Queens/Halle Thread

[Guest]

Thought I would get the ball rolling this week.

Queens is having an inspection at 12. If the forecast is correct, we might not get started until next week!

Not sure they are having the same problems in Halle though.

[lydian]

Nice one LK...hopefully we'll see some tennis at Queens!

I'm about to fly off to near Halle! Wont get to see any tennis though...

I'm going with Murray and Berdych as winners.

[Guest]

No tennis whilst in Halle?? Tremendous willpower there lydian

Fancy Murray for Queens and Federer for Halle.

[Guest]

Ward taken the first set against Kevin Anderson!!

Surely not again!!

[Guest]

Ward broken in the 2nd and Golding and Baker have gone to a TB in the 1st. It's all happening.

[Mad for Chelsea]

watching Ward vs Anderson. Anderson looks very uncomfortable on the grass though his volleying has improved. Ward just isn't a very good player. To a decider we go. I do enjoy watching grass court tennis again

[Guest]

Despite Ward being limited, I would love to see another fairytale run

How did the Golding and Baker TB go?

[Mad for Chelsea]

Baker won it, and is a break up in the second (according to livescores)

[Guest]

Oh for pants sake!!!

C'mon Oli!!

[Mad for Chelsea]

Ward broken, just not hitting the ball well enough and Anderson takes full advantage. Can't see Ward coming back now unfortunately

[Mad for Chelsea]

Golding has apparently served 11 DFs

[Mad for Chelsea]

Mahut has beaten GGL 6-4 6-2, he'll play Murray in the next round. Should ba a belter

[Guest]

11 DF's????

Good grief!!

Looks like the axe is about to fall on Ward.

Murray and Mahut will be a belter.

[Mad for Chelsea]

oh James, he's hitting that FH approach CC all day, cover it already!

OG up to 14 DFs as he's saved MPs at 3-5 down.

[Mad for Chelsea]

all over, Baker through. OG loses on a predictable DF

Ward with an opportunity at 30-30 second serve, but plays a loopy return for an easy putaway and the chance goes begging.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Ward out as Anderson serves it out easily. A rubbish FH volley miss doesn't help, neither does his incapability of reading Anderson's remarkably repetitive serve patterns (I reckon at least 80% of the time he served to the FH on first serves). Hewitt vs Karlovic up next, yawn...

[Guest]

14 DF's?

Amazing to think he won the Boys US Open.

I am sure he didn't make that many in his first Queens outing last year.

Is it over for Ward?

[Guest]

2 Brits out and 1 though to the 2nd round.

Liam Broady plays Muller later. Not holding much hope out for that one, though I hope I am wrong.

[Guest]

Gah Broady is getting whopped by Muller

[lags72]

I fully appreciate he's had a rough time injury-wise, and all credit to him for sticking at it even in the twilight of his career.

But I'm really not sure how much longer Lleyton can expect to rely on the goodwill of tourney directors for WC's. The RG card was (not surprisingly) wasted, but even here on his favoured Queens grass his play today barely justified it.

In similar vein .... did I hear that Andy Roddick has announced this coming Wimbledon as his last ?

[Guest]

Aye indeed lags.

He has been a bit cryptic. He hasn't said it for certain. He sat down with Stefanki and more or less come to an agreement that at this stage in Andy's career it is extremely less likely he will feature at the latter stages of Slams and Masters events. I credit for Roddick for being this open and honest about his career at this point in time.

As for Hewitt I am surprised he is not thinking on the same lines.

[lags72]

Thanks for additional info there lk.

Well, maybe this year could be just about right for Andy to say his farewells to SW19 and - IF that's the case - then I do hope he can bow out with a good showing. He's been a dedicated and very consistent pro - virtually an omni-present feature of the Top 10 until pretty recently. And the chance to spend more time in the company of Mrs R. is hardly an unpleasant prospect.

As for Hewitt : didn't realise he's now actually dipped below 200, so even ending the year inside the 100's could be something of a challenge.

[Guest]

I agree lags. Roddick has been the ultimate pro. He put in the yards over the years and I remember seeing the workout he did and was amazed that he didn't get injured!

Hewitt is declining rapidly. I was surprised when he moved out to the Bahamas a couple of years back to be more involved on the tour in Europe and America. I think end of season he may reflect on what options are available.

I do wonder what both these players would do post tennis career.

[lags72]

lk : Personally I've never enjoyed Hewitt's brand of tennis but - in the mould of Jimmy Connors - I give credit & respect for the fact that he gives his all once on the court (although Jimbo was of course a more accomplished player in all respects)

Not sure about Roddick post-touring, but Hewitt's 'trial' stints at commentary/punditry at the AO went down pretty well (apparently) with the Aussie TV audience. He'd have to be pleased, given that he has - surprisingly for a home-bred Aussie sports star - never enjoyed truly widespread acclaim even in his native country (could that explain the Bahamas move ..??!! )

[prostaff85]

Karlovic beat Hewitt 6-3 6-2, serving 22 (!) aces in the process.

He served just nine games, so an average of two-and-a-half aces per game. That's like starting every service game 35-0 :-)
Hewitt found it a 'frustrating day'.

[Guest]

Tsonga will face Baker tomorrow. So annoyed that Golding put in such a crap performance! Grrrrrrrrr

Murray v Mahut shall be interesting.

I begrudge how the f*** Queens justify £95 for Centre Court tickets!

[Mad for Chelsea]

£95!!!!! Flippin' heck!

Paris masters you can get in for 20-odd euros IIRC, and that's a Masters tournament!

[Guest]

It is a farce MFC. If you want to sit in the hospitality suites you are talking nearly £500 per person!!

[Guest]

That is why I am not in favour of giving the Brits wild-cards - they tend to get walloped in the first round and then fade back into obscurity. Better that they tackle events that they might be expected to win the first few rounds, but which challenges them in the later rounds - all the time picking up ATP points and experience.

[Guest]

Well in fairness the youngsters are ploughing away at the FU in Britain. I am thinking maybe if they went to over countries where they may face better opposition which should in theory help them develop into better players. I expected much more from Golding.

Edmund is now where I pin my hopes because he has Rusedski in his camp which does indicate he is a willing student.

[gboycottnut]

Well in fairness the youngsters are ploughing away at the FU in Britain. I am thinking maybe if they went to over countries where they may face better opposition which should in theory help them develop into better players. I expected much more from Golding.

Edmund is now where I pin my hopes because he has Rusedski in his camp which does indicate he is a willing student.

Golding is still a raw youngster and got beaten by a more experienced player. What I have found with all the british players at a young age apart from Andy Murray and to an extent Tim Henman is that they all return the ball poorly and their groundstrokes are weak and inconsistent.

[Guest]

Well in fairness the youngsters are ploughing away at the FU in Britain. I am thinking maybe if they went to over countries where they may face better opposition which should in theory help them develop into better players. I expected much more from Golding.

Edmund is now where I pin my hopes because he has Rusedski in his camp which does indicate he is a willing student.

Golding is still a raw youngster and got beaten by a more experienced player. What I have found with all the british players at a young age apart from Andy Murray and to an extent Tim Henman is that they all return the ball poorly and their groundstrokes are weak and inconsistent.

What Jamie Baker?



Did you read the thread?

14 DF's at any level is poor!

[Guest]

Okay that is a fair point - it is expensive to go overseas for ITF Future tournaments or the ATP Challenger Tour events. But in general the quality gap is so wide going into these ATP 250/500 events they have a tendency to get walloped in the first round.

I am not sure how effective the LTA have been in attracting Challenger Tour events into this country.

[Guest]

Have seen the Wimbledon Wildcards?

Goodall, Baker, Ward, Golding, Goffin, Hewitt (WTF?) Haas

Robson, Broady, Watson, Konta, Razzano, Shvedova

[Guest]

Golding's FU results this year have been impressive. It makes his loss the more frustrating to take in given how well he played against Mahut at Queens last year. Broady was unfortunate to run into Muller. His year in the FU's has been inconsistent.

I hope that the Wimbledon wildcard Golding has could serve a purpose

[Mad for Chelsea]

well to be fair Broady was up against Muller, a very decent grass-court player, so it's not totally surprising. He also had a few BP opportunities in the first set, but unfortunately couldn't take them.

Golding was apparently a little over-awed out there, 14 DFs is pretty awful (does anyone know if this is a regular problem for him, or was this a one-off occurrence?) Hopefully he'll be the stronger for the experience.

Anyone know what happened to Dan Evans BTW?

[Guest]

Golding last year against Mahut serve 6 DF's. I think he is much better than the performance suggested.

As you say I agree with what say about Broady. Unlucky to draw Muller.

Evans is anyone's guess

[Guest]

Hewitt will put a few bums on seats.

With regard to the Brit Men wildcards I just hope they can win a set in the first round.

With regard to Robson and Watson that's probably fair with regard to wild cards. With Broady and Konta I would have put them through to the qualifiers given that they could gain 40 WTA points if they win their first qualifier rounds. However, if they are entered into other tournaments during the qualifying week, where they can pick up points and gain experience, then fair enough.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Have seen the Wimbledon Wildcards?

Goodall, Baker, Ward, Golding, Goffin, Hewitt (WTF?) Haas

Robson, Broady, Watson, Konta, Razzano, Shvedova

all seems pretty decent to me. Hewitt's a past winner and ex-n°1, and let's not forget did very well at the AO this year. He was poor today, but Karlovic is a nightmare match if you haven't played a lot recently. The others all make sense to me, would maybe have prefered Broady to Goodall (who hasn't done much to deserve it) but can't complain overall...

[Guest]

I think Broady is unlucky to miss out being a former boys finalist at Wimbledon.

Hewitt had one last year and it seems a bit of a waste. Former no.1 granted, but maybe Brian Baker was in with a shout?

[Guest]

I thought that Brian Baker got a wildcard ticket or made it into the draw by right...

[Guest]

Checked his rankings - he currently has a rank of 123 which would not give him a direct ticket to the main draw.

I can't believe Baker would not be given a wild card - maybe they are holding on to a few wildcards - normally there is eight.

[Guest]

There is one left for men and 2 for the ladies.

[lydian]

Good post M4C...Karlovic is the last person you want to play if you're looking for groove before heading to Wimbledon. 22 aces in a few service games is monstrous...anyone would have trouble with that.

This is where we have the diachotomy of the fast/slow surface argument. If Wimbledon was restored to say 2000 pace what effect would that have? I dont even believe that Halle is as fast as Wimbledon used to be...so can you imagine the damage Karlovic would do at SW19? On the other hand we have better strings/racquets and movement in the top guys so the returns would be better...but if they cant even reach the returns? In general, I'm for alittle bit more speed at Wimb and USO to increase variety in the game but its a very fine line. The danger is you actually kill variety completely and end up with serve-fests again. However...thats going the whole hog in pre-2000/2001 surface adjustment. I'm happy with a little bit more speed...but this can be achieved probably with slightly smaller balls than changing the courts much.

What do people think? Increase the speed of the surface, smaller balls, stop poly strings(!), no racquet over 95 sq.in or just keep things the same?

[Guest]

Queens plays like the old Wimbledon days. Karlovics ace count is impressive and the lightening grass at Queens helped that.

Speed Wimbledon up and make it more challenging.

[lydian]

Thats right about Queens...100% rye grass right?
What's amazing is that Nadal beat Karlovic at Queens one year...so maybe these top guys can handle the power? They just wait for that split moment of opportunity...albeit it might take 3 TBs to do it...

Either way I do agree abit more speed is needed.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Good post M4C...Karlovic is the last person you want to play if you're looking for groove before heading to Wimbledon. 22 aces in a few service games is monstrous...anyone would have trouble with that.

This is where we have the diachotomy of the fast/slow surface argument. If Wimbledon was restored to say 2000 pace what effect would that have? I dont even believe that Halle is as fast as Wimbledon used to be...so can you imagine the damage Karlovic would do at SW19? On the other hand we have better strings/racquets and movement in the top guys so the returns would be better...but if they cant even reach the returns? In general, I'm for alittle bit more speed at Wimb and USO to increase variety in the game but its a very fine line. The danger is you actually kill variety completely and end up with serve-fests again. However...thats going the whole hog in pre-2000/2001 surface adjustment. I'm happy with a little bit more speed...but this can be achieved probably with slightly smaller balls than changing the courts much.

What do people think? Increase the speed of the surface, smaller balls, stop poly strings(!), no racquet over 95 sq.in or just keep things the same?

this was indeed Queens, which plays much quicker than Wimbledon these days. I agree with you it's a fine line though, if we return to the speed of court we had in the 90's I think it would be too quick today with improved racquet technology (which has speeded up the serve quite a bit I think). However, I think Wimbledon could be made quicker, maybe more like Queens (which plays more like a proper grass court IMO, quick and low bounce). Karlovic may have served loads of aces today, but others return his serve better than Hewitt managed. He wouldn't win Wimbledon even if it were as quick as Queens.

The reason is simple. Take today: at one point Hewitt was 15-30 down and had a look at a second serve. He missed his return. A top 4 would have made that point, forced 30-30 and had a chance. It wouldn't have been their only chance. You have only to watch Murray's dismantling of the Karlovic serve at Cincinati 08 to see what is possible (admittedly slower conds, but he broke the guy FOUR times in ten service games)

I don't think you can stop the progress of technology, so changing strings, racquet sizes etc. is a no-go for me. What I'd like is simple, and for effect I shall use the bold font:
more variety in court conditions

Clay should play like clay (I was disappointed in RG last year, too fast IMO, not needed, clay should be about long tactical and yes, gruelling rallies)
Grass should play like grass (fast, low bounce, rewarding the slices and volleyers), not like clay with lower bounce the first few days.
HC can vary of course, but a bit more fast HC wouldn't go amiss (most people enjoyed Dubai this year, or Paris 2011).

Like I said, the key word should be variety, the same player shouldn't be able to win on all surfaces with exactly the same gameplan (I exaggerate slightly, but only slightly). As it is, I believe the top 3 are good enough to win tournaments on pretty much any surface (Murray on anything except clay for the moment) but right now they don't change their game much (yes, Murray and Nadal slice more on grass, Djokovic volleys more and hits heavier topspin on clay, but these are marginal differences for me).

[lydian]

You're on a roll M4C...agree with all that

I remember back to the fast grass days in the 90s and its greatest proponent Sampras. You could almost feel him up his level at those 4-4 games after both guys held serve to that point. He would seize on the miniscule moments of opportunity...make that return...make the opponents volley that bit harder...squeeze the break and then the opponent knew they had lost the set. Kind of Russian Roulette tennis...and for some they didnt like it...but it did make for intriguing cat and mouse play. Today I think they would make the returns a little bit easier and the serves arent any bigger now by and large. As I said above, Nadal beat Karlovic at Queens so its not a given that the biggest servers would win Wimbledon anyway.

[Guest]

The sun is out in the south. No breeze. Hoping that the sun will help give the court a bit of added zip!

[Guest]

BBC.....Stop with all the footy on live day FFS!!!

Anyhow Roddick a set up in his match with Roger-Vasselin

Simon and Bolelli going all the way and Karlovic is a set on Yu.

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