I wasn't meaning to exclude Beth in that above post. Maybe not quite as much potential as JAB or Fran, but she's still young and picking up some great wins like the other day.
Wasn't expecting that. What a good won that is and it's been a great week so far for most of our better players who are either in the grand slam qual positions or have the potential to get there - Dart, Swan, Taylor, Dunne, Burrage, Jones.
Yes, very good to see. So after a bit of a lull, add in what Katie B has been doing in recent weeks, that's all 5 of our younger group in the GB top 8 winning again plus others on the verge of the top 10. Good to get that encouragement again late in the season ( though maybe time for quite a few more wins yet ) and into the close season.
But more surprisingly Katy partnering with doubles specialist Erin Routliffe and seeded 2nd lost 0-6 7-6(6) 7-10
Doubles pays for stringing and Katy tends to play well in doubles when she has no singles commitments.(quite common amongst most pros unless doubles specialists)
Gabi looks to be getting back into the swing of things now, or just likes playing Japanese women, in Australia. She's serving for the first set at *5-2. 3 breaks to 1.
Issy W is *2-4 vs Rogowska. Gabi not streamed, Wallace is streamed.
Gabi took the first set 6-2 and then broke straightaway, but has just had a mammoth game where she has just been broken - she saved 4 BPs and there was 6 deuces, but wasn't enough (she did have 4 GPs herself).
Gabi 6-2 4-2* so nearly there, although this second set does look very competitive. Gabi had 40-0 just before before being pegged back to deuce, but got over the line in that game.
Katy about to get underway. Her match with the once very promising Aiava, who has stalled a bit this year, is about to get away and that one is being streamed. Jodie will follow Gabi's match.
Gabi takes it with her 2nd MP to win 6-2 6-4. Nice to see her back to winning ways and that seems like the first time in ages that she has put together back to back wins. She plays the winner of Jodie or Sharma next so she has a qualifier either way, but Sharma has been in great form this year so would be tough if it was her. Would be fantastic if Jodie could pull it off to guarantee us a 60k semi finalist.
Katy *0-1 (had deuce).
That's me off to bed, good luck to both Katy and Jodie, and of course Katie S in China - would settle for 2 wins out of that lot.
Although she had been going through a bit of a fallow period lately, with her glandular fever last year she has had nothing to defend for the last couple of months and won't have until December.
So her ranking has remained pretty stable and now these two wins here look already enough to take out her CH 168 from June. She will certainly pass Katie S and Harriet to be GB #4 next Monday ( so far up a net 14 points to 350 ), though Harriet is doing her own winning in reaching the Oslo 25K QF which will increase her points the following Monday ( so far up a net 4 points to 351 ) and maybe she can push up her own current CH 165. Katie S, although also still going in the China 25K, has 25K title points coming off on Monday week though also the potential of a China 60K to maybe then add.
Hopefully, as seemed maybe to be the case before, they feed off each others' renewed winning weeks.
Next Monday 29/10 :
4. Gabi : 336 + ( 15 - 1 ) = 350 so far - should take out CH 168 from 11/06 5. Harriet : 347 - at CH 165 on 22/10 6. Katie S : 347 - 9 + 5 = 343 - at CH 163 on 22/10
For season end predictors, one of a number of little contests as 19/11 gets nearer ...