Remarkable non-GB performances

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

RE: Remarkable non-GB performances

Spectator · All-time great

And the ATP has noted his accomplishment: www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/03/10/Challenger-Weekly-Spotlight-23-February-2014.aspx

And, in a far more detailed article about "the Dominican Federer," http://www.diariolibre.com/tenis/2014/03/03/i507851_vctor-estrella-entra-top-100.html, it's confirmed that he is the first man from the Dominican Republic to reach this milestone. His goal, he says, is actually to reach the top 50. Fascinating article, which focuses in large part on the obstacles he has had to overcome, both in terms of lack of funding and in terms of playing a sport at what's a really high level but isn't recognised as such in a country which is so dominant in some other sports.

-- Edited by Spectator on Monday 3rd of March 2014 08:00:10 AM

TMH · Futures qualifying

Is that a record?

Edit: Didn't notice there was another page!

-- Edited by TMH on Friday 7th of March 2014 08:30:18 AM

Spectator · All-time great

None of the articles I read said that it was. That's not a contraindication, but one might have thought they'd mention it, were it the case. One for Sharko ...

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

I think this performance is worthy of a mention.

Roberto Carballes Baena, currently ranked 273 (one place below Dan S) has reached the semis of the ATP 250 in Casablanca beating Goffin, Sousa and Kuznetzov en route and having started the tournament unseeded in the qualifiers. Whilst it has to be said that he has had a bit of luck in the draw - Goffin also a qualifier and Kuznetzov a lucky loser who replaced the Nº2 seed - it is still a remarkable achievement. The 102 points he has gained will shoot him up almost 100 places in the rankings to about 185. His previous best points tally from a single tournament was 29 from a Challenger semi final.

Of course, Mr Carballes first came to my attention last year when he beat Kyle in that humdinger of a match in Murcia last year. At the time he was already just outside the 300 mark in the world ranking at WR 313 but his progress rankings wise hasn't really been great in the last 12 months. He is 2 years older than Kyle but stats wise had been very similar up to that point. His Junior CH was 8 in 2011 whilst Kyle reached Junior CH of 8 in 2012. They are also both winners of the Junior Doubles at Roland Garros.

Perhaps he is a classic example of how some young players will plateau and consolidate at certain stages during their development, before pressing on again. Let's not panic if some of our up and coming Brits do the same.

So, Snr Carballes, I wish you "buena suerte" in your SF against Garcia Lopez.

Edit.

In the end. Carballes came very close to a final before going down 6-4 in the 3rd.

-- Edited by Bob in Spain on Saturday 12th of April 2014 07:22:55 PM

TMH · Futures qualifying

I noticed Baena a few years ago. He's in Oli's year but I don't think played much juniors - he was the top ranked '93 born player for a while before Vesely and Thiem really got going. Has been in the 300-500 range for a couple of years now I think, so good to see him finally making steps.

Edit: Just saw he was JCH 8 in 2011. Was that early in the year then? Think he started focusing on the pro tour in his final junior year (so, 2011), but I may be wrong of course.

-- Edited by TMH on Sunday 13th of April 2014 02:02:58 PM

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

TMH wrote:
I noticed Baena a few years ago. He's in Oli's year but I don't think played much juniors - he was the top ranked '93 born player for a while before Vesely and Thiem really got going. Has been in the 300-500 range for a couple of years now I think, so good to see him finally making steps.

Edit: Just saw he was JCH 8 in 2011. Was that early in the year then? Think he started focusing on the pro tour in his final junior year (so, 2011), but I may be wrong of course.

-- Edited by TMH on Sunday 13th of April 2014 02:02:58 PM

Yes. It was in January 2011. I only know this because during the Murcia tournament last year, that stat was posted by Steven on the forum here.

Spectator · All-time great

Gather from tweets that Kyrgios may have been injured, but he has won back-to-back challengers ... in his first two tournaments back. As a teenager. Think that qualifies as a remarkable performance.

Hope that whatever his injury is, it isn't serious.

Spectator · All-time great

And another remarkable performance, but rather an odd one ... Stephane Robert, having broken back into the top 100 as a LL in the Australian Open, has just broken into the top 100 in doubles as a LL winning in Barcelona (rising 195 places as a result). The gentleman puts the "lucky" into LL.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Spectator wrote:
And another remarkable performance, but rather an odd one ... Stephane Robert, having broken back into the top 100 as a LL in the Australian Open, has just broken into the top 100 in doubles as a LL winning in Barcelona (rising 195 places as a result). The gentleman puts the "lucky" into LL.

smile

And broken into the top 100 for doubles for the first time, what's more, at age 33. And played and won with the Dutchman, Huta Galung, (who's about WR140 in both singles and doubles) and only scraped into the top 100 for singles for the first time at age 28. And they beat Nestor y Zimonjic 63 63 - mo mean achievement!

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Congratulations to Roger and Mirka !

I think that two sets of twins, two girls and two boys, represents a remarkable non-GB performance in anyone's book!!!!

(And a minor congrats to Djoko too - one single baby is probably not going to get much in the way of headlines - Roger steals the show again :))

indiana · Tennis legend

Bah, show off :)

All the best to them all.

Spectator · All-time great

At this point, GB supporters may be licking their wounds (though a SF ... and the attendant points ... were far, far more than I for one had anticipated for Mr Murray at RG).

But the French are celebrating their losses - or at least Le Monde is celebrating their spectacular 5-set "défaites à la française" - in this rather charming post: rolandgarros.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/06/05/merci-gael-ou-lart-de-la-defaite-a-la-francaise/

(They also liked a punning tweet by Judy Murray)

-- Edited by Spectator on Friday 6th of June 2014 09:48:00 PM

Spectator · All-time great

Having been the person to point out the French celebration of defeats, feel a certain obligation also to highlight how well they celebrate victory ... lovely to see the French reactions to ERV and Julien Benneteau winning the doubles. Well done to the two of them, and to the French for making such a fine fuss over them!

Spectator · All-time great

I know it will end, but the radio just said that at 5-4 in the first set, Kyrgios had won 100% of points on first serve. At nineteen. In his first match on Centre Court. Against Nadal. However it ends, that's one fascinating way to begin.

-- Edited by Spectator on Tuesday 1st of July 2014 03:42:31 PM