Weeks 22 & 23 - French Open, Paris - Clay

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Weeks 22 & 23 - French Open, Paris - Clay

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

I'll copy and paste what I posted on the RG Q thread.

I'd fully expect that to be Vekic vs LL before Sunday.

Jo can't have any complaints with that. It obviously depends who she gets because drawing someone like Pera (who does have a tough FQR) or Nara/Perrin is different, but she is pretty much guaranteed to play someone outside the top 100 or just inside, and then R2 is pretty favourable as well should she get there - US WC Lauren Davis or the lesser Pliskova and both of those are outside the Wimbledon cut off, so when you consider all the players she could have played - Azarenka, Ostapenko, Yastremska, Vondrousova etc. then it could have been far worse. Should be a good chance to get that 1st RG win. Bertens will probably wait in R3, but I'm sure Jo would have snapped your hand off to lose in R3 before the draw, despite her recent exploits. I was getting concerned when watching the draw live as they placed the seeds in batches and the last batch was 25-32 and Yastremska was still lurking as a potential opponent, but she drew Carla SN instead.

Katie S still has a lot of work to do, but that would be an interesting potential R1 match...

There is at least 1 LL spot because Giorgi pulled out late (before the draw), so there are 13 Q spots (or Q/LL) to place, not 12.

indiana · Tennis legend

I assume that if Katie B now withdraws at any time before that R1 match she will get 50% of her prize money. I would imagine she could have done that already - ie that you don't have to be a late late withdrawal.

Try to play and retire may not be as financially rewarding given her known injury issue.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
I assume that if Katie B now withdraws at any time before that R1 match she will get 50% of her prize money. I would imagine she could have done that already - ie that you don't have to be a late late withdrawal.

Try to play and retire may not be as financially rewarding given her known injury issue.

I was under the impression it was anytime once qualifying started, but yes should be entitled to 50% and maybe she just wanted to make absolutely sure. The Metro journalist was mentioning her potentially going on site and then pulling out.

She's not on the Surbiton entry list so it would be a big surprise if she did attempt to play.

RedSquirrel · Satellite level

indiana wrote:

I assume that if Katie B now withdraws at any time before that R1 match she will get 50% of her prize money. I would imagine she could have done that already - ie that you don't have to be a late late withdrawal.

Try to play and retire may not be as financially rewarding given her known injury issue.

She could only have withdrawn since noon yesterday to get 50% prize money, and she has to withdraw on site and be declared unfit to play by the tournament doctor.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

It makes sense from their POV to delay it as late as possible and pick up the 50% prize money they are entitled to, but GB tennis fans will be hoping a few players withdraw from Wimbledon as early as possible, like Makarova and Sharapova did here, so that Hev can maybe sneak in directly to free up another MDWC.

the addict · Tennis legend

Surely Katie B would get a WC for Surbiton if she wanted one - although I'm not certain of her position re numbers already taken / potentially required.

flamingowings · All-time great

Ace Ventura wrote:
It makes sense from their POV to delay it as late as possible and pick up the 50% prize money they are entitled to, but GB tennis fans will be hoping a few players withdraw from Wimbledon as early as possible, like Makarova and Sharapova did here, so that Hev can maybe sneak in directly to free up another MDWC.

Yeah...So we want our cake and eat it if it is positive f9r our own players.

Not great to be honest.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

flamingowings wrote:
Ace Ventura wrote:
It makes sense from their POV to delay it as late as possible and pick up the 50% prize money they are entitled to, but GB tennis fans will be hoping a few players withdraw from Wimbledon as early as possible, like Makarova and Sharapova did here, so that Hev can maybe sneak in directly to free up another MDWC.
Yeah...So we want our cake and eat it if it is positive f9r our own players.
Not great to be honest.

In an ideal world, if any player knew they had no intention of playing, they would withdraw as soon as they knew they couldn't play and then the next in would get in without having to go through qualifying and then potentially relying on a LL spot, but from the injured players POV, if you're ranked circa 100 and not made of money, and there's nothing stopping you from delaying and collecting 50% then it would make more sense to delay it and benefit from it financially. It wouldn't have bothered me personally if Boulter withdrew when that Stuart Fraser article came out a few weeks ago.

indiana · Tennis legend

I would have thought that it would be better all round if the 50% applied to MD direct entrants that withdraw due to medically accepted injury reasons at any time after the original list comes out.

More clarity, less otherwise unnecessary withdrawal delays, less LLs.

Possibly a bit more expense to the Slams. So what ?

-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 23rd of May 2019 08:52:56 PM

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

the addict wrote:
Surely Katie B would get a WC for Surbiton if she wanted one - although I'm not certain of her position re numbers already taken / potentially required.

Yeah, she'll be fine in terms of allocation for an ITF MDWC, and if she wants one, she'll get one, I was just meaning if she was actually in line to play at RG, then she would have likely been on the initial Surbiton entry list as well (unless she's had a miraculous recovery this week), and her absence from that along with all the newspaper articles re her fitness indicated to me that she wouldn't be playing next week.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
I would have thought that it would be better all round if the 50% applied to MD direct entrants that withdraw due to medically accepted injury reasons at any time after the original list comes out.

Definitely.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_French_Open_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Singles

That's the full draw. Some interesting R1 matches:

Ostapenko vs Azarenka
V Williams vs Svitolina (depending on how Venus is physically, although I suppose Svitolina has been out herself for a while)
Kanepi vs Goerges
Sabalenka vs Cibulkova

and a few compatriot matches.

-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Thursday 23rd of May 2019 09:00:28 PM

Andy Parker · Club Coach

I don't know if it is just me, but the whole Katie Boulter thing is just completely bizarre; it was announced she wasn't going to play the French, she is injured and yet somehow is now in the draw, with a money incentive if she pulls out at the last minute. That is a a complete farce - if it is true.

Good on Giorgi and any other injured player for pulling out before the tournament starts, but surely it can't be right for there to be a money incentive for injured players with no hope of playing to fly in, get assessed as unfit by a tournament doctor and then pick up a big pay cheque for not playing. I just can't see Katie B doing that and I am struggling to believe that that is the current set up. It's completely different to a player genuinely being ill at the last minute and having to pull out because of that.

It seems wrong on so many levels - not least for those immediately behind the cut off point, who have needlessly been denied direct entry and have had to go through qualifying.

I feel sorry for whoever has had to slog through qualifying and would have been an automatic in that situation, and as far as I know, with lucky losers, the top 4 ranked players who went out in the last qualifying round are put in a hat, with one name drawn randomly, so that is a less than perfect system too.

The whole thing regarding Katie B is just completely bizarre - hopefully she will make an official comment and clear things up.

I am hoping that either somehow there was an administrative mix up that meant she somehow accidentally ended up in the draw, or that she is actually fit and will play, and that the withdrawal announcement was itself misinformation.

What a strange situation.

As for the draw itself, not only does Ostapenko play Azarenka, but the winner of that is almost certain to face Osaka in Round 2, and with Jo Ko to face a qualifier, there is a chance it could be Jo Ko v Katie S.

JonH · All-time great

Andy Parker wrote:
I don't know if it is just me, but the whole Katie Boulter thing is just completely bizarre; it was announced she wasn't going to play the French, she is injured and yet somehow is now in the draw, with a money incentive if she pulls out at the last minute. That is a a complete farce - if it is true.

Good on Giorgi and any other injured player for pulling out before the tournament starts, but surely it can't be right for there to be a money incentive for injured players with no hope of playing to fly in, get assessed as unfit by a tournament doctor and then pick up a big pay cheque for not playing. I just can't see Katie B doing that and I am struggling to believe that that is the current set up. It's completely different to a player genuinely being ill at the last minute and having to pull out because of that.

It seems wrong on so many levels - not least for those immediately behind the cut off point, who have needlessly been denied direct entry and have had to go through qualifying.

I feel sorry for whoever has had to slog through qualifying and would have been an automatic in that situation, and as far as I know, with lucky losers, the top 4 ranked players who went out in the last qualifying round are put in a hat, with one name drawn randomly, so that is a less than perfect system too.

The whole thing regarding Katie B is just completely bizarre - hopefully she will make an official comment and clear things up.

I am hoping that either somehow there was an administrative mix up that meant she somehow accidentally ended up in the draw, or that she is actually fit and will play, and that the withdrawal announcement was itself misinformation.

What a strange situation.

As for the draw itself, not only does Ostapenko play Azarenka, but the winner of that is almost certain to face Osaka in Round 2, and with Jo Ko to face a qualifier, there is a chance it could be Jo Ko v Katie S.

Heare, hear. Either Katie is morally wrong to be here and withdraw, or she is fit and someone made a mistake originally. If they made a mistake originally, I would imagine it would have been put right quickly. So one assumes she is either now recovered or she has turned up for the cash. She may be British and that may be the rules but that would be wrong , no argument. Lets hope it is an amazing recovery