Week 26 - Wimbledon men's main draw

scottie1 · Futures level

RE: Week 26 - Wimbledon men's main draw

philwrig · Hall of fame

Great effort by Smethy, a true professional and massively deserving of this breakthrough year, has the game to keep improving.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

John Isner was pretty complimentary in his interview about Dan S. (while admitting too that he'd made rather more UEs than normal).

"There were some times where I would hit a shot and next thing I know he's on top of the net putting away a volley. He's got a pretty bright future ahead of him. He has a pretty big game as well. He's a good player."

(I know they are usually polite about the guys they beat but, all the same, it's good to read).

And you've got to agree 100% about the advice he offered Dan (and others) going forward:

"I see firsthand what the top guys in our sport do, how they go about their business off the match court.

It's very impressive. For anyone ranked outside of top 100, I guess you have to really buckle down and get very professional and do everything the absolute right way.

Everyone else is doing that ranked ahead of them."

It's one of the reasons I believe we should have more challengers, even if it doesn't necessarily yield more points. It raises the bar and shows player a new level of professionalism, one that you might not even think possible (as one player put it). And that's before you even get to ATP events, which just odes the same again.

Shhh · Challenger level

Thats a good point about more challengers Coup. Its also a little bizarre that Liam and Co. have been sent away to USA for futures as opposed to being amongst all what has been staged here the last few weeks immersed in the atmosphere so to speak.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Julien Hoferlein, who's worked with Dan Evans over the past couple of years, and with the LTA for the last 6, is leaving and gives a pretty damning, although polite, summary of Dan's problems, saying that the bottom line is that tennis is not a priority in Dan's life, just a sideline.

(NB He also addresses other issues at the LTA and British tennis in general, not just Dan; it's not a personal attack, just rather sad reading).

www.rtbf.be/sport/tennis/detail_julien-hoferlin-je-m-en-vais-un-peu-decu

indiana · Tennis legend

Sad, but not that unexpected to read your summary, CD ( my Francais is very poor ).

The enigma that is Evo must be very difficult and to deal with and I have some sympathy for the difficulties he must give the LTA.

In recent times they seem to have tried to be as supportive as possible, with maybe Leon Smith pushing the way. And when you are dealing with the GB no 2, with his clear ability to go higher, naturally you would want to help for him and for GB tennis. But there must be a level of commitment from Evo himself, that if it drops below a certain level they say sorry, but...

Where Evo is in the commitment scale, clearly I don't know, but I am pretty sure it is some way below 100%.

Spectator · All-time great

Whatever the issues faced by the aforementioned Mr Evans, his loss to Mr Kuznetsov is looking a little less unfortunate, given that the latter is currently beating David Ferrer. Yes, Ferrer is not great on grass, and maybe there's an injury issue. But still ...

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Spectator wrote:
Whatever the issues faced by the aforementioned Mr Evans, his loss to Mr Kuznetsov is looking a little less unfortunate, given that the latter is currently beating David Ferrer. Yes, Ferrer is not great on grass, and maybe there's an injury issue. But still ...

Yes, what a stunning match and a stunning win - some magical playing !

For my part, Dan was in my 'as expected/passable' category. i.e. I didn't expect any of them to win (sort of randomly hoped, optimistically, but that's not the same). But if I had to categorise the five, I'd haveL

James and Kyle - slightly disappointing.

Dan Evans - passable, OK

Dan S and Dan C - very good performances, way better than expected.

Don't know if others agree - maybe unfair to Kyle? But just my take . . .

Spectator · All-time great

I wished for more from Mr Ward - but we all know that when he's good, he's capable of being quite good indeed and beating top players, and when he's having an off day, things aren't so great. So you just have to take the rough with the smooth. It seems to me that people keep throwing Mr Edmund into situations that he's really not quite ready for yet: he's doing fine for what he is and where he is, but too much is being asked of him. It's rough being GB's next great hope. Didn't see Mr Evans play. Delighted by the two "other" 1990 Dans. Wished that Dan C could get some good points with so much coming off in July/August; for Mr Smethurst, without points to defend, glad that he got the experience and hope it spurs on to continued rise.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

I didn't see Kyle's match yesterday (other than the first 2 games) so I can't comment specifically on his performance. But I have to ask myself if Kyle's performance would have benefited from having more matches under his belt.

Being able to play tennis is a skill. But being able to win matches is another skill altogether and very much a mental one. As the old saying goes, "winning is a habit". And unfortunately - more down to scheduling than anything else in my opinion - it is not a habit that Kyle has at the moment.

When Kyle started the year, he had a run of results that went: 10k - Win, 10k - Runner Up, 15k - Win. That last tournament win came in Week 7, on Feb 15th. We are now in week 26, and in those 19 weeks since that tournament victory, Kyle has only won 10 matches. More over, 5 of those wins came in 1 week - the Challenger in Vercelli where he came through 3 rounds of qualies before losing in the QF to Bolelli. So in the remaining 18 weeks, Kyle has only 5 match wins.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think Kyle is playing badly. But when you don't have that winning habit, you are playing perhaps 1 match per week (or less), and then you are suddenly thrown in as a WC against a top 100 player, it is hardly surprising that he is going to find it tough. I don't think there has been any performance where you could say he was poor. Indeed he has put up many very creditable performances - most notably when he was a set and a break up against Benneteau. But I have to ask myself, if he had won more matches at 15k and Challenger (qualies if necessary), would he have been more likely to spring a surprise result when stepping up a level with the occasional WC. I have to think that would be the case.

I also need to put some perspective here however. Kyle is a wonderfully talented player and still young. We have to be patient. I have no doubt whatsoever, that he will make it to the top echelons of the game. He has the skill and more importantly, he has the temperament. But it is going to take some time. However, like many others on here, I think a change of strategy with regard to scheduling is now called for. In simple terms, the powers that be need to take him out of the spotlight, and put him in situations where he is going to get a lot of matches under his belt. And if this means "beating up" a few players with 1000+ rankings in qualies of Challengers before testing himself in the MD, all the better. He needs to get back to that winning feeling.

To sum up, I guess what I am saying is, that I hope Kyle can do in the next 6 months what Dan S has done in the last 6 months. Lots and lots of matches under his belt and boost his ranking through regular lower level tournaments such as 15ks, Challengers and maybe the odd ATP 250 qualies.

BeefyDeedz · Pro player

You've definitely summarized my own feelings on the matter, BiS. I just can't see the long-term benefit of messing around. Surely the rest of the year for Kyle should entail what you proposed, with a mixture of Futures, Challengers and ATP Qualies. To be fair, I don't think there are any opportunities left for Kyle to get a WC, are there? Considering they are surely pushed by the LTA or an equivalent power?

indiana · Tennis legend

Great summary, Bob ( well, I agree with it :) )

steven · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
Julien Hoferlin, who's worked with Dan Evans over the past couple of years, and with the LTA for the last 6, is leaving and gives a pretty damning, although polite, summary of Dan's problems, saying that the bottom line is that tennis is not a priority in Dan's life, just a sideline.

(NB He also addresses other issues at the LTA and British tennis in general, not just Dan; it's not a personal attack, just rather sad reading).

www.rtbf.be/sport/tennis/detail_julien-hoferlin-je-m-en-vais-un-peu-decu

I thought someone had said this already (perhaps they have and I'm just being blind or it was on another thread!) but having now had a chance to listen to the audio version of the interview, it is a lot more nuanced - the Belgian media are trying to be the British media and pick out the most critical bits. That doesn't mean the written summary is way off, but Julien does talk about some good things too.

I imagine he's probably spot on

Was it Oli he coached before Evo? (i.e. the player who'd go mad after missing a couple of balls)

I had to laugh (if somewhat sadly) when he said in the audio interview in answer to a question about whether coaching a female player would require a big transition because women are more emotional than men that with the last 2 GB men he coached, he sometimes felt like he was coaching girls anyway ... (sexist, I know, but the question that made the assumption in the first place came from a female interviewer so perhaps he can be let off a little bit)

I also smiled at "... Andy Murray, qui est un extra-terrestre"

-- Edited by steven on Wednesday 25th of June 2014 06:54:14 PM

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

I cannot believe that they are showing the Williams sisters on the red button instead of the amazing match between Querrey and Tsonga. They haven't shown any of it apart from a couple of seconds! GGRRRRRR!!!

steven · Tennis legend

I see the BBC have now picked up on the story (well, the worst bits anyway - it is the BBC) - Julien replies with:

"Thanks a lot the LTA for the amazing experience of 6 years ! I met so many nice people during this period ! Colleague and players ....Merci. I wish the best to all of them , especially to @Evo151216 ! Please BBC or any press , NO polemic ! Good luck with love for my second family"

... and both Evo and Oli have been very nice in return, which is good to see