Week 2 - Australian Open Qualifying

Sim · County player

RE: Week 2 - Australian Open Qualifying

GBJ · Club Coach

Forgive me if I'm being daft (I've already missed one obvious thing today) but how does the lucky loser draw work to make Liam sure that he can't get in still? What if there's an unexpected withdrawal or two still? Do they do a draw that puts everyone losing in fqr in an order of priority for any place that comes up?

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Given how quickly Liam has risen, and his lack of experience at this level, there was a good chance he was going to blow up in the first round. Which he SO didn't.

So great show by him.

And super effort from Kyle (mind you, Dane produced a great run - always nice to see a home player rise to the occasion and play their best tennis when under the spotlight. Glad it wasn't enough to eek out that last match, but just saying . . .. ).

Good luck to Kyle in the main draw. I'm not sure I've ever really seen Steve Johnson play a whole match - his track record these last six months is pretty poor. Is he a tall, fast-serving, hard court American style player? Much for Kyle to be worried about?

Jan · Hall of fame

So pleased for Kyle - brilliant news.
So close for Liam - hope he can be encouraged by the way this week has gone for him and keep the momentum into his next tournament.

And thanks to Jiwan for the report.

Jaffa · Challenger level

Fantastic for Kyle, in hindsight it was quite a difficult draw really, must be hard playing a Aussie WC in front of a partisan crowd!

Liam had a tougher match and experience told in the end, he can do it at the French.

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

By the time I can get on here it's all been said. So pleased for Kyle and disappointed for Liam - though I did think beforehand that Iron Mike was a tough proposition.

indiana · Tennis legend

I've always thought that Andy shows an impressive amount of interest and caring about other British tennis players and that that interview just further shows it.

However, it comes with wanting to see that they themselves really care - cue 'ambivalence' towards Evo and grief he gave James for pulling out of a previous Florida training block with him.

Re the Aussie Open qualifying points, they don't get added on Monday, but after the Aussie Open on 02/02, when as I mentioned, currently as things stand, Liam has moved ahead of Kyle.

Kyle : 260 + 35 - 28 = 267
Liam : 259 + 16 - 2 = 273

It's the longterm that really excites for both, but having the two of them there and close together in the rankings must be a spur.

johnnylad · Tennis legend

Bob in Spain wrote:
Confession time.

OK. So having not stayed up to follow the match, I woke up blurry eyed at about 5.30am. Picking up the iPhone, I opened up the Aus Open app. Struggling to focus through still being half asleep, I finally found Kyle's match and just about managed to see the 7 against Propoggia's name for the 3rd set. At which time I swore rather loudly, not realizing that there were no tiebreaks in the 3rd and thinking that it must have been a 7-5 or 7-6 defeat in that final set.

How fortunate for me then, that I decided to try and see just how close Kyle had come and I looked again for HIS score. It was only then that I saw the 9 and let out a scream of a different variety. Getting back to sleep after that, with the adrenaline flowing, was not easy.

I did exactly the same

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
I've always thought that Andy shows an impressive amount of interest and caring about other British tennis players and that that interview just further shows it.

However, it comes with wanting to see that they themselves really care - cue 'ambivalence' towards Evo and grief he gave James for pulling out of a previous Florida training block with him.

Re the Aussie Open qualifying points, they don't get added on Monday, but after the Aussie Open on 02/02, when as I mentioned, currently as things stand, Liam has moved ahead of Kyle.

Kyle : 260 + 35 - 28 = 267
Liam : 259 + 16 - 2 = 273

It's the longterm that really excites for both, but having the two of them there and close together in the rankings must be a spur.

Kyle has another 27 points to come off later in Feb as well, but then has a period until the end of June, where he has relatively little to defend. Most of his big points scorers came in the 2nd half of the year.

Liam has only 17 points to defend up until the end of April and he has covered 16 of those already. Like Kyle, his bigger scorers came late in the year.

It is going to be interesting on a week to week basis to see how their relative rankings progress, but as Indi suggests, their rankings at the end of the year (and beyond) is much more important.

indiana · Tennis legend

Ah yes, Kyle has a really good chance to significantly advance his ranking during the anniversary of his faffing about / development ( depending on your point of view ) months.

And, as you indicate Bob, Liam should make real ranking advances too.

RJA · Hall of fame

Really pleased for Kyle who after losing his way for the best part of a year seems to be heading in the right direction once again. Hopefully those who advised him so poorly in the first half of last year have been banished from positions of influence over him.

emma · Strong Club Player

additional congratulations to Kyle, he must be delighted - in the main draw of a GRAND SLAM! It cant have been easy playing Dane in front of a home crowd - they are somewhat vocal which is good but hard for an opponent.

Liam, sorry he didn't make it this time but he will in the future and its all good experience, which is what his opponent had lots of.

and congratulations to Aljaz, excellent start to the year.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

I agree kyle is now perfectly placed GS qualifiers are the perfect level exactly what he needs to develop further, his ranking is academic as long as it facilitates entry into a level of tournament where he will be pushed but progress. This year it is likely he will rise quite rapidly as he scores more consistently through the year, he still hasn't played enough for his lowest scores to start coming off when he does well. RG qualifiers will be interesting given clay is probably his best surface? Not wishing away the Aussie Open but he's already done enough for me

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Just worth repeating (it was on here ages ago) but:

Big bravo to the Ozzie open for giving ALL players (qualifiers included) a $2500 travel voucher.

Jeff Stelling · Club Coach

Does that include those who failed in qualifying? Surely they need it most.