Week 44 - Challenger ($50,000) - Charlottesville VA, USA (Hard)

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

RE: Week 44 - Challenger ($50,000) - Charlottesville VA, USA (Hard)

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Aargh! Broken

korriban · Challenger level

2-3* second set. Broken to love. Last 2 service games Liam had almost nothing on his serve and I'm sensing he's just keeping the ball in play up the middle in rallies. Very different from previously in this match and other matches. Could it be he's hit the wall physically? Looks suddenly very one sided to the Aussie, but I'm sure Liam's opponents have thought that a lot in previous rounds and he's beaten them

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Broken again to drop to 1 set all. Liam looks to be struggling now, first serve % has dropped, more errors.

Jan · Hall of fame

Just home.
Come on Liam!

Miriambee · Futures level

bob in spain gets a mention on USTA commentary!

paulisi · Tennis legend

Duckworth is serving really well and upped his play from the back of the court. Liam is struggling to maintain the levels of the first set.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Duckworth seems to have more easy power, much heavier build, more naturally strong. I like Broady's game though.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Ah well. 7-5 3-6 2-6. Nice try.

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

Liam seemed to run out of gas early in the 2nd set. All rather too easy for Duckworth in the 2nd and 3rd sets.

Excellent week overall.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Miriambee wrote:
bob in spain gets a mention on USTA commentary!

Again. Mike is a good guy like that. In case you were wondering, the questions he was answering re Duckworth's weight and the situation with AO qualies, were coming from our friend Liz Curran. She gets even more mentions that I do LOL.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Great effort, Liam. Well done.

DWH · Club Coach

Ahh disappointed for him but a such a good week. Been great to follow with a first final for Marcus and Lewis as well.

Hope he's not too exhausted and they, with Sean and Ed can all perform well next week.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Great week, for men's singles a challenger SF, a challenger final and ATP 500 QF loss to world number 1. Not bad for a country with weather only fit for ducks and where the fast majority of state school children play football. If we had enormous grass roots junior participation stretching across all socio economic groups one could get a bit agitated about the failure of any of our young players to progress. But realistically how many English 19 year old phenoms progress to full international footballers, the answer is not many. Those that progress often do so despite their coaching in fantastic academies and have to move to get opportunity. Mr Beckham went to Preston. Jack Grealish has just had lumps kicked out if him at Notts County looks great at the moment but who knows what the next year will bring. The competition is phenomenal and no one is tweeting whose accountable. To expect the LTA to be a well oiled junior tennis development factory is unrealistic particularly when they only get 1 or 2 players a year who merit immediate full time transition to the ITF.

Young players transitioning are going to have ups and downs in their development, struggle be inconsistent etc.... To be too negative during hiccoughs seems a bit self defeating. I can only comment on my generally feeling of how uk mens singles tennis has progressed this year and I feel those in a position to go deep into challengers and beyond at the beginning of 2015 have much more potential to play a significant amount of their career in the top 100 than those in that position at the beginning of 2014.

Well done to Liam, Andy and Wardy this week. As to whose accountable for their success it has to be.... Liam, Andy and Wardy ... They have got some help along the way but that's not where the buck stops.

indiana · Tennis legend

Pity re the final, but yes a really good week for Liam here along with the doubles guys, and great to see Andy's last 6 weeks culminating in WTF qualification, indeed back up to WR 6 ( which is still an overall fall on the year ).

Some very reasonable points from Oakland above. However, these still don't make me think overall it has been more than a good year for British men's singles ( which is considered and I think is being quite positive ) and I personally definitely wouldn't describe it as "great" ( just too strong for me ). Nor do I think it is too negative to try to come to a balanced view and consider what has gone well and not so well, especially faced with a much less critical analysis.

I hope that the number of players who have really progressed in 2014 can continue to build further 2015 and others turn things round or signficsntly break through for the first time. Certainly looking better placed overall in that very important top ten to a dozen players than we were a year ago.