Coup Droit wrote:

 Expect even the Russian fans are probably thinking Maria's been a bit unlucky with her first round draw

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 Well, Sharapova herself might be thinking the same; especially if Jo can channel those 3 Eastbourne wins (and the first set against Bencic)

Reasons for some optimism in all 4 match-ups, in fact, so here's hoping... 

DavidC wrote:

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alex03maccy wrote:

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When will the schedule for Monday be released?

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 Usually the full schedule comes out Sunday lunchtime, though Centre/No. 1 schedules may be leaked earlier. It will be the top half of both draws, so Heather, Jo, Naomi and Liam (wonder if they will schedule Naomi and Liam on the same court?)

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 Thank you David!

DavidC wrote:

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Monday's schedule now out with Jo second on Centre, Heather 4th on Ct 2 and Naomi given the Court TBA slot, which could mean Centre/No. 1 if the games go quickly there (Liam is first on 18).

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 Aargh so annoying. Why so we make things so difficult for our players? Naomi's decent chances of progression gave plummeted. 

It will be interesting to see how they schedule Ms. Robson.
With your game very rusty and well below the level that the casual viewer last remembers of you, and who may be unaware of the extent of the injury, or the length of absence from playing, going out on to a show court and performing as in Eastbourne might generate some very quizzical, or unkind, responses from the punters, which, overall, may be detrimental to the comeback.

I'd rather they put her on Court 12 or 19, or maybe 18 - bigger than a standard court, but not too much pressure. If she exceeds expectations there will be plenty of noise, but if things go as expected, given the circumstances, the crowd disappointment and murmuring won't be oppressive.

With the 10 points minimum from here, and the 1 from Eastbourne, she will be ranked again, WR ~900, at the end of the fortnight though; which is a nice shortcut into smaller tournaments - if you can get it - if and when she chooses to enter them.

Jaggy1876 wrote:

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I think the smaller tournaments will be 50ks for Laura I don't think there is much point going any lower than that.

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I agree with that, in 2013 her record in anything other than the big tournaments was mediocre, and that's being charitable.

markymc1983 wrote:

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I'm thinking if heading down to Wimbledon in the next hour, does anybody have an idea how long queue will be for a ground pass?

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I just read this:

"Organisers said the queue was at full capacity at 8am this morning, two and a half hours before the gates opened."

http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/security-raised-as-wimbledon-begins-11363989514023

WTA ran a piece today on the British contingent. Light on content, because, one suspects, there's not really a story there... yet.

I wonder if the LTA (or some other similar GB interest) pays for these, as, in the cold light of day, our players get more mentions per month than their overall achievements probably deserve.
I can't, for example, remember the last piece on the 'Slovakian Surge', despite them having consistently 4-6 top 100 players in the last 12 months, from a population almost exactly that of Scotland.