Weeks 27 & 28 - Wimbledon (grass) - men's doubles

indiana · Tennis legend

Weeks 27 & 28 - Wimbledon (grass) - men's doubles

Long time reader · Lower Club Player

Jay and Marcus couldn't be a TBA match because Mate Pavic has got a mixed doubles match on the schedule for later in the day.

Hopefully court 14 is still a tv court tomorrow. Last year they reduced the number of tv courts on the second monday and Jonny Marray and Heather and Naomi's doubles matches were on non tv courts.

indiana · Tennis legend

Thanks, Long time reader, worth bearing in mind there can be a bigger picture so go easy on those poor schedulers, folk

Early on a bigger court was never an option and with Pavic's other match later was a problem too. Unless Pavic+ played their mixed first, which would be unusual since the bigger tournament match would normally come first.

Pity ...

Mark1968 · Intermediate Club Player

Jaggy1876 wrote:
Congratulations to both, obviously only saw it on main channel due to watching the real stuff before it. If my calculations are right if they win the next round Marcus will have made the same amount of prize money from the grass court season as he did for qualifying and making R2 last year. So makes sense for him to continue is some capacity....However again similarly to Jamie and Bruno losing to Groth surely this again proved my point a bit about doubles.

Another typical snide, childish, spiteful comment from Jaggy once again displaying his ignorance.

You clearly don't like doubles so why not stay away from this thread and not comment. I know board members who don't rate women's tennis and rather than make a series of immature comments they just stay away.

You'll know doubt carry on trying to belittle the players and spoil things for other posters but believe me you won't!

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Mark1968 wrote:
Jaggy1876 wrote:
Congratulations to both, obviously only saw it on main channel due to watching the real stuff before it. If my calculations are right if they win the next round Marcus will have made the same amount of prize money from the grass court season as he did for qualifying and making R2 last year. So makes sense for him to continue is some capacity....However again similarly to Jamie and Bruno losing to Groth surely this again proved my point a bit about doubles.
Another typical snide, childish, spiteful comment from Jaggy once again displaying his ignorance.
You clearly don't like doubles so why not stay away from this thread and not comment. I know board members who don't rate women's tennis and rather than make a series of immature comments they just stay away.
You'll know doubt carry on trying to belittle the players and spoil things for other posters but believe me you won't!

I don't read that comment as snide, childish or spiteful.

And given he's congratulating the two, says he watched it on TV, and is encouraging Marcus to stay in doubles/tennis in general, I don't think he is belittling the players at all.

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

After 15 years sponsorship of numerous British players including marcus willis yesterday's result gave me huge satisfaction particularly as I was fortunate enough to be courtside

the exciting thing about this partnership is that Jay is improving with each set and if they can maintain their form I do not see any reason why they can not win the title

we had a lot of A1 players , Berkshire , Derbyshire players at the match and the boys were definitely lifted by the amazing support and the Bulldog spirit was certainly alive and kicking on ct3 yesterday evening

interestingly i have been chasing various people over the years at the LTA for coaching support for a future davis cup pair or pairs . I got close when managing Lewis burton /marcus willis doubles partnership 2013-2015 sadly although Roher Draper it was blocked by nick weal who apparently did not believe in 2nd chances fortunately I did .

You wonder how many others are not so fortunate to get a sponsor and are unnessarily forced to retire prematurely

Once again I managed to ask Louis cayer again yesterday to support a British double pair apart from jamie as an investment in the future and their careers naming both marcus /Jay and indeed Scott & jonny he apparently agrees but said he can not dictate LTA policy . I hope after this success the LTA will take note . I certainly feel that there have been some very wise GB WC this year so a movement in the right direction in terms of helping keep poorly funded GB talent on tour

-- Edited by A1 tennis academy on Sunday 9th of July 2017 12:19:46 PM

Mark1968 · Intermediate Club Player

Coup Droit wrote:
Mark1968 wrote:
Jaggy1876 wrote:
Congratulations to both, obviously only saw it on main channel due to watching the real stuff before it. If my calculations are right if they win the next round Marcus will have made the same amount of prize money from the grass court season as he did for qualifying and making R2 last year. So makes sense for him to continue is some capacity....However again similarly to Jamie and Bruno losing to Groth surely this again proved my point a bit about doubles.
Another typical snide, childish, spiteful comment from Jaggy once again displaying his ignorance.
You clearly don't like doubles so why not stay away from this thread and not comment. I know board members who don't rate women's tennis and rather than make a series of immature comments they just stay away.
You'll know doubt carry on trying to belittle the players and spoil things for other posters but believe me you won't!

I don't read that comment as snide, childish or spiteful.
And given he's congratulating the two, says he watched it on TV, and is encouraging Marcus to stay in doubles/tennis in general, I don't think he is belittling the players at all.

The bit I was referring to was his 'real stuff' remark, something he repeats regularly on here. This is just one of many disrespectful comments he has made regarding doubles, that is the big picture CD.

Having a go a Groth who has been a semi finalist at a grand slam shows his lack of knowledge.

I suggest you check back and read his comments CD, Jaggy needs to grow up.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I don't think he's having a go at Groth, I think quite the opposite. He's saying that as Groth+, a good singles player, can beat Jamie+, a top doubles player, that begs a few questions about the ranking system (and their validity) for doubles. Which is not a criticism, really, just an observation about doubles rankings that several of us have made. And definitely not a criticism of Groth.
And the 'real stuff' is just a gentle joke

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Oakland2002 wrote:
Fabulous win for Marcus and Jay, what a great experience it is and long may it continue, I don't think Marcus is really DC material in the ideal world unless he gets a regular partner ?Dom and starts ripping up the world of doubles.

I know we have done this too death but this win purely underlines the potential he has or increasingly had, he is on a par with Jamie at the very least as a singles player but not got close to the level at which Jamie found frustration and then focused his entire energies on becoming the best doubles player he could be and to be fair he didn't do that badly!

Perhaps Marcus should focus on the mixed as well he would undoubtedly be a charming partner and athleticism is not an absolute the problem would be getting a decent rank to allow access based on merit to tournaments other than Wimbledon. If not plan B: the "Good Morning" sofa.

-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Sunday 9th of July 2017 09:49:06 AM

If Jaybomb as I have nicknamed them win tomorrow then marcus doubs ranking will be around 170 while his singles ranking will drop significantly I hope he can win sufficient points at Wimbledon to go into top 100 doubles and then compete in all 4 grand slams

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

There's a lovely, fulsome report by Barry Flatman on Jay's & Marcus' triumph in The Sunday Times under the heading "Pair of aces - Marcus Willis and teenager Jay Clarke shock men's doubes champions". smile Some extracts:

Willis may be well known to the British tennis public after his run from pre-qualifying and winning a BBC vote for a winning lob against Federer. But Clarke is something of a surprised package after being Britain's top-ranked junior player a couple of years ago. The British David Cup captain, Leon Smith, clearly values his presence, as he served as a hitting partner before the recent Davis Cup quarter-final against France in Rouen and regularly carried out the same job with Andy Murray in the build-up to the French Open.

[...]

Willis poured praise on his partner when he said: "Jay is a great athlete and he's got a big serve. We've only known each [other] less than a year. I'm an old man and he's the youngster. But he nearly qualified for a Slam, so don't be surprised about him. I'd just advise him to keep doing what he's doing and keep his head down and don't get involved in all the rubbish outside tennis."

[...]

Now the duo are already guaranteed £26,500 and could almost double that total by beating Oliver Marach of Austria and Mate Pavic of Croatia in the next round and reaching the quarter-finals. "Even though we've beaten the defending champions, we haven't played much doubles together, so we can't say we can go on and win it. But we believe we can beat anyone," said Willis. "We have a good natural understanding. I don't kno why that is, but it's there."

[...]

The experienced Mahut lamented: "We believe we had a big opportunity to win a match, but it was very difficult for us, although we did our best. After the first set, we made a good recovery in the second set, but then the third set went against us"

I felt obliged to fill some glaring punctuation gaps as I typed those out...

The article's accompanied by a super photo of Marcus roaring his delight & Jay positively beaming. smile

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
I don't think he's having a go at Groth, I think quite the opposite. He's saying that as Groth+, a good singles player, can beat Jamie+, a top doubles player, that begs a few questions about the ranking system (and their validity) for doubles. Which is not a criticism, really, just an observation about doubles rankings that several of us have made. And definitely not a criticism of Groth.
And the 'real stuff' is just a gentle joke

In support of Mark, I don't see remarks like this (from the first page of the Wichita thread) as "a gentle joke":

Really hope Luke isn't retiring from tennis to take up doubles

Jaffa · Challenger level

Weren't they just brilliant? jay's composure especially was a joy to behold, especially after missing an easy poach at 0-15 in the final game. Two lads that clearly just love their tennis which was nice to see

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Fearless

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
I don't think he's having a go at Groth, I think quite the opposite. He's saying that as Groth+, a good singles player, can beat Jamie+, a top doubles player, that begs a few questions about the ranking system (and their validity) for doubles. Which is not a criticism, really, just an observation about doubles rankings that several of us have made. And definitely not a criticism of Groth.
And the 'real stuff' is just a gentle joke
In support of Mark, I don't see remarks like this (from the first page of the Wichita thread) as "a gentle joke":
Really hope Luke isn't retiring from tennis to take up doubles

No, I see that as a serious hope that one of our most touted young singles players, previously fully supported as such by the LTA, is not - at the tender age of 22 - giving up singles to concentrate on doubles. And a hope that I completely agree with. (Although he obviously has my full support for his doubles exploits).

indiana · Tennis legend

It's all been great to see and who knows how far Marcus & Jay can go here or how much they might play doubles together in the future.

But Jay is a clearly rising singles player ( and still just 18 ! ) so that clearly must be where most of his energy and focus are for a long time to come.

If Marcus can commit and they do play challenger doubles that would best just be as a supplement to Jay's singles. But great as they have been here, with Jay's other priorities, it is very difficult to see them being ' groomed as some future Davis Cup doubles pair

Has Marcus ever played with Luke Bambridge, who I do rate quite highly? And Luke is rather in need of a regular doubles partner, assuming he doesn't nick David O'Hare, and apparently ( although it shouldn't be the be all ) being with a fellow Brit helps at some important times such as for Wimbledon WCs! And if it went very well who knows, they would then maybe be a Davis Cup option in the future. Of course, they may not compliment each other for any number of reasons.