Wow. As much as I like James and appreciate what he has done for British tennis this is stretching it! Doesn't appear to be anywhere near the level needed at the moment, having only just come back. Feel a bit sorry for Jay (less so for Marcus as he's done very little since his epic Wimbledon, despite his clear ability on grass).

Maybe Jay (and even Marcus !) can get an upgrade if they keep going at Ilkley (although I doubt upgrades will happen)

A1 Pharmaceuticals LTC wrote:

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He's British from Ulster 

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 He plays for Ireland

It's that time of year again when the controversial wildcards are handed out. I have to say this year they were as surprising as ever. Awarding James Ward a wildcard can only be seen as giving him his last pay day. I watched him at Nottingham last week where he lost in the qualifying rounds to a rather unknown American, in fact his last win came in August last year! Whilst I appreciate his past successes when wildcards are given like this it's clearly not about the tennis.
I also watched Brydan last week it was my first time watching him play and whilst he is a very good player, he was outplayed by the tall Australian. What was surprising was his attitude and on court demeanour, not something I'm sure the All England will appreciate a repeat of.
The most surprising by far was the qualifying wildcard to Marcus. In recent years I can't remember a player qualifying, winning a round and causing so much positive media attention! To only award him a singles qualifying wildcard seems utterly ridiculous. To then give him and Jay a doubles wildcard seems even more bizarrre considering they have never played together and it's probably more of a 'Wimbledon partnership'. It also belittles the efforts of Jonny OMara and Scott Clayton who have had phenomenal results and yet have been missed out.
Lastly, Jay, I saw him compete a few years ago at loughborough and again last week in Nottingham. I'm disappointed that he won't get the opportunity to compete in the singles main draw. He has a great all court game and a fantastic temperament. I saw the awful abuse he received on twitter last week and the maturity he showed both on and off the court has him as my pick to watch in the future. Alongside his rapid rise in the rankings and acknowledgement of this through DC selection.

I stood up for James's wildcard last year as he'd made the 3rd round the year before and was coming off the Davis Cup win, however this year's one isn't even slightly justified (at least he hasn't got a doubles one)

Hopefully if Jay and Marcus have great weeks they can get an upgrade too

I think that the WCs given to Mr Willis are an elegant solution to a difficult problem - how do you take last year's fairy tale hero who has done (doubtless for good reasons) very little on the professional tour since ... and honour the story that was last year while recognising the reality of this year? And I think a QWC in singles and a MD WC in doubles, where there's much less pressure, makes sense. Well done to the LTA on that one.

I also think a QWC for Jay Clarke is right. He's getting funding, so it's not the only mechanism they have to fund, as it is with the older players. And a QWC gives him the chance to shine in a context where there's every chance he will rather than releasing him into a potentially dire draw at a very young age with the full focus of the tabloid press on him. Agree with all the QWCs, actually, though would have given all the QWCs to GB players ... but we'll have to wait and see.

On the doubles front, the Skupskis were obvious, and it was clear that Klein/Salisbury would get one (see comments on that elsewhere). As noted above, like the WC to Marcus Willis and Jay Clarke. But really, it's time for Jonny O'Mara and Scott Clayton to get something, too. And it's more than rough on Luke Bambridge - who is not funded - if he is the one person who is well within the 250 mark (indeed, within 10 points of Brydan Klein) who doesn't get anything. So I hope there will be some change there, too.

As for James Ward ... well, to be contrarian, I can't begrudge it. Who knows if his comeback will succeed? If not, this could be his last Wimbledon. And if it does, this could be a stepping stone. Either way, I don't think he's taking it from anyone else; there aren't a lot of Brits in the draw; and since it's in the AELTC's gift, why not bestow a favour on someone who's known to the general public and generally well liked?

I think they both have pretty good reasons for MD WCs, albeit very different ones.

Jay seems to have worked incredibly hard this year, with a great attitude and is showing a really strong trajectory, as others have mentioned in a similar vein to Edmund. I'd be interested to know where Kyle was ranked when he was first given a MD WC, same with Oli Golding? He seems to have the right character to deal with it, I think it would have been good for his development not to mention help fund some of his upcoming grind on the Challenger tour.

Marcus...well Marcus is Marcus isn't he? Likely to frustrate and surprise in equal measure. He's had a lot of positive things going on in his life, as well as some injuries, which must be major reasons in why he has entered so few tournaments in the last 12 months, and ultimately, disappointingly, failed to capitalise on the huge opportunity that Wimbledon run afforded him. HOWEVER, his personality, amazing achievement last year and his undeniable ability to entertain and add to the tournament should not be discounted and would surely be worth a MD WC, especially as, Cam (and arguably Brydan) aside, no one else is knocking on the door from a British perspective.