Week 22 - ITF W100 - Surbiton, GB Grass

DF · Tennis legend

RE: Week 22 - ITF W100 - Surbiton, GB Grass

jb288 · Satellite level

indiana wrote:
jb288 wrote:
PaulM wrote:
Well done Jodie, squeaked out that set after letting a big lead in the tiebreak go.
Well done Jodie. Really not impressed by Zhu, hopefully Jodie can close this out. Live rankings have her down in the 290s if she loses.
OER and live-tennis have Jodie as currently live low 270s on 253 points. These points look right with a best non counter of 7 points replacing a 25 pointer dropping off.
She would though drop behind Sonay who is live up to 257 points so live GB #8.
Hopefully Jodie can win her match here and go back ahead of Sonay for now.

Yeh I was looking at Coric which says she's dropping 53 points I think, but when you look at their drill down those points aren't there...I must be missing something.

Anyway, Jodie wins! :D

indiana · Tennis legend

The "25 pointer" that Jodie is dropping is actually the remaining half of 50 points for a 25K title in 2019.

Anyway, it's now replaced by her 13 points so far for reaching R2 here.

So ( gives Sonay a bump back down ) 259 live points and retains her GB #8 spot for now.

Crispy · Strong Club Player

Jodie making a play for that wildcard good for her

brittak · Satellite level

Good day today!
Watched a large chunk of Sonay/Lily.
Must admit at the start I was wondering what all the hype about Sonay was about as Lily was playing well and was in early control. It seemed to me that Lily then started too much slicing when she should have been attacking more and allowed Sonay back into the match and she then took full advantage. A good shout now for a WC to Wimbledon as suggested elsewhere.

Turning to Harriet - ummm - not sure what to say really. I only saw from midway through the final set but oh my goodness this was stressful. She had a lot of very vocal local support but just couldnt seem to impose herself on the match. She served for the match but never really looked like she would get over the line. Felt she could have come in more and nullify her opponent and force her to try and hit past her but didnt do this. All a bit disappointing really.

Watched a little bit of Jodie but must admit was swayed a little by her reputation for folding in matches, so didnt hang around. Clearly got that wrong!

Looking forward to my second day tomorrow - havent seen the OOP yet but should be fun!

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I don't buy off on the various people who said that Stevanovic was excellent or even really good.

I was there and honestly couldn't watch half of Harriet's match - it was just SO frustrating (and life's too short....)

So I managed 15 mins courtside in the second set and 15 mins in the third, having kept an eye on the first from afar.

Harriet only has herself to blame. It was feeble. Enough said.

I did wonder, though, whether she found the crowd support rather intimidating. I know that sounds weird, she's used to crowds etc.
But the crowds are so close to the players on that court, you could reach out and touch the players at the change of ends, and the crowd was very noisy (which is good, in general) and quite a lot of anti-feeling to Stevanovic too, it was pretty raucous for Surbiton. Basically SO much pressure.
And Harriet just seemed to take it all in a rather negative way, she looked down on herself, went for the rather hangdog (what am I doing? How did I miss that? sort of moaning) and though she tried to gee herself up, she had the look of a rabbit in the headlights. She seemed to me as though she was looking up in the air, or down at the ground, basically away from the crowds. Whereas the Serbian woman had a real positive vibe going on, liked the crowd animosity, she thrived on the conflict, and - as said before against Talia - what struck you was how aggressive and upbeat she was in her presence on the court, more than the actual tennis. In short, she played well but she was basically feeding off the lack of conviction and self-belief of Harriet.

Lovely to see Jodie do well

It wasn't the greatest match - Jodie's UEs are pretty dire - but as said before, you know you'll get some good chances in first round grass court events, especially when it's the first grass event. And the Chinese woman really didn't seem happy on grass. But Jodie did very well to nail it - especially in the second when everyone who's ever followed Jodie had their heart in their mouths. Really pleased for her.

Isabelle's performance was honourable, given her age. As someone else said, a little one-dimensional. And things to work on. But a good week for her, end of. Jeremy Bates courtside once again though.....

Van Uytvanck was playing very well. Alycia Parks was looking SO drop dead glam. All in all, a wonderful afternoon and evening (apart from Harriet which we'll just have to put down as one to forget).

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Wednesday 1st of June 2022 10:14:08 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Crispy wrote:
Jodie making a play for that wildcard good for her

Sonay of course has earned loads more points than Jodie in 2022 so far ( 228 to 119 ). But it may help Jodie's Wimbledon MD WC chances if she can get a win or two more and keep her official 12 month ( err plus in covid times ) ranking close to Sonay's.

Pancho P · Lower Club Player

So felt a weee bit tired and came home a bit early thinking " Harriets got this " lol, nuff said. Got a sneaky look over the fence at Edens match ( saw a fair bit ) and was really impressed with her display, shame about the ending though. Sonay and Lily played a nice match with S K s power prevailing in the end. Had a great day wandering around viewing various other matches and saw a few tennis celebs Cash, Sears and Bates amongst em. The grass courts looked soo loovely ! Who said all those years ago about tearing the grass up at Wimbledon ( Buster )...... You must be JOKING

Shhh · Challenger level

Just back after my first visit to Surbiton for about 10 years.

I arrived for 11am to see Lily and Sonay and commandeered an unused bench from the next court to settle in. 6 hours later I left after seeing two painstaking 3 set matches. Thankfully the mens on Centre Court raised my spirits right back up. I found the first match a bit underwhelming. Most points seemed the same, most games felt the same. No weapons (or willingness) to create winners, rather than stick in the rally until an error came from one player or the other. Two Brits, neither I had seen before and a friend of Lilys mum sat next to me to boot. But I still found it hard to enjoy. I was pleased Sonay won but wish she had done more to actually win it. 3 or 4 times she was presented with an overhead smash but not once would she take it on :(

I did not know at the time but worse was to come. After protecting my treasured bench from the elements I was told by Harriets coach I had to vacate it for the players coaches (himself in other words) He was joined by other including Anne K, several children, Harriets mum complete with dog (what was that about) as I got edged further and further back from my much prized vantage point. Not to worry, Harriet walked through the first set and all seemed fine in the world. I think others have described sets 2 and 3. Awful, painful stuff to sit through because the match was so clearly there to be won. I felt the family/coaches did not help, Harriet (or Hazzer as those in the know call her) did seem very down on herself which of course always makes things ten times worse. A word for her opponent.....I warmed to her despite desperately wanting Harriet to win. She smiled a lot, conceded set point when an error had been made (you dont often see sportsmanship like that) and then fell victim of a few bad calls herself (imo)

Pancho P · Lower Club Player

Yes, I Kinda liked Harriets opponent, a small player but well adept at slicing ah ? any ball that moved really !. Nice post Shhh, I suppose you did nt get the opportunity to discuss Hazza s dodgy serve with the doggy ?

wales1994 · County player

Didnt watch Harriet as I was on centre, but her opponents grunt is awful. Kept hearing it in the background. Very bad loss from Harriet.

Happy Jodie won, she looked relaxed around the grounds.

Eden was actually decent, nice serve and backhand but her forehand easily misses when under pressure. Cocos serve was way too much, and when firing I was confused as to why she has not yet reached the top 100 again. She could make damage this week if she starts quicker in her other matches.

dodrade · Futures qualifying

Will be interesting to see how Sonay does against a Top 100 player for the first time.

the addict · Tennis legend

Wickmayer and Kerkhove both lost their singles yesterday and have withdrawn from the doubles, so there is an empty slot to play the #2 seeds. Wonder if any alts will step forward ?

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Love the post, Shhh, especially the bench story. I didn't see from where I was but someone on here, I think, said she's now being coached by one of the LTA bods at the NTC. Nigel Sears? Which, if so, will feed wonderfully into my 'LTA entitlement' theory - I mean, was there any 'reserved' notice on it? No. So bagsies keepsies, you got the bench first ! Anyway, coaches should stand up - it's the rule - how can you try and transmit energy to your player if you're slumped in your seat, patting the dog?

PS I only saw 5-10 mins really of Sonay v Lily, right at the end, but I agree - it seemed a rather flat match that didn't engage you (and, yes, Sonay would rather have root canal surgery than hit a ball before it bounces)

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Thursday 2nd of June 2022 07:05:48 AM

Shhh · Challenger level

Coup Droit wrote:
Love the post, Shhh, especially the bench story. I didn't see from where I was but someone on here, I think, said she's now being coached by one of the LTA bods at the NTC. Nigel Sears? Which, if so, will feed wonderfully into my 'LTA entitlement' theory - I mean, was there any 'reserved' notice on it? No. So bagsies keepsies, you got the bench first ! Anyway, coaches should stand up - it's the rule - how can you try and transmit energy to your player if you're slumped in your seat, patting the dog?
PS I only saw 5-10 mins really of Sonay v Lily, right at the end, but I agree - it seemed a rather flat match that didn't engage you (and, yes, Sonay would rather have root canal surgery than hit a ball before it bounces)

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Thursday 2nd of June 2022 07:05:48 AM

The bench was funny. It was facing the other court but myself and another chap (my co-conspirator) turned it around and moved it down to watch the 2 matches with Brits. I did feel very much pushed aside so the in crowd could sit there but, too old to think anything of it other than a wry smile. There was a gaggle of coaches, mums, and children (and dog!) offerng encourgement and sharing whatsapp pictures. It wasn't a good look. And where we they for the Lily/Sonay match before?

Nigel Sears was there but the coach was a younger guy. I am sorry, didn't recognise him. There is no much you can do other than to say "C'mon Hazz you got this" and "There you go" after every good shot. It gets VERY repetitive and when the player is getting down on themselves, (and Harriet had a good old swear up a couple of times) I dont know how much it helps? I was so looking forward to seeing Harriet play....and she can play, the 1st set certainly went to script. I am confident she can come good in time for her next match, the only issues appeared to be mental.