Week 44- Challenger ($75,000) - Charlottesville, VA, USA (hard)

wolf · Tennis legend

Week 44- Challenger ($75,000) - Charlottesville, VA, USA (hard)

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

L16: Hans Hach & Dennis Novikov (MEX/USA) CR 403 (214+189) defeated (2) Luke Bambridge & David O'Hare (IRL) CR 245 (127+118) by 7-6(3) 7-6(4) bleh

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

L16: Marcos Giron & Tim Smyczek (USA/USA) UNR (425+) defeated Liam Broady & Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) CR 1234 (532+702) 4 & 5 cry

That's three of the four doubles pairs out! bleh

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

QF: (3) Ruan Roelofse (RSA) & Joe Salisbury CR 242 (141+101) vs (WC) Thai-Son Kwiatkowski & Alexander Ritschard (USA/SUI) UNR (526+0)

Spectator · All-time great

Those were nasty doubles draws for the losing pairs - not the kind that one looks at and thinks "that's rough" (given that this is quite a large Challenger), but the kind that one looks at and thinks "actually, this could go either way."

Best of luck to the 3rd seeds in the QFs. They are playing the top University of Virginia pair on the University of Virginia's own courts, so it certainly won't, one suspects, be a quiet match.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

And the fourth pair bites the dust:

QF: (WC) Thai-Son Kwiatkowski & Alexander Ritschard (USA/SUI) UNR (526+0) defeated (3) Ruan Roelofse (RSA) & Joe Salisbury CR 242 (141+101) by 6-3 3-6 [10-6] bleh

indiana · Tennis legend

Bah, but the local top university pair that Spectator pointed to did threaten to be a real danger. So Joe won't be going top 100 this week.

Spectator · All-time great

I had a vague sense that University of Virginia players/alumni tended to do well in this tournament and checked: between 2009 when it started and 2014 there was at least one player who had attended the university in either the singles or the doubles final every year. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing for GB players: twice the person in question (or one of them) was Dom Inglot.

I was wrong, however, to describe this as the university's top team: Mr Kwiatkowski finished university last summer.

-- Edited by Spectator on Thursday 2nd of November 2017 02:09:25 AM

steven · Tennis legend

Sheddie wrote:
Regarding Freddie Nielsen, I spoke to him in June 2014 about why he's never pursued a doubles career on the main tour...

Basically he's a man after Jaggy's own heart. He absolutely adores playing singles, and for him he'd rather be grinding away in the singles main draw of a futures event in Kazakhstan, than competing in the doubles main draw of the US Open. He told me that his goal as a tennis player has always been to become the best singles player he possibly can be, and while winning Wimbledon doubles in 2012 was nice, doubles has never been a particularly motivating factor for him. Instead singles is the be all and end all, its the reason why he plays tennis.

Apparently Jonny Marray tried his best to persuade him to establish a regular partnership on the main tour but it didn't interest him. I asked him whether he'd consider becoming a full-time doubles specialist once his singles days are over, and he said no, when that happens he'd rather quit and become a coach.

He admitted that not all players understand his mindset, and many of them have asked him, 'Freddie what the hell are you doing competing in a Spanish futures while you could be competing at Wimbledon?' But for him, it's just all about the singles and he said that people should respect his feelings about that.

I've always respected him hugely for making that choice, while still understanding why players with less financial flexibility might make the opposite one. A pity it didn't work out even better for him (though having said that, he used to beat quite enough Brits in singles as it was LOL)

Spectator · All-time great

It's all up to the individual, isn't it. If you're a good doubles player and feel it's best to play doubles, more power to your elbow. And if you're a good doubles player, but want to play singles, more power to your elbow. And if you're playing both, more power to your elbow. I admire all three, assuming that people are making the best of whatever they choose.

My only regret in Freddie Nielsen's case doesn't concern him but Jonny Marray - can't help but feel that if they'd stuck together as a partnership, it might have been helpful for the latter, who, as it was, didn't have an established partner at the level at which he found himself. But you can't ask Person A to do something for the benefit of Person B's career! Hope that Marray is enjoying whatever he is now doing: one of my favourite players of all time - came across as such a lovely and admirable person, as well as player. Wish him all the best.

hoots · Intermediate Club Player

Cameron Norrie has lost the first set on a tiebreak to Ruan Roelofse

stevemcqueen · Futures qualifying

And he is now a double break down in the 2nd. Monster good tennis from RR.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Cam going off the boil at the fag end of the season?

L16: (Q) Ruan Roelofse (RSA) WR 976 defeated (3) Cam Norrie WR 113 by 7-6(7) 6-2 bleh

Bloody Springboks... furious

hoots · Intermediate Club Player

The commentator just said''the shock of the challenger season.No one saw it coming''

-- Edited by hoots on Thursday 2nd of November 2017 09:41:44 PM

Vandenburg · Futures level

hoots wrote:
The commentator just said''the shock of the challenger season.No one saw it coming''

-- Edited by hoots on Thursday 2nd of November 2017 09:41:44 PM

Shocking, Cam should take a hard look at himself after this futures qualifying standard defeat.