Week 23 ITF ($100k) - Surbiton, Grass

Jan · Hall of fame

RE: Week 23 ITF ($100k) - Surbiton, Grass

Nix · Futures level

Yes definitely well done Harriet. Im nowhere near as knowledgeable as others on the board but I guess I notice Katie B and Gabi a bit more than Harriet because they both had quite lengthy lay offs with illness and Ive been rooting for them since theyve been back as it takes a lot of resilience. Also Harriet has received less publicity I guess as a result.

But Id love to see her succeed. She seems to like this tournament! having reached the semis last year. (her best points haul of 50 points last year - although shes surpassed that in 2018) before losing to Heather. Lets hope she can do even better this time here.

And good luck in the semis.

SuperT · Futures level

hoots wrote:
Etienne wrote:
It does seem that it's poor Harriet's destiny to be upstaged by others, but that is a fantastic win.
As a relatively new member on here,one of the things I have noticed is how a few people are churlish in their praise towards Harriet yet all over one or two of the others like a rash.I know it's called favoritism but....

I saw Harriet at Roehampton last summer and although she lost I was so impressed with her performance that I've followed her ever since and was confident she would make good progress this year. I think I was one of very few who predicted she would finish the year above Katy D and Katy S in the rankings. But I still underestimated quite how far and how quickly she would rise.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Harriet had the hardest of the three matches and she has cone through and defended last year's points.
Having seen her lose to Freya at Shrewsbury in February, I'm very surprise at the way both players have performed since.

Michael D · All-time great

SuperT wrote:
hoots wrote:
Etienne wrote:
It does seem that it's poor Harriet's destiny to be upstaged by others, but that is a fantastic win.
As a relatively new member on here,one of the things I have noticed is how a few people are churlish in their praise towards Harriet yet all over one or two of the others like a rash.I know it's called favoritism but....
I saw Harriet at Roehampton last summer and although she lost I was so impressed with her performance that I've followed her ever since and was confident she would make good progress this year. I think I was one of very few who predicted she would finish the year above Katy D and Katy S in the rankings. But I still underestimated quite how far and how quickly she would rise.

Harriet has perhaps been the most surprising of the cohort of 5 now moving up together, because of her relative stagnation last year. But it's good to see her putting it together much more consistently this year, and altogether its lovely to see this whole cohort of five players - Katie B, Gabi, Harriet, Katy D and Katie S - all moving up the rankings together. Without knowing their inter-personal dynamics, I hope it does spur them on together as a group, and any collaborative competitive edge between them can only be a good thing, especially if it fuels their confidence. The lack of GB competition around her is probably one of the things that has affected Heather negatively, ever since Laura's initial wrist injury ended their own rivalry/ upward progress in tandem.

If Harriet carries on playing like this, she will get plenty of additional recognition - from those that count too, the LTA first of all, and then the wider press and public whose knowledge of GB players is very limited, as was illustrated in the earlier comments here about Gabi being relatively unknown by many in the crowd when playing Heather in the first round. On the forum here, if Gabi captured more of the early year attention with her huge successes in Australia, I am sure everyone would really love to see Harriet progress and prosper equally, and as with all the Katie/ys too.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Brilliant win for Harriet :D
Nicely on the way to 131 by year end, perhaps? ;)
GL in the SFs

Peter too · Tennis legend

I think Harriet has been climbing the rankings steadily but has never been the leading climber, always having Katie or Gabi or Katy ahead of her. I think that is why she has never had the attention that the other have had. Maybe this year will be Harriet's year and we will see her surge past them all ..... interesting times. smile

-- Edited by Peter too on Friday 8th of June 2018 03:55:29 PM

Mervatron2 · Challenger qualifying

WOW. Was not expecting Harriet to win that. That should seal her Wimbledon MDWC now.

What happened with Gabby? Should have been one for her to win on grass.

Katie. Was going to be tough as previous matches suggest she struggles with Hon.

Onto Nottingham for those two. Where's Harriet next week?

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Harriet I feel is from the harder you work the luckier you get. I have always liked her consistency and willingness to stay on the point. I did not expect her to develop the weight of shot she has and progress so well. But hey what do I know.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Mervatron2 wrote:
WOW. Was not expecting Harriet to win that. That should seal her Wimbledon MDWC now.

What happened with Gabby? Should have been one for her to win on grass.

Katie. Was going to be tough as previous matches suggest she struggles with Hon.

Onto Nottingham for those two. Where's Harriet next week?

Manchester for Harriet. Gabi I think is struggling with a slight illness/cold if you read the reports from earlier in the week.

the addict · Tennis legend

By way of confirmation...

David Sunyer Capella
@davidsunyer
56 minutes ago

When you empty the tank, give your best even when you feel sick the whole week, show yourself what you are capable of, there is only one thing to say: we are proud of you @gabitaylorr , you did a great step forward today. Time to get better and look forward

indiana · Tennis legend

We are proud of you, Gabi, get well. It was noticed in her very first match that she was struggling, she has done really well.

And very well done to Harriet. I don't understand any of this underrating Harriet stuff, I mean I have her predicted to end the season at err WR 304 Results are no doubt just adding confidence and giving her real belief, to really push on after plateauing a bit over the previous year or so. Great to see.

pat51 · Improver

Actually saw the Gabi vs Conny match. Conny was very good, service was pinpoint and Gabi rarely threatened a break in any of the three sets, apart from in the 1st set tiebreak. Gabi battled as she did vs Watson and there were many lengthy rallies which left her visibly distressed. There were no breaks of serve for the first 18 games , though Gabi saved numerous break points over her 9 service games, including one with a miraculous drop volley off her toes which had everyone gasping.

Conny maintained her form throughout ..to me she looked as if she had a game perfect for grass...Gabi understandably faded in the third set in the heat with her health issues . Saw all three of her matches and Gabi was hugely impressive in every way , in her determination, shot making and on court demeanour... Conny vs Harriet should be a cracking match tomorrow

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Many thanks for that pat51 :D

Michael D · All-time great

Yes, Conny hasn't been given much credit for her part in the match. She's up to 173 in the live rankings now, which will be a CH for her. As noted earlier, she beat Harriet easily in 2 sets at Loughborough in Feb, so it will be interesting to see how they fare tomorrow. It should certainly be a much closer match this time.