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Post Info TOPIC: Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)


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Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)


I'm sure Katie B won't touch clay now.. and after last year I would be surprised if Annie K would even ask her... She has to be allowed to get fully fit first, she's still barely competed and not won many matches yet since returning.

Annie has to cover doubles too. Will be interesting to see who is part of the team in the end.

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Assuming Katie B steers clear ....

Heather, Harriet, then difficult to see beyond 2 from Katie S, Sam and Naiktha.

We haven't currently got a fit and available more doubles specialist that for me warrants a place before any of them - all of whom can cover doubles.

For clay, Mandy probably next but she would really need to have had a few more good wins than she has.



-- Edited by indiana on Friday 17th of January 2020 11:49:30 AM

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I agree Indi. The next best ranked doubles players are Eden, Emily WS, Beth and Freya - and I wouldn't pick any of them ahead of the ones in your list as they haven't the experience at this level. Eden perhaps after her mixed doubles run at Wimbledon.

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At least with the format if, as seems likely, we lose, we can get a play-off which would potentially be at home and/or on hard courts, and Boulter more likely to be ready to feature. Albeit the two teams likely to come out of Europe Group 1 will be far stronger than Slovakia.

 

It does strike me that if we did sneak a win, without Jo competing in the April finals (and it being on clay) it would be a big ask not to come in the bottom two.



-- Edited by PaulM on Friday 17th of January 2020 11:49:48 AM

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The timing of the Fed Cup finals in April   doesn't seem ideal. I know we had the weekend in April last year but with the new style Fed Cup players would surely have to play more matches than before. Then they have the clay court season following on.Back in 1991 when the Fed Cup finals were held in Nottingham that was in July.  Mind you because of the Olympics you couldn't  hold Fed Cup in July.As regards the doubles for GB I seem to remember Harriet and Katie Swan performing capably for GB at Bath last year.    



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Absolutely vital Heather stays fit, healthy and in a good place. Harriet seems to be playing well too so we have a chance but diminished by Jo's abscence.

I'm starting to fear for Jo's season. A knee condition that is forcing her to miss matches and competitions has all the indications of being closer to chronic than we are being led to believe.

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I'd be very tempted to include Emma in the squad. If nothing else, if the tie was lost (or won) you could throw her in a dead rubber and at least tie her future down. It'll be good experience for her, and it would be more beneficial longer term than including Sam.

She's also had a couple of top 200 wins as well, so shouldn't be too out of her depth at this stage (given most of Slovskias team will be 100-200, bar the badly out of form Kuzmova), although not necessarily on clay.



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HarryGem wrote:

Absolutely vital Heather stays fit, healthy and in a good place. Harriet seems to be playing well too so we have a chance but diminished by Jo's abscence.

I'm starting to fear for Jo's season. A knee condition that is forcing her to miss matches and competitions has all the indications of being closer to chronic than we are being led to believe.


 Unfortunately I would agree with this. Every time one reads about the problem you can find her "rehabing" in the gym. Not sure how intensive gym work cures knee problems. And I read about Andy Murray working out in the gym but not able to practise. Jo has only played 8 matches since Wimbledon which finished 6.5 months ago. I thought at the time back in August when she did not enter China that there was something amiss somewhere. If she loses in the 1st round in Australia then  her next tournament will not be until 17th February.



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ROSAMUND wrote:
HarryGem wrote:

Absolutely vital Heather stays fit, healthy and in a good place. Harriet seems to be playing well too so we have a chance but diminished by Jo's abscence.

I'm starting to fear for Jo's season. A knee condition that is forcing her to miss matches and competitions has all the indications of being closer to chronic than we are being led to believe.


 Unfortunately I would agree with this. Every time one reads about the problem you can find her "rehabing" in the gym. Not sure how intensive gym work cures knee problems. And I read about Andy Murray working out in the gym but not able to practise. Jo has only played 8 matches since Wimbledon which finished 6.5 months ago. I thought at the time back in August when she did not enter China that there was something amiss somewhere. If she loses in the 1st round in Australia then  her next tournament will not be until 17th February.


Just 8 matches, wow I hadn't realised it was as few as that. And it appears her condition is no better if not worse even though she's rested a lot at the end of last year. Hmmm it is starting to look like a limited season for her, just as Andy. Not exactly good news for British tennis. 



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Ace Ventura wrote:

I'd be very tempted to include Emma in the squad. If nothing else, if the tie was lost (or won) you could throw her in a dead rubber and at least tie her future down. It'll be good experience for her, and it would be more beneficial longer term than including Sam.

She's also had a couple of top 200 wins as well, so shouldn't be too out of her depth at this stage (given most of Slovskias team will be 100-200, bar the badly out of form Kuzmova), although not necessarily on clay.


Is it a team of 4 or 5? If 5 I'd maybe consider Emma if she is fit and well. Not though if 4. Too tight a selection and a tie to try and win in the here and now. As much as possibly not out of her depth, not for me in a team of 4.



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Given the last farrago and it's outcome for her - I couldn't blame Katie for running a mile.



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A comment was made by Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail "But with women's sports gaining ground across the UK,  it is a blow for tennis  that Britain's best player will not be present in the game's premier female team event."  However one could say that the sports gaining ground for women are the likes of football, rugby, cricket, netball and hockey which are all team games. If you lose your star player in these sports you can usually find  a suitable  replacement. Football always seems to a team and a half with substitutes.  However tennis may have team events but is essentially an individual sport. I have to be honest and say I would rather our players were successful as individuals in tennis rather than in this event which we are not likely to win anyway. I'm sure that with not playing Jo has her reasons and also knows  best about her own fitness etc.



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ROSAMUND wrote:

A comment was made by Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail "But with women's sports gaining ground across the UK,  it is a blow for tennis  that Britain's best player will not be present in the game's premier female team event."  However one could say that the sports gaining ground for women are the likes of football, rugby, cricket, netball and hockey which are all team games. If you lose your star player in these sports you can usually find  a suitable  replacement. Football always seems to a team and a half with substitutes.  However tennis may have team events but is essentially an individual sport. I have to be honest and say I would rather our players were successful as individuals in tennis rather than in this event which we are not likely to win anyway. I'm sure that with not playing Jo has her reasons and also knows  best about her own fitness etc.


 An herein lies one of the great current challenges for British Women's tennis. The exposure to these sports on terrestrial TV and in the main stream printed media is huge in comparison to tennis. The WTA's unfortunate decision to move the Tv coverage to Amazon probably means even less exposure. Not sure who is showing Fed cup on UK tv but it is a shame if it isn't the BBC or ITV. However, the loss of our one star player is also an issue. Without aspiring figures in the game it is hard to inspire new players and the downgrading of the Birmingham tournament means one less opportunity for those outside the South East to see the top stars.



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This is the current Slovakian landscape:

www.openerarankings.com/WTAHome

Cibulkova recently retired

Kuzmova has been badly out of form since RG. I was expecting good things and thought she might have beaten Jo there, but since that match she's barely done anything, and she's only got 300 points of her 965 points since RG, so at the moment, she's barely even playing like a top 60 player.

Schmiedlova has only played 2 events since Wimbledon, winning once, and like Katie B is taking a PR into the AO

Rybarikova hasn't played since US Open quals, and withdrew from AO quals, so her participation will likely be in serious doubt.

Cepelova and Kucova are kind of like ITF journeywomen these days (sorry newby), and I'm not too familiar with Sramkova, she is a similar age and current ranking to Harriet, but has a lot less big match experience.

So it'll probably be Watson and Kuzmova as #1's, Boulter and Schmiedlova in similar positions having hardly played in the last 6+ months, and using PR's - AKS may even also be like Katie and not fully sure if she'll play, although being at home might make a difference for her. Then Harriet and Cepelova/Kucova/Sramkova waiting in the wings to see if they'll be #2.

So while losing Konta is a massive blow, player-wise we're probably still just about at an advantage, although the clay and location may possibly tip it in their favour, but bar Brazil, who'll be without their only WTA level player, this is deinitely the team we'd have most chnce against.

Assuming Rybakina is eligible to play since her switch, a potential GB-Kazakhstan tie would look so much different to what it did 10 months ago, with them gaining a top 26 (and beyond) player, and us losing our standout player.

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HarryGem wrote:
ROSAMUND wrote:

A comment was made by Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail "But with women's sports gaining ground across the UK,  it is a blow for tennis  that Britain's best player will not be present in the game's premier female team event."  However one could say that the sports gaining ground for women are the likes of football, rugby, cricket, netball and hockey which are all team games. If you lose your star player in these sports you can usually find  a suitable  replacement. Football always seems to a team and a half with substitutes.  However tennis may have team events but is essentially an individual sport. I have to be honest and say I would rather our players were successful as individuals in tennis rather than in this event which we are not likely to win anyway. I'm sure that with not playing Jo has her reasons and also knows  best about her own fitness etc.


 An herein lies one of the great current challenges for British Women's tennis. The exposure to these sports on terrestrial TV and in the main stream printed media is huge in comparison to tennis. The WTA's unfortunate decision to move the Tv coverage to Amazon probably means even less exposure. Not sure who is showing Fed cup on UK tv but it is a shame if it isn't the BBC or ITV. However, the loss of our one star player is also an issue. Without aspiring figures in the game it is hard to inspire new players and the downgrading of the Birmingham tournament means one less opportunity for those outside the South East to see the top stars.

 

It pains me to write this but Jo wasted the biggest opportunity in years to promote British womens tennis. I am referring to the loss in the semi finals at last years French Championships. Had she won the match the  final  would have been shown on ITV on a Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately such opportunities only occur every blue moon the previous occasion being Jo Durie at the 1983 French. Jo Durie actually got far closer to the final than Jo Konta  last year.i.e.  a set up, 5-5 and 30-15. I hasten to add Jo Durie never got anywhere near a French final again.  

 


 



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