWard, in particular, has beaten someone who will probably be top 100 within a year or two. As far as rewards are concerned, I think it's a travesty that you do not get points for winning a first round match in Tour qualies. There are some events, like KL, where you just need to show up to get in and that can lead to easier match-ups, but I'd argue that it's just as easy to win a first round match in many African Futures if you face the WCs/qualifiers. In no situation should beating a top 200 player be 'pointless', and even a token 1 or 2 points would be much better than what we have right now.


Coxy's match is (obviously) far more difficult than it looks, particularly given the form that Louk is in. But once again, you cannot moan about playing a good Challenger player in a Tour event. Wardy's opponent has been playing solely on clay since April (!) but he did beat the Don shortly before his affair with dirt began, so I think he is fairly competent on faster surfaces, too.



And on an absolutely unrelated note... if Alex ever starts a tennis academy, will he call it the Academy AWard?