A1 tennis academy wrote:

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Not ideal that cox v Willis a likely QF 

too many top 25 players all fighting for same points again ! 

 

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Don't agree    Could have said the same last week but Freddie (unseeded and from Denmark) took the title and Dan lost in an early round.

 

Its a pretty stacked field of the best Brits, but at least its a tournament worth 50% more than a 10k.

A few thoughts and observations from today

I watched the first set of Marcus v Rhett having not seen either play. Rhett has the look of a proper player, but just lacks the experience. Definitely one to keep an eye on. The poor lady umpire had a nightmare trying to keep these two under control. Marcus was the main instigator questioning lots of calls which lead to a full scale rant half way through the set. For all I know it may have been a tactic to put his opponent off as there was little between them, until Marcus broke right at the end of the set with some superb passes and lobs.

Joe v Dan was a messy match. Joe played very well in patches and Dan was awful in set 2, but just about ground out a result. I'm not that convinced about Dan's game and I didn't realise he was that small.
Alan Gleeson has struggling with a lower back injury and had the trainer on early, hence the emphatic scoreline, but Marshall has improved dramatically.
Ward v Bettles was a classy game and Bettles looked a match for Alex for long periods. Very impressed with Alex's defence, workrate and skills around the net.
I caught bits of George's match, but I can see why the Frenchman took out Dave R last week. Everytime George got a sniff of a break, the Frenchman stepped up a level.
Toby v Neil was a real baseline scrap. Not much to choose between them, lots of breaks in the first set and it was Toby who made the least errors and went on to win.
Broady was far too good for Peter Ashley. Broady is a different player to the one at Wirral. Took control of the match, shifted his opponent round the court and was excellent round the net. Serve has improved and the forehand has more whip, but still no great weapons - however great craftsmanship.
Milts v Adam - saw bits of the game and Adam matched Milts for a couple of sets, until he had a hand problem which needed treatment in the third set. Most consistent I have seen Adam play and if he can keep that level going, he could climb up the rankings. Milts though, in my opinion was unprofessional on court. Coming over to chat to some of the players between points on a regular basis and he was the won that said that Adam Double faulted 4 times in a row. His serve seems to have gone back to the old ways with little drive, unlike at Didsbury, where it was very good.
Josh v Imran was very tight, not much to choose between them. I left after a set when Josh was getting treatment. Rhett looked much better than Josh.
Bambo was the star player. Ran away with the match and Jack didn't play that badly, but Luke played all the key points really well.
Brydan was really poor in the first set, but was still too good for David Porter.
Ed had an easy win
Marzi was too consistent for Harry. When Marzi serves well he is a decent player, but I don't see him any more than 600-800 ranked. Harry hasn't really progressed since he parted with Josh G. His serve didn't cause too many problems, seeing it was a major weapon before and his choice of shot needs work on. Regularly trying to force back to back balls rather than bide his time and pounce on the error.
Not sure what the matter is with Tom. I know he has not played much, but his attitude stunk. He was very down on himself, serve poorly and inexplicable during the rally would just hit a ball back with no pace on it and get punished. He played well to get 4-0 up in the second set and then imploded and lost 6 on the bounce.
Rice and JWH was tight, didn't see too much, but JWH seems to be playing at quite a decent level and should move back up the rankings. A new coaching set up and new location at Nottingham may help.

One other snippet - Nigel wouldn't tell me what Dan's injury was, but he had it for a little while and he is almost ready to come back, but there is no point risking it and aggrevating it, but he is not far off returning.
Funnily enough they were all running around trying to enter tournaments this afternoon before the 3pm cut off. Looks like Lewis is following Marcus(presumably for the doubles) with Marcus making the calls.

That's a lot of info, paulisi - thanks very much for taking the trouble to do the report.

Echoing the thanks to you, Paulisi! Lovely to hear of the development of a number of the players, and that Mr Smethurst is on the mend. Congratulations to Mr Ward on coming back with a win and to the many who seem to have progressed a lot in recent months. Sounds as if the time together on the road for some of them may have had its benefits.

Jimbo90 wrote:

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Unfortunately just to make you all aware George coupland has decided to retire from professional tennis

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Oh, what a shame ! (For us tennis fans).

Not necessarily a shame at all for George, of course -  Do you know why ? (In general, I mean, not anything private). Has he got other plans already in the pipeline ?

Good luck and all the best to him