To be a fan of someone who wins in straightforward fashion all the time requires no real commitment. Mr Ward is simply testing the mettle of his supporter base: are we up to it, or not?
PS: We clearly are ... so no more testing needed. Nice, straightforward wins from hereon in, please.
Sorry everyone. White gloss for the balustrades. Can't do anything else without community permission here. However, Aljaz starts soon, so maybe they'll have to wait that bit longer.
I see Kyle's 37-year-old nemesis in Vercelli, Rubén Ramírez, is lurking in Dino's half of the draw. He fell to the eventual winner, Taro Daniel (unseeded), in straight sets in the semi-final. This week he's the eighth seed & has risen from WR 198 to WR 183. If he defies the seedings, he could face James in this week's semi...
Better than they were yesterday. He is already one step closer.
So difficult to judge anyone on a one-off performance and experience tells us not to do that with Wardy. He wasn't great today, but as I mentioned before, I saw him like this in Barcelona and he came out the next day like a man possessed. He will certainly have to play better than he did today, but we know that he can. HE knows that he can.
Conditions looked pretty bleak today with rain breaks and showers etc.
So I am going to leave my neck sticking out. I said at the start of the tournament that THIS was the week and I am going to stick with that prediction.