Naiktha heads up to the outback this week, and puts on a show with Asia Muhammad. The are top seeds in the doubles and play each other in the singles.
Naiktha needs points, she's about to slip from GB #5 to GB#7 next week, and her recent record has been poor. She is back in Australia next week, but I don't tip her to reverse her recent trend. SHe's lost her last 5 first round matches. Happy to be proved wrong.
R32: Naiktha BAINS (GBR) [8] 255 vs Asia MUHAMMAD (USA) 268 (CH:124 April 17)
I'd say poor was being generous Michael, I'd say nearer abysmal. 6 defeats in a row, or 12 in her last 14, and a lot of them to much lower ranked players, but maybe being back in Aus could help.
Asia won the Aus W25 event last week and had a good win over Inglis en route, but that may work both ways, either she is full of confidence, or like many, struggles to back up a good week.
Edit - 'a lot' was exaggerated, it was mainly Freya and Rush1ti in those UK events. The 2 players she did manage to beat are in poor form and are currently ranked 442 and 380. The latter being 2017 Wimbledon jr winner Claire Liu who is having a very tough time of late, and someone on here mentioned their match in Birmingham that Naiktha won was a shocker.
-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Monday 23rd of September 2019 09:30:47 PM
Naiktha is a big 9/2 underdog here despite being the seed. Play starts at 1.30am and she's second on following a men's match,, and is one of the few streamed courts for any night owls / different time zone posters.
Perhaps Gabi Taylor and Naiktha could play each other at some stage? Claire Liu is one of the Wimbledon junior champions who hasn't made it yet. Ann Li who she beat in the final is another yet to make it at senior level.
Perhaps Gabi Taylor and Naiktha could play each other at some stage? Claire Liu is one of the Wimbledon junior champions who hasn't made it yet. Ann Li who she beat in the final is another yet to make it at senior level.
I feel a bit sorry for Claire Liu. She came through Wimbledon quals as a QWC last year, won a main draw match, was then the only player to take a set off Kerber, went on to win a main match draw at the US Open as a MDWC, and was ranked 139 during the Asian Swing. Fast-forward 12 months and she's had a really poor year, lots of losses, a couple of spells of inactivity, getting overlooked for WCs, now outside the top 400 (401 in yesterdays rankings) and losing in the early rounds of Pula W25s, and today in Valenica W60 qualifying (in addition to losing to Naiktha). She's still young at 19 and a half, but she'll feel a hell of a long way off where she was a year ago winning grand slam matches and seemingly on the rise.
Yeah, Li is a year younger, not long turned 18, but at least her ranking has steadily improved as she's progressed through the ITFs, and is at a career high of 151 now, so you'd think she'd probably be looking to target WTA quals soon.
(Never been impressed by Li either, nor even Claire Liu - I don't know what's been going on behind the scenes but there's a certain sort of game that works very well in juniors that doesn't really upgrade well. Both of them were certainly playing really poorly this year on grass. I even think Claire got a bit lucky in 2018 at Wimbly - beat Hesse by retirement in qualis, should have lost to Cabrera in qualis, in my view, but just came through......)
Perhaps Gabi Taylor and Naiktha could play each other at some stage? Claire Liu is one of the Wimbledon junior champions who hasn't made it yet. Ann Li who she beat in the final is another yet to make it at senior level.
I feel a bit sorry for Claire Liu. She came through Wimbledon quals as a QWC last year, won a main draw match, was then the only player to take a set off Kerber, went on to win a main match draw at the US Open as a MDWC, and was ranked 139 during the Asian Swing. Fast-forward 12 months and she's had a really poor year, lots of losses, a couple of spells of inactivity, getting overlooked for WCs, now outside the top 400 (401 in yesterdays rankings) and losing in the early rounds of Pula W25s, and today in Valenica W60 qualifying (in addition to losing to Naiktha). She's still young at 19 and a half, but she'll feel a hell of a long way off where she was a year ago winning grand slam matches and seemingly on the rise.
Yeah, Li is a year younger, not long turned 18, but at least her ranking has steadily improved as she's progressed through the ITFs, and is at a career high of 151 now, so you'd think she'd probably be looking to target WTA quals soon.
How naturally athletic are they, I always think that it is this more than anything that determines whether they transition unless like Isner and Co they can rely on a massive serve, athleticism is not quite as important at juniors but you can't move like a donkey at Seniors and get away with it.
