Week 5 - ITF ($100K) - Midland USA Hard

Peter too · Tennis legend

Week 5 - ITF ($100K) - Midland USA Hard

Michael D · All-time great

Tough for Naomi that picking the top seed first round. She is also in the doubles with Ashley Weinhold (USA)

jb288 · Satellite level

Buzarnescu is fascinating. Bar one good WTA run, she reached WR70ish last year based almost exclusively on ITF performances. Lessons for some of our girls I think...

indiana · Tennis legend

jb288 wrote:
Buzarnescu is fascinating. Bar one good WTA run, she reached WR70ish last year based almost exclusively on ITF performances. Lessons for some of our girls I think...

Who ? Heather, Naomi ? Or the rest, that winning a lot of matches is good ? Unless, just keep believing ??

From where she came from Buzarnescu's schedule last year on the whole seems to make sense, and she has done very well. Whether she can now at least hold near that ranking and step up we shall see. Be interesting. But certainly very good early signs this year with a three set WTA Hobart final against Elise Mertens even before taking into account how Mertens then did at the Aus Open.

I'm not sure that re say Heather and Naomi their issues are being too WTA concentrated or what there is really to learn for some of our girls. I think that it's more just that Buzarnescu is indeed pretty fascinating.

blob · All-time great

A truly terrible draw for Naomi, and not only because Buzarnescu is in fine, confounding form; flummoxing good players without seeming to do anything particularly special.
There was only one instance of a player ranked higher than Buzarnescu is here (WR 43) participating in the entire 2017 Pro Circuit, at any level, from $15K to $100K+H: #1 Seed Tokyo $100K (WR 31)

Extremely strong field here this year overall.

jb288 · Satellite level

indiana wrote:
jb288 wrote:
Buzarnescu is fascinating. Bar one good WTA run, she reached WR70ish last year based almost exclusively on ITF performances. Lessons for some of our girls I think...
Who ? Heather, Naomi ? Or the rest, that winning a lot of matches is good ? Unless, just keep believing ??
From where she came from Buzarnescu's schedule last year on the whole seems to make sense, and she has done very well. Whether she can now at least hold near that ranking and step up we shall see. Be interesting. But certainly very good early signs this year with a three set WTA Hobart final against Elise Mertens even before taking into account how Mertens then did at the Aus Open.
I'm not sure that re say Heather and Naomi their issues are being too WTA concentrated or what there is really to learn for some of our girls. I think that it's more just that Buzarnescu is indeed pretty fascinating.

I was thinking more in general that a lot of our players seem to 'over play' i.e. start trying to do 60ks when they're never got close to winning a 25...I'd like to see people in the latter stages of tournaments on a regular basis before stepping up. I can think of lots of our players who don't do that at present.

indiana · Tennis legend

Thanks, I see where you are coming from.

Certainly when should some of our guys move up from futures to challengers or at least test themselves, without necessarily having built up a particularly high ranking in futures, has been a source of occasional discussion on the forum.

I think there are arguments both ways, such as confidence and the relative ranking safety net of more wins before making the jump vs such as don't leave it too long and regret.

And what's best when will vary with the individual.

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

There's an old coaching adage that during development players should aim for

a third of their matches to be those they should win easily - to get used to winning when they are meant to

a third should be 50/50 matches - to get used to the pressure of close matches and to learn to fight for every point

a third should be against opponents who 'ought' to be too strong for them - to see what they have to aim for and, well, you never know.

IMO this still holds good right through development but although it can be achieved in juniors it is next to impossible to achieve as a developing professional.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Yes, The O - it's a good basic premise.
It's the same as coaching groups - top juniors should be in different level groups, some where they are the weakest, some where they are the strongest. (So many parents push SO hard to get their kids into 'higher' level groups, without realising).
I agree it's tricky to do as a developing pro but not impossible. Seeding means that draws should be progressive, which is perfect (if the seeding and your ranking are true).
It's also why team tennis is so important and makes up a reasonable chunk of European developing pros' tennis year. Levels from the top to the bottom. Money tournaments have the same effect - you can choose an 'easy' one to get good practice or a top one that's harder than an ITF 15k.

wimdledont · Challenger level

I think players should be aiming for around 25% seeded entries, 50% MD, 25% Qs.

Naomi should have a chance against the No1 seed. She's the 2016 champ, 2017 RU here, making this her most consistently successful tournament (W9/L1).

Certainly that's the tie of R1 (and/or a lousy draw for both of them).

Oakland2002 · All-time great

The entry purely reflects how popular Midland is an event. The players love it as they are so well looked after by the community. High quality tennis is Midlands reward.

blob · All-time great

Oakland2002 wrote:
The entry purely reflects how popular Midland is an event. The players love it as they are so well looked after by the community. High quality tennis is Midlands reward.

Yes, Midland is very well regarded.

Even so, compared to previous years, this is a very strong field, exceptionally so.

blob · All-time great

Midnight start, UK time, for Naomi - match will be streamed.

the addict · Tennis legend

Naomi's match scheduled for 7pm local time, so another late night for us .......

Edit - so blob looked up the OOP at the same time as me :)

-- Edited by the addict on Tuesday 30th of January 2018 07:58:29 PM

brittak · Satellite level

Oh gosh! Dont think I can do another late night after the Burnie traumas last night. Good luck Naomi.