Week 49 - Qatar F3 ($10,000) - Doha (hard)

indiana · Tennis legend

RE: Week 49 - Qatar F3 ($10,000) - Doha (hard)

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Just catching up after 24 hours on the road. Yes, Bob in Spain is finally back in Spain.

Congrats to Liam on his QF win and the breakthrough into the Top 500. That makes 17 now. And as jaggy points out, there is still a chance for Josh M and Neil before the year is out. Josh is down to play the next two weeks in Turkey and should be seeded in both. One SF place would give him the 70 points he would currently need. Neil is also down for the same two weeks in Turkey and should be seeded in the 2nd week. He will probably need to take the title on one of the two weeks though as he requires 15 points to reach 70 although one SF and one Final would also be enough. If he is playing well, it is certainly not out of the question as we know he is capable of a hot streak.

Another very good week for Luke too. His breakthrough into the top 500 is only a question of time.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

hogar dulce hogar, Bob (or casa, dulce casa ?)

Yes, all good for the lads in Qatar. Luke B seems to have had a bit of a 'déclic' as they say in France. And the Liam machine, now that he's got it going, keeps rolling on very nicely. And nice to see Scott now turning tight matches into points - he might be a little way behind the other two at the moment but, at only 18, these things can look very different in a couple of year's time. Same goes for Evan - he has a nice game.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
hogar dulce hogar, Bob (or casa, dulce casa ?)

Yes, all good for the lads in Qatar. Luke B seems to have had a bit of a 'déclic' as they say in France. And the Liam machine, now that he's got it going, keeps rolling on very nicely. And nice to see Scott now turning tight matches into points - he might be a little way behind the other two at the moment but, at only 18, these things can look very different in a couple of year's time. Same goes for Evan - he has a nice game.

Hogar, dulce Hogar is probably the most accurate, but right now, I will take it either way. If you follow my twitter feed (@expattennisfan) you will have guessed that already.

And re Scott, definitely agree. I notice the Qualifier that beat him took out the 7th seed today and will now play Liam in the semis. So much promise amongst the junior players coming through.

Spectator · All-time great

This is a comment/question made in complete ignorance - so may be quite foolish. But (with that caveat), I think the first time I ever heard of Mr Bambridge was in that TV segment showing Martin Weston coaching him. I am not familiar with coaching set-ups - so may be completely off the mark - and clearly television cameras are selective. Mr Weston is also clearly widely respected as a good coach. But it all seemed a bit ... well ... overbearing, and what works well with a player gifted with self-confidence may work less well with one whose confidence initially needs building. One wonders whether Mr Bambridge as an adult player with a little more freedom may actually flourish beyond expectations.

-- Edited by Spectator on Friday 6th of December 2013 09:37:50 AM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Spectator, well done for being terribly polite and, yes, I think 'overbearing' could be very apt. I've seen Martin in action twice (which might not be representative, of course) but was not too impressed - I think this 'army-major' style is old-fashioned, to be honest. Thrilled that it worked well for Kyle but it is one-dimensional, certainly not suited to all (or even most) players, confident or not.
Players like Luke are so young, but with so much good tennis behind them, that I agree with you - they'll have every opportunity to flourish, they just need to find the right course and approach for them (finances and health permitting).

DWH · Club Coach

Also ignorant of official coaching setups but I got the impression that Mark Hilton coached him at least recently.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Liam underway and broken in his first service game.

korriban · Challenger level

Coup Droit wrote:
Spectator, well done for being terribly polite and, yes, I think 'overbearing' could be very apt. I've seen Martin in action twice (which might not be representative, of course) but was not too impressed - I think this 'army-major' style is old-fashioned, to be honest. Thrilled that it worked well for Kyle but it is one-dimensional, certainly not suited to all (or even most) players, confident or not.
Players like Luke are so young, but with so much good tennis behind them, that I agree with you - they'll have every opportunity to flourish, they just need to find the right course and approach for them (finances and health permitting).

My impression is that Mr Weston is VERY aware of himself on camera, and that since the 3 minute film of him and Luke (when I'm guessing Luke was 11 or 12) was a fairly arty short about "the coach" there was probably quite a bit of grandstanding going on. Some of it was cringeworthy - "if David Brent were a tennis coach" cringeworthy, but I have no idea whether Mr Weston has a good, bad or average reputation as a coach in the game. What IS fairly clear with Luke is that he appears to be naturally far more self-critical and less self-confident than some of his peers. Perhaps the more aggressive sergeant-major treatment is exactly what he needs; perhaps it's all wrong - I'm useless at judging stuff like that!

Luke certainly seems to be making steady, if unspectacular, progress - but it's all going in the right direction at least. smile

steven · Tennis legend

It's still just that break in the first game that divides them but Moraing is about to serve for the 1st set. Liam is still the clear favourite with the bookies though, I've just noticed.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Liam finally recovers the break: *5-5 in the first...

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

... & takes it by 7-5. smile

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

great way to close out the set after being a break down for most of it.

Come on, Liam - with a win from you, we'll be four out of four in the singles today, here at the 'business end' of the week.

TMH · Futures qualifying

korriban wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
Spectator, well done for being terribly polite and, yes, I think 'overbearing' could be very apt. I've seen Martin in action twice (which might not be representative, of course) but was not too impressed - I think this 'army-major' style is old-fashioned, to be honest. Thrilled that it worked well for Kyle but it is one-dimensional, certainly not suited to all (or even most) players, confident or not.
Players like Luke are so young, but with so much good tennis behind them, that I agree with you - they'll have every opportunity to flourish, they just need to find the right course and approach for them (finances and health permitting).
My impression is that Mr Weston is VERY aware of himself on camera, and that since the 3 minute film of him and Luke (when I'm guessing Luke was 11 or 12) was a fairly arty short about "the coach" there was probably quite a bit of grandstanding going on. Some of it was cringeworthy - "if David Brent were a tennis coach" cringeworthy, but I have no idea whether Mr Weston has a good, bad or average reputation as a coach in the game. What IS fairly clear with Luke is that he appears to be naturally far more self-critical and less self-confident than some of his peers. Perhaps the more aggressive sergeant-major treatment is exactly what he needs; perhaps it's all wrong - I'm useless at judging stuff like that!
Luke certainly seems to be making steady, if unspectacular, progress - but it's all going in the right direction at least.

Speaking from someone of a similar personality to Luke (as in very self-critical and less self-confidence) an aggressive approach is the worst thing. Gentle encouragement and constructive criticism has always helped me. But everyone is different, so who really knows.

TMH · Futures qualifying

Coup Droit wrote:
great way to close out the set after being a break down for most of it.

Come on, Liam - with a win from you, we'll be four out of four in the singles today, here at the 'business end' of the week.

Liam, Josh and Ed.. who's the fourth?