L32: (3) James Ward WR 106 v Filippo Volandri (ITA) WR 216
Not the best of draws for James as Volandri had a career high of 25 and is very much a clay court specialist. Personally I don't think playing here is a great idea. I would much sooner see James get plenty of practice in on grass where he will have several opportunities to do well.
Well if he doesn't have a good run here he gets on the grass quicker. If he does have a good run here then he might get closer to that magic top 100 mark.
Plus you have to remember the grass season is now extended with an extra week, so there's not such a rush having to adjust to grasscourts between the French and Wimbledon
Yes, there is the extra grass season week, but I'd still be happier with him back home preparing himself for all these weeks. In fact you could argue that with the extra week giving more opportunity all the more reason to be ready for it and best of all by making a flying start.
It's quite a tough field here anything more than one win would be a success here to be honest last direct entrant just outside the 200 rank which is quite high. It's a very level playing field here nothin between most of the field.
Good luck to James this week and during the grass season. I would so love to see him finally get over the 100 hurdle. Surely he must be feeling so frustrated and angry that he's still not cracked it and hopefully this next month will start to blast his opponents off the court like he can do. He certainly deserves a really good run run.
To my mind James really needs to just focus on the grass season as an overall project to do as well as he can in. He has nothing to defend. Do well and his ranking and top 100 will take care of themselves.
Maybe a bit easier said than done, but any weekly calculations on his part about how many rounds he needs to get through are just crazy.
Good luck to James this week and during the grass season. I would so love to see him finally get over the 100 hurdle. Surely he must be feeling so frustrated and angry that he's still not cracked it and hopefully this next month will start to blast his opponents off the court like he can do. He certainly deserves a really good run run.
So dig deep James and get those wins :)
On the basis of what does he deserve a really god run?