Matt Rankin has unfortunately had to withdraw from the second Grade 2 in the Dominican Republic. The other difference from the first week is that Conor Brady, who I guess is Patrick's brother, got in to qualifying. He came within a whisker of the main draw, losing 10-8 in a match tiebreak, so now relies on a lucky loser place opening up. The main draw is not yet available.
All 7 Brits avoid seeds, though Phoenix's opponent swept aside the top seed last week before retiring in round 2. Louis is an early winner.
Boys R1 (L32)
Phoenix Weir v Kaylan Bigun (USA)
Camilo Cano Gomez (COL) v Patrick Brady
Louis Bowden d. (LL) Pedro Vargas (USA) 6-1 6-1
Girls R1 (L32)
Isabelle Lacy v (Q) Elizabeth Tkachenko (USA)
Mingge Xu v Maria Carolina Ferreira Turchetto (BRA)
Talia Neilson Gatenby v Taylor Goetz (USA)
Ella McDonald v (Q) Sophie Llewellyn (USA)
Phoenix is quite the conundrum - some excellent wins and then two first-round defeats. I'd be keen to know from those in the know (CD?) do you put that down to development, part of his game, or something else?
It's a good question - and I really have no insight, sorry.
There's the possibility that it's just been a bad trip - got sick in his stomach, say, early on (quite common), felt a bit washed out ever since....
Or that he's now trying to play 'big', following his recent success, and is overplaying his hand
Or a heap of other permutations....
Without seeing the matches it's difficult to say.
The situation with Talia is not dissimilar - she had a better week last week but has also gone from making the final of a 25k to getting knocked out in R1 of a juniors.
All I know is that you have to go on what you see - and Phoenix was playing some mega tennis at adult level in the UK recently, and that'll do - the potential's there, for sure
Isabelle now takes on the top seed, who has struggled to get far (albeit in high grade tournaments) in recent months
Girls R1 (L32)
Isabelle Lacy d. (Q) Elizabeth Tkachenko (USA) 6-2 6-3
Mingge Xu d. Maria Carolina Ferreira Turchetto (BRA) 3-6 6-4 6-2
Taylor Goetz (USA) d. Talia Neilson Gatenby 6-4 6-3
Ella McDonald d. (Q) Sophie Llewellyn (USA) 7-6(4) 6-1
R2
(1) Leyla Florella Britez Risso (PAR) v Isabelle Lacy
Mingge Xu v (7) Kaitlin Quevedo (USA)
(6) Panna Bartha (HUN) v Ella McDonald
It's a good question - and I really have no insight, sorry.
There's the possibility that it's just been a bad trip - got sick in his stomach, say, early on (quite common), felt a bit washed out ever since....
Or that he's now trying to play 'big', following his recent success, and is overplaying his hand
Or a heap of other permutations....
Without seeing the matches it's difficult to say.
The situation with Talia is not dissimilar - she had a better week last week but has also gone from making the final of a 25k to getting knocked out in R1 of a juniors.
All I know is that you have to go on what you see - and Phoenix was playing some mega tennis at adult level in the UK recently, and that'll do - the potential's there, for sure
It is very difficult to comment on individual junior results without seeing the matches given the number of factors involved. Phoenix may have shown talent in certain matches, but most juniors have off days and sometimes struggle to translate between pro and junior events, with different styles of play in operation. Further you have to factor in the calibre of some opponents. While some have clear pedigree and others have a series of results suggesting they are not at the same level, there are many who you cannot be sure about from inspection of their results. It may well be that an American tennis forum is raving about Phoenix's opponent as a big talent (as mentioned he beat a top 50ish junior last week for instance). Also Phoenix may be using the trip to try out some new things. The most important thing is that Phoenix and Talia take a long-term view, and develop a game which will serve them best in the long term, even if there are short term losses.
Conor made it into the doubles draw, but he and Louis (with separate partners) lost in round 1, leaving the partnership of Patrick and Phoenix as our only boys in the quarter-finals
R2
(4) Alexander Frusina (USA) d. Patrick Brady 6-4 6-4
(3) Luis Carlos Alvarez Verdes (MEX) d. Louis Bowden 7-5 6-2
Another good win for Isabelle against a fellow 15 year old, Victoria Osuigwe, 6-1, 6-4. Victoria has had some good wins recently, including a J1 win against current JWR18.
She plays the 7th seed, Kaitlin Quevedo, in the semifinal.
-- Edited by Nix on Thursday 24th of March 2022 04:38:18 PM