Week 15 - ITF (W25) - Sunderland, GB - Hard Indoor

Michael D · All-time great

Week 15 - ITF (W25) - Sunderland, GB - Hard Indoor

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

I'll also post this in here as this will be the thread going forward:

One main draw withdrawal as Manasse should have been top seed, but it's Paar - Jodie, Maia?

No Tara, Emma, Victoria or Ella in quals, so I assume they'll have the MDWCs.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Of course Dodin could also be a plausible option as she has not played for about 10 months and withdrew from the French 60k recently. I like Oce, so wouldn't mind watching her next week, but I'd rather she withdrew than a GB player.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

We're also guaranteed 2 qualifiers because Laura and Alicia (with Alice and Ellie T) flank one section, while Sam and Freya top another (with Sasha and Katie M) - not sure if that's good news or bad news. Good that we are getting 2 qualifiers to join the 7 or 8 in the main draw. To be honest, given Freya and Alicia lost in Q1 last week and are the highest seeds in their respective sections, I think it's good news. Probably only young Holly with a sniff of a chance elsewhere, although if I am downplaying anyone, I'll take it back.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Both Morton girls got in. Katie said she signed in for Bolton, but didn't get in.

Michael D · All-time great

I'm not going to post all the rankings, but here are the qual matches with GB players. Lissey and Alice will like even less that the winner will face probably Laura. That's a pity, since all three were potential qualifiers in this field.

QR1: Laura-Ioana PAAR (ROU) [q1] vs Kimberly Alinafe MPUKUSA (GBR)

QR1: Caroline WERNER (GER) [q2] vs Esther ADESHINA (GBR)

QR1: Cristiana FERRANDO (ITA) [q3] vs Lillian MOULD (GBR) [WC] 17yrs

QR1: Alicia BARNETT (GBR) [q4] vs Alice GILLAN (GBR)
QR1: Ellie TSIMBILAKIS (GBR) [WC] vs Laura ROBSON (GBR)

QR1: Eleonora MOLINARO (LUX) [q5] 18 yrs vs Grace PIPER (GBR) [WC]

QR1: Maria GUTIERREZ CARRASCO (ESP) [q6] vs Holly STAFF (GBR) 16 yrs
QR1: Katarzyna PITAK (GBR) vs Pei-Chi LEE (TPE) [q9]

QR1: Freya CHRISTIE (GBR) [q7] vs Sasha HILL (GBR)
QR1: Katie MORTON (GBR) [WC] 19yrs vs Samantha MURRAY (GBR) [q10]

QR1: Mallaurie NOEL (FRA) [q8] vs Aleksandra PITAK (GBR) 17yrs
QR1: Emily MORTON (GBR) vs Fiona CODINO (FRA) [q15]

paulisi · Tennis legend

I'm not sure what Lissey has done, not to get a wildcard.
Laura will beat Ellie on one leg, she is not ready for this level yet.

Michael D · All-time great

paulisi wrote:
I'm not sure what Lissey has done, not to get a wildcard.
Laura will beat Ellie on one leg, she is not ready for this level yet.

Yes, I thought it was tough for Ella to get the WC rather than Lissey, but that would still seem to be from Ella's performance in the Bolton BT event. That quadrant with Lissey, Alice and Laura is a tough one as all 3 could have qualified. Mind you, Freya, Sasha and Sam is not much better cry

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Michael D wrote:
I'm not going to post all the rankings, but here are the qual matches with GB players. Lissey and Alice will like even less that the winner will face probably Laura. That's a pity, since all three were potential qualifiers in this field.

QR1: Laura-Ioana PAAR (ROU) [q1] vs Kimberly Alinafe MPUKUSA (GBR)

QR1: Caroline WERNER (GER) [q2] vs Esther ADESHINA (GBR)

QR1: Cristiana FERRANDO (ITA) [q3] vs Lillian MOULD (GBR) [WC] 17yrs

QR1: Alicia BARNETT (GBR) [q4] vs Alice GILLAN (GBR)
QR1: Ellie TSIMBILAKIS (GBR) [WC] vs Laura ROBSON (GBR)

QR1: Eleonora MOLINARO (LUX) [q5] 18 yrs vs Grace PIPER (GBR) [WC]

QR1: Maria GUTIERREZ CARRASCO (ESP) [q6] vs Holly STAFF (GBR) 16 yrs
QR1: Katarzyna PITAK (GBR) vs Pei-Chi LEE (TPE) [q9]

QR1: Freya CHRISTIE (GBR) [q7] vs Sasha HILL (GBR)
QR1: Katie MORTON (GBR) [WC] 19yrs vs Samantha MURRAY (GBR) [q10]

QR1: Mallaurie NOEL (FRA) [q8] vs Aleksandra PITAK (GBR) 17yrs
QR1: Emily MORTON (GBR) vs Fiona CODINO (FRA) [q15]

It's a difficult one. When you see the likes of Alicia and Freya losing last week in R1 (one to a player in this field) it doesn't give you too much hope that either would go through. Had any of our girls drawn Paar in a FQR then they'd probably be 2nd favourite, given the Romanian has been in decent form and pushed Dart close the other week. Ferrando beat Naomi (I know it's not much these days) and Reix 2 weeks ago in France, double bageled Ella in sets 2 and 3 last week so could have been a threat to our top end, and Molinaro was a very good junior who has had some very good results recently - so if any of our better players in the draw, like the 3 you referenced, came up against those in a FQR, it would be close, whereas at least here we know we are definitely getting 2 through. Plus you never know with Laura re her fitness these days, so if she couldn't really complete 2 matches, like it looked like she struggled last week, I would rather she potentially went down against an Alicia or Tara last week than say a Paar.

I personally hope Freya and Laura come through those all GB sections.

The Realist · Junior player

Personally I will be rooting for Lissey. She has had a difficult start to the year , what with the ITF rule changes, and three doubles partners in a row pulling out on her. She is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet, and I was delighted with her doubles win last week

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

I also thought Ella was a bit fortunate to get a 2nd successive MDWC as well. Realistically, in the main draw, a Ferrando is about as good as you're going to get, bar a fellow MDWC or a poor IR, so to lose 0 and 0 in sets 2 and 3, doesn't suggest she'll do much here. She's also 24 in June, so not exactly like an 18 or 19 year old with a lot of time to learn and improve.

I guess Alicia's result last week did her no favours regarding a MDWC here, but she's still ranked ahead of Ella, beat her 6-2 6-2 when they played late last year and just generally more capable, so I would rather she have got one, but good luck to Ella and see what she can do.

flamingowings · All-time great

Could someone more in the know than I give me a summary of the Morton's, Kimberley, Esther and Grace please? Not names I have come across before (that I can remember anyway) rate them or too early to tell?

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

flamingowings wrote:
Could someone more in the know than I give me a summary of the Morton's, Kimberley, Esther and Grace please? Not names I have come across before (that I can remember anyway) rate them or too early to tell?

There'll be people on here far more qualified to assess some of the other names than me, but a quick look at Kimberly's most recent results kind of suggests where she's going, without sounding harsh.

Lost 1-6 1-6 to Bektas last week, who then lost to a lower ranked player in the FQR

Lost 0-6 2-6 in 15k Tunisia quals

Lost 2-6 0-6 to Freya

Came through Dublin 15k quals (which Emily won last year), but then lost 4-6 1-6 to an Irish girl in the 1st round, who then subsequently lost 1-6 1-6 to Emily in round 2.

She's 21 as well, so not as if it's a 16/17 year old on a learning curve gaining valuable experience to push on. Interesting that she switched allegiances from Zimbabwe recently, but just saying it as it is, probably not one that GB tennis will massively benefit from.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Everyone's talking about what a disappointing week she had, but I think Lissey had a super week last week.
It's true the single was disappointing but there's a real buzz from winning a title, and at 25k level. That doubles trophy must be a real highlight, a real boost.
Someone will probably correct me but I'm not sure she's won a title before (lost in the dubs final with Eden in France last year, I remember)

I really hope she takes that positivity forward into this week. But, whatever, I think last week was a great week for her

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Sorry to say but Kimberlely has one of the most awkward, spiky games to watch, it's not great.

Esther is the one to watch, in terms of being a lot younger and was very high on the LTA watch list, part of the selected espoir group, but got injured and has been out for a while. (Mind you, she wasn't my pick, even before she got injured).