Week 25 - Wimbledon Wild Card Playoffs

Mark1968 · Intermediate Club Player

RE: Week 25 - Wimbledon Wild Card Playoffs

Spaced · Lower Club Player

Mark1968 wrote:
Oakland2002 wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
metro.co.uk/2018/06/22/dan-evans-comes-fing-circus-reach-wimbledon-qualifying-7652231/amp/

A great article that shows some of the the fun and comradery between players behind closed doors.
What a brilliant read
Tx
I think that is the best thing ever published in the metro. If only Willbomb had been able to manage his carbs like his searingly flat backhand and monster lefty serve he would have been a marvellous asset to the ATP tour an antidote for some of the sterile personalities at the top, but perhaps thats what you need to get there. I hope he gets a trial behind the mike sooner rather than later! What a perfect person to be commenting on Wimbledon Qualifying
Yes a great read. Evans still abusing the umpires and even a ball boy this time! A disgusting attitude, pretty much as usual though - horrible! He really is a disgrace and a very poor example of a human being. So sorry that he is one of ours, hope he gets knocked out in qualies next week.

Zzzzzz

scottie1 · Futures level

Mark1968 wrote:
Oakland2002 wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
metro.co.uk/2018/06/22/dan-evans-comes-fing-circus-reach-wimbledon-qualifying-7652231/amp/

A great article that shows some of the the fun and comradery between players behind closed doors.
What a brilliant read
Tx
I think that is the best thing ever published in the metro. If only Willbomb had been able to manage his carbs like his searingly flat backhand and monster lefty serve he would have been a marvellous asset to the ATP tour an antidote for some of the sterile personalities at the top, but perhaps thats what you need to get there. I hope he gets a trial behind the mike sooner rather than later! What a perfect person to be commenting on Wimbledon Qualifying
Yes a great read. Evans still abusing the umpires and even a ball boy this time! A disgusting attitude, pretty much as usual though - horrible! He really is a disgrace and a very poor example of a human being. So sorry that he is one of ours, hope he gets knocked out in qualies next week.

I hope Dan comes through the qualifying. Andy Murray has said far worse to umpires etc when younger.

hoots · Intermediate Club Player

Spaced wrote:
Mark1968 wrote:
Oakland2002 wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
metro.co.uk/2018/06/22/dan-evans-comes-fing-circus-reach-wimbledon-qualifying-7652231/amp/

A great article that shows some of the the fun and comradery between players behind closed doors.
What a brilliant read
Tx
I think that is the best thing ever published in the metro. If only Willbomb had been able to manage his carbs like his searingly flat backhand and monster lefty serve he would have been a marvellous asset to the ATP tour an antidote for some of the sterile personalities at the top, but perhaps thats what you need to get there. I hope he gets a trial behind the mike sooner rather than later! What a perfect person to be commenting on Wimbledon Qualifying
Yes a great read. Evans still abusing the umpires and even a ball boy this time! A disgusting attitude, pretty much as usual though - horrible! He really is a disgrace and a very poor example of a human being. So sorry that he is one of ours, hope he gets knocked out in qualies next week.
Zzzzzz

Mark - what a charmer you are

Michael D · All-time great

Yes this denial of Dan a WC into even qualifying is a class thing too of course. He is far too plebian for some of those toffee noses in the Wimbledon hierarchy, as well as that tosser journalist at the Times. Perversely that is exactly why Dan is such a great role model, though those in perpetual criticism wouldn't recognise it, because so many more young adults in the UK will identify with Dan and his struggles, then those coming through much more privileged backgrounds. If you want to increase the numbers playing tennis in the UK and convince the younger generation it's not just a rich person's sport, then Dan is the best role model there is... And despite his lapses at times, Dan is a great role model because he has demonstrated exactly what you can achieve when you put your mind to it, but makes it clear that it is not easy.

I love Marcus' comment too about, I'm sorry to say it but Dan's real aim will be the US Open, that's no little dig either. It would seem his and Dan's match, unwatchable by any except a few who could manage to be there, was probably one of the more intersting matches that will occur throughout qualifying. Just hope Dan wins the next 3 too, though there will be some further tough ones in there. Apart from the points and the money, I'd just love him to be able to prove a few more points to those who are obviously blind to what he has achieved so far in his come back.

Shhh · Challenger level

I disagree with so much that Mark writes but on this occassion.........

I am willing Evo success as much as anyone but why is it accetable to behave like that towards officials? They are hardly paid a fortune, sometimes I believe volunteers and yet the abuse and sarcasm I witness them take at futures events and the like is disgraceful. Imagine the ballboy was your son, excited to be helping out and then treated like that by a professional sportman? Do anybody on here actually think its acceptable? It all contributes towards our culture in this country which is not always as perfect as it can be.

I disagree with the decision to make Dan play pre-qualies, I think it punishes everyone else and, his crime was one of stupidity, not cheating. A huge difference in my opinion. But we are debating a "free gift". No one should be entitled to behave that badly when the gift isn't given.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

I'm not sticking up for Dan if he indeed was out of order, my BUT is that we actually know very little form the article. One or two moments in over five hours that a journo has written up for our entertainment. Was the umpire being a pratt? We've seen Ramos being one at International level, so maybe this one was too. Maybe he wasn't, but to judge Dan based on this seems harsh.

Michael D · All-time great

Helen40 wrote:
I'm not sticking up for Dan if he indeed was out of order, my BUT is that we actually know very little form the article. One or two moments in over five hours that a journo has written up for our entertainment. Was the umpire being a pratt? We've seen Ramos being one at International level, so maybe this one was too. Maybe he wasn't, but to judge Dan based on this seems harsh.

Yes, it seemed to me that after his first comment about the ball 'definitely being out' the umpire would have been wiser to hold his counsel after then. He was not actually playing so doesn't have the excuse of being caught up in the moment. I think Dan's comment to the ball boy was soon after then, when he was already a bit wound up.. I may be wrong, but I haven't seen much evidence of Dan commonly being abrupt with the ball boys/ girls.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

The other thing we don't know about these exchanges is the manner in which they took place. Dan loves a bit of banter and there are many occasions where these things are said with tongue in cheek. It is quite possible that the umpire took it in the same lighthearted manner and thought he would enjoy a bit of his own banter. Reading these comments in a newspaper article removes all the context from the situation and can easily lead to misinterpretations. It certainly sounds from the comments that were exchanged between Dan and Marcus, that much of it was meant to be humorous and not aggressive.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Having got my national umpire card in France, oh are taught not to antagonise and focused the situation. Dan is right: the ball was not 'definitely' in - you say 'I saw it in'. And the players are under a lot of stress - it is normal and par for the course to get comments like Dan. Also agree that having a few snippets out of five hours is or can be very misleading - in fact, if those are the worst things that happened over the five hours it was very mild. In fact, it sounds like the Bambo - Klein arch had far more juicy stuff in terms of bad behaviour

indiana · Tennis legend

Finally read the Metro article and a good read. Certainly sounds as if it would have been a great match to watch and one played in much better spirit than the one next door. Much is indeed about context.

hoots · Intermediate Club Player

Mark1968 wrote:
Oakland2002 wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
Helen40 wrote:
metro.co.uk/2018/06/22/dan-evans-comes-fing-circus-reach-wimbledon-qualifying-7652231/amp/

A great article that shows some of the the fun and comradery between players behind closed doors.
What a brilliant read
Tx
I think that is the best thing ever published in the metro. If only Willbomb had been able to manage his carbs like his searingly flat backhand and monster lefty serve he would have been a marvellous asset to the ATP tour an antidote for some of the sterile personalities at the top, but perhaps thats what you need to get there. I hope he gets a trial behind the mike sooner rather than later! What a perfect person to be commenting on Wimbledon Qualifying
Yes a great read. Evans still abusing the umpires and even a ball boy this time! A disgusting attitude, pretty much as usual though - horrible! He really is a disgrace and a very poor example of a human being. So sorry that he is one of ours, hope he gets knocked out in qualies next week.

Would you have said the same about Katie Swan if you'd have seen the way she spoke to the ball boys at Ilkley? I think not somehow .

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Finally read the Metro article and a good read. Certainly sounds as if it would have been a great match to watch and one played in much better spirit than the one next door. Much is indeed about context.

Stu Fraser's article in today's Times covers much of the same ground, but, notwithstanding Michael D's opinion of him, adds some depth:

Banter aside, this was actually a high-quality match between two players who play at their best on grass. The frivolities made way for some intense rallies towards the end of a match in which neither player broke serve. Evans, 28, stepped up his game to claim the second-set tie-break and the match, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4). It will take some doing to beat this for entertainment over the coming weeks in SW19.

And later:

"It's been two good days of good weather, so it's been pretty much perfect practice for qualifying, Evans said. "There will be no one else in the qualifying draw who's had that good a court to practise on. This is a difficult tournament to come through."

"Believe me, I'd prefer a wild card [to] coming through these matches", Evans said. "If someone says I'm not getting a wild card, I'm not getting a wild card. I can be as pissed off as I want, but I can't do anything about it.

"I don't have anything to prove to anybody. I'm a good tennis player. I've more got to prove to myself than anyone. I've made a catastrophic mistake [in taking cocaine] and that's it now. No one in Wimbledon's probably even bothered that I'm here, so it's not that I'm going against them or doing it for anyone."

Dan comes across as quite sanguine about his predicament &, as Marcus observed, mature. I hope to God he has reached a turning point.

Michael D · All-time great

Yes, it was this earlier article I was referring to SC (which was discussed in the WC thread rather than this WC playoff thread), where Fraser adopts rather more of a holier than thou attitude. At least he's actually reporting in the above article.

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/dan-evans-should-play-his-way-back-98n2032tc

-- Edited by Michael D on Saturday 23rd of June 2018 05:18:29 PM