Crazy, crazy match between Jay and the big serving Frenchman - Hemery has one of the most vicious kick serves I've seen, which allowed him to serve-volley pretty effectively on the clay at times.
Jay saved match point deep in the third, and then led 5-2 in the tiebreak. Hemery kept finding massive serves though, and just wouldn't go away. Both Jay and the Frenchman saved about 4-5 match points each - Jay saved one on the Hemery serve with a backhand return which landed right on his shoelaces.
I thought Jay had it - he was 15-14 up with match point on his serve. Then there was a long delay - several minutes, couldn't fully understand why. A gate left open at the back of the court or something. Anyway, it took ages.
Jay attacks the net off a short return, hits a half volley drop volley which was (wrongly) called out just as Hemery raced up the court and curled it down the line for a winner. Then the umpire goes over and corrects the call, and says replay the point. Hemery's fuming as he'd just struck a clean winner. Another delay.
All seems to affect Jay the most who serve-volleys, but the return comes at his feet. 15-15.
Next point, Jay seems a bit scrambled, misses a forehand, and the Frenchman serves out to take the tiebreak 17-15.
Brutal loss - Jay isn't playing badly, and isn't far away. Wins just aren't quite coming at the moment. If he'd won this one, felt like he might have been able to get a bit of momentum :(
L32: Calvin Hemery (FRA) WR 316 defeated (6) Jay Clarke WR 184 by 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(15) in FOUR hours & 1 minute!
I noticed a big delay at *15-14 in the TB to Liam and flicked on to see what was happening, at which point he then served but the umpire ordered the resulting point to be replayed due to a wrong call. A bit more faffing about though no real argument that I could see and the point was replayed, Liam lost it and the next 2 points Unless the initial void point I saw was a recording ( wouldn't think so on bet365 and I didn't notice any break in the feed ) then there must have been some previous issue because there had already been a long delay at *15-14?
Edit: Thanks, Sheddie, as I subsequently read back to your report re the initial delay and then the void point - so Hemery was fuming - it wasn't really clear to me.
Edit 2: Err, for Liam, read Jay.
-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 3rd of March 2026 02:01:14 PM
L32: Calvin Hemery (FRA) WR 316 defeated (6) Jay Clarke WR 184 by 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(15) in FOUR hours & 1 minute!
I noticed a big delay at *15-14 in the TB to Liam and flicked on to see what was happening, at which point he then served but the umpire ordered the resulting point to be replayed due to a wrong call. A bit more faffing about though no real argument that I could see and the point was replayed, Liam lost it and the next 2 points Unless the initial void point I saw was a recording ( wouldn't think so on bet365 and I didn't notice any break in the feed ) then there must have been some previous issue because there had already been a long delay at *15-14?
Edit: Thanks, Sheddie, as I subsequently read back to your report re the initial delay and then the void point - so Hemery was fuming - it wasn't really clear to me.
Liam? I know I struggle to keep up with player's nicknames, but that is ridiculous.
Unless the initial void point I saw was a recording ( wouldn't think so on bet365 and I didn't notice any break in the feed ) then there must have been some previous issue because there had already been a long delay at *15-14?
of the week:
