Early break for McGee.

Cam down 1-2*

L32: Cam Norrie WR 266 (CH = 265) def. James McGee (IRL) WR 205 (CH = 146) 4-6 6-3 6-4  

L16 Cam Norrie WR 266 (CH = 265) vs. Austin Krajicek (USA) WR 271 (CH = 94 from Oct 2015)

 

 

-- Edited by James on Thursday 26th of January 2017 01:42:42 AM

There was one game in the 2nd set where Cam saved 8 break points! 15 overall. Mcgee clearly played better but Cam played better when it counted. Unfortunately, that was only in singles - he and Tearney just lost to Mao-Xin Gong and Ze Zhang 3-6, 1-6. I think Cam was worn out from the grueling 2 and 1/2 hour singles W. #272 Krajicek next.

-- Edited by Jared on Thursday 26th of January 2017 04:01:26 AM

Jared Donaldson is the No 1 seed and in the same QF block as Cam. A name that has been around pro tennis for ages but still much to my surprise only 20!! Another Tennis IMG project camped in a Florida condo from the age of 12? Well no. Just tracking back through his record he spent loads of times playing Turkish futures in his early years and before that trained as a junior in South America outside the USTA programne.

A very unusual almost bohemian path compare to the rest of the USTA branded "next gen" group. He must already have a tale or two tell and it seems to be working from a developmental perspective. I see Grumpy Trout is part of his coaching/development team.

Stircrazy wrote:

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L16:  Luke Bambridge & Joe Salisbury CR 515 (212+303) defeated Michael Mmoh & Tommy Paul (USA/USA) UNR (0+306) by 4 & 0 

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L16:  (2) Gong Mao-Xin & Zhang Ze (CHN/CHN) CR 231 (103+128) defeated Cam Norrie & Finn Tierney (NZL) CR 1124 (475+639) by 3 & 1

*****

QF:  (1) Dennis Novikov & Julio Peralta (USA/CHI) CR 189 (147+42) vs Luke Bambridge & Joe Salisbury CR 515 (212+303) 

The Optimist wrote:

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KK wrote:

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I always felt that with Oli, who came across as incredibly arrogant, probably not helped by his parents who produced those embarrassing websites both for him as an actor and as a tennis player.  On the other hand, I met Kyle as a teenager and what struck me most was his modesty.

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 Just to clarify: my comments re Oli, Luke etc etc were not intended as a slur on their characters, rather a statement about the way their teenage years were handled by the LTA.  I don't know all of them but I do know Oli (if not well) and he is a very pleasant lad off the court.  I am sure the others are too.  But if you treat a group of teenagers like little emperors a lot of the time, a significant proportion will push the boundaries of acceptable behaviour in a big way (Evo for example).  It is then counterproductive to try and flatten them like a ton of bricks and be all authoritarian, the stark contrast in approach just causes resentment and negativity.  I accept that even if handled differently, many of those kids may not have come through but with different treatment and their families more involved they would have stood more chance.

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Well said.

It should be remembered that the remarks against the handling of young players by the LTA are not specifically related to Oli etc. There were the issues with Dave Rice and Naomi Broady, the interview with Julien H showing the way that Dan Evans was allowed completely free rein at the NTC, the LTA getting very heavy-handed with the youngsters in Spain who were larking around in the hotel, a similar thing with Marcus and Australia as a youngster, and many more.

It's not to excuse the players, or their parents. It's just to say that there are ways to handle things, and ways not to handle things. And ways to prevent so many instances in the first place. Having seen other federations dealing with 'difficult' youngsters (and parents), I do feel that the LTA have a very limited understanding of 'young adults' or how to get the best out of them. Kyle fits their mould, that's great. But not so great for the non-Kyle players.