0-15 .. 30-15 .. 30-30 .. match point .. deuce .. break point .. deuce .. match point 2
He's done it!! Massive career best win for Imran
L16: Toby Martin WR 870 lost to (1/Q) Thomas Schoorel (NED) WR 194 (CH 94 in 2011) by 4 & 4 L16: Rob Carter WR 863 beat (5) Ashley Hewitt WR 408 by 3 & 3 L16: (WC) Imran Aswat WR 1337 beat (3) Roberto Marcora (ITA) WR 355 (CH 348 in Feb) by 4 & 4 L16: (7) Tom Farquharson WR 443 beat (Q) George Morgan WR 1144 by 4 & 3 L16: George Coupland WR 742 beat Josh Ward-Hibbert WR 711 by 6-4 7-6(3) L16: (2) Dave Rice WR 291 beat (Q) Scott Griekspoor (NED) WR 1138 (CH 1000 in May) by 3 & 2
QF: Rob Carter WR 863 v (1/Q) Thomas Schoorel (NED) WR 194 (CH 94 in 2011) QF: (7) Tom Farquharson WR 443 v (WC) Imran Aswat WR 1337 QF: George Coupland WR 742 v (4) Antal Van Der Duim (NED) WR 415 (CH 290 in 2012) QF: (2) Dave Rice WR 291 v Frederik Nielsen (DEN) WR 626 (CH 190 in 2011)
H2Hs - just 1, in fact
Tom v Imran: 2-0, Tom won in straight sets twice last year, giving up just 6 games in 4 sets
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GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!
Real shame for Toby losing 4&4. Before the match we would have said that was a really good performance, but as CD says, the frustrating stat is the BP conversions. Schoorel was 2/3 and Toby 0/8. It could have been so much better. But well played anyway Toby. It was still a good performance.
I think Toby has got a lot to be positive about this week - finally beating his 2014 nemesis Rosenzweig (and in some style!) then giving the top seed a really good match. A pity he couldn't take any of the 8 bps, but Schoorel is a top 200 / ex-top 100 player - it's hardly unusual for someone like that to have the edge on the big points against a player ranked nearly 700 places lower.
Just to back this up, apparently Schoorel served aces or unreturnable serves on 6 of the 8 bps!
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GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!
Hands up those who saw that one coming. Great result for Imran.
Not me! The obvious thing to think in that situation is that there must have been something wrong with Marcora, as well as Imran playing the match of his life - simply because this kind of rankings gap only tends to get bridged if one player is playing out of their skin and the other isn't on top form. However, while the Italian probably had a bit of an off day, the fact the 2nd set went on so long and remained so close suggests there wasn't anything specifically wrong with him, and Imran had to hold his nerve through some very close service games near the end, all of which makes it a fantastic win whichever way you look at it
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GB on a shirt, Davis Cup still gleaming, 79 years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming ... 29/11/2015 that dream came true!
Real shame for Toby losing 4&4. Before the match we would have said that was a really good performance, but as CD says, the frustrating stat is the BP conversions. Schoorel was 2/3 and Toby 0/8. It could have been so much better. But well played anyway Toby. It was still a good performance.
I think Toby has got a lot to be positive about this week - finally beating his 2014 nemesis Rosenzweig (and in some style!) then giving the top seed a really good match. A pity he couldn't take any of the 8 bps, but Schoorel is a top 200 / ex-top 100 player - it's hardly unusual for someone like that to have the edge on the big points against a player ranked nearly 700 places lower.
Just to back this up, apparently Schoorel served aces or unreturnable serves on 6 of the 8 bps!
Well, he is 6'7½" (2.02m for the benefit of those who grew up "speaking" metric)!
I watched the majority of Toby's game and Toby was excellent. He matched Schoorel on groundstrokes and really attacked him on his second serve. The only difference between the two players on the day was that Schoorel upped the gears on the big points and send down some big serves. To be fair Toby got a bit tight on a couple of the break points. It probably helped that he had two coaches from Bath there this week with him.
If Toby continues to play at that level, he will be top 500 in no time.
George C v JWH was a terrific match of big serve and volley. Both played really well and there was little to choose between the two. The one deciding factor was George's experience. Both players are under ranked and will be a big danger on grass.
Didn't see any of Dave's singles match.
Tom F v George - I only caught a little bit of that match, but Tom didn't look as sharp as he did at the Wirral, but presumably that's because he's been out for a few weeks. George has a very nice game, but got frustrated and made quite a few errors on the back of it.
As for Imran v Macora. I had a chat to Jathan during the match and he said he had plenty of chances to beat Macora, but he's another finding it difficult to finish off matches at the moment. Imran was playing on home turf and had a decent following to support him. I only saw the first eight games in the first set and Marcora was the stronger player and Imran was hanging on to keep it level. I came back and he was a set and 5-3 up in the second set to my surprise. Imran was a little nervy trying to serve it out, but showed plenty of guts to win the match.
Macora looks like a clay courter and has an excellent backhand and the rest of his game is average. Imran was solid and has good court coverage, but no major weapons. Tom will beat him tomorrow.
Ashley v Rob C - having seen neither player before, I would have put the rankings the other way round. Ashley clearly wasn't prepared, he was eating his dinner when he was called. Rob was by far the better player and has a good all round game and I was impressed by his return of serve. Rob will climb the rankings quickly. I don't see Ashley going much higher. Ashley had treatment during the game and had his forearm bandaged
Saw quite a bit of the Rice/Thornley doubles and the boys didn't play well. DF's at crucial points and anagram was excellent at the net. The better team won.
A few other observations.
Just 1 indoor practice court wasn't really acceptable
Plenty of coaches around - Bath, Bolton, Jane O'D, Claire C, Hilts, Bloomers, A couple of the Nottingham guys - makes a change. Even Rob C had his coach with him.
Doubles didn't start until 6pm as the singles went on longer than expected. One of the girls matches last 3 3/4 hrs hence why Manisha's match was moved.
Great to hear your comments, paulisi. And very positive they are too. Particularly pleased that so many of them agree with what I thought of all the blokes when I last saw them (especially Rob, George C and JWH) - if we all agree about all the good things coming, we can't all be wrong!
Thanks again.