Davis Cup, March 09

Catriona · Davis Cup, March 09

This will be my first time at DC & I'm really excited. It being held in my hometown of Glasgow is very useful - not too far between my house & Braehead Arena. Will Alex be taking part or has it not been decided yet?

Jac

99% alex wont be there.

the team will be andy, then 1 of eiither jamie murray or ross hutchins, depending on who lloyd feels does best over the nest few weeks.

for the last 2 spots lloyd will be holidng a mini tournament for the following players:
baker, ward, evans, goodall, slabba, flemming. i think playing 3 best of 5 sets matches each, and he will choose the other 2 on that basis. Alex wasnt invited to take part - probably cause he'd have a high chance of winning and lloyd wants to give others a go.

i dont think it is a bad thing really, at least alex can focus on his singles. he would also probably have been forced to miss at least 1 and probably 2 indoor challengers he would be seeded at to take part.

Catriona

Oh, okay. Well, if it's for the best, fine, but I must admit I'm quite disappointed. Alex has played at the last few, & now I'm actually getting to go, he won't be there! Just my luck. I'd have liked to see him play Sad

LadyTigress

It's a shame you won't get to see Alex play. I enjoyed seeing him play at the last DC. His talent really came through, and he kept a level head even when Melzer cranked it up a notch and started winning - Boggo didn't just collapse like some players do. Also I noted Alex has a very interesting style of serve, it's difficult to describe, and I've not seen any other players with quite the same service motion.

Jac

Sorry you wont get to see him play Cat, his style is normally enjoyable to watch. Hopefully him missing this tie will be for the best in the long run though and he will play DC again. i like wtching DC as its too rare that i get to see him play live either.

i am sure you will get to see some good play tho, with Andy there i expect the atmosphere will be great. It will also be nice to see some of the other, less well known brits whose matches would hardly have been on TV in the past.

As for his serve, yes its quite unique, some say similar to Ivanisovic's. It can get him free points, but once the opponent figures it i dont think he mixes it up enough.

doubtingthom

Hi am new to the boards but a big fan of what i've seen of Alex. I thought the way he was treated last year by Lloyd and the rest of the team was disgusting and that it's obvious that the UK needs to do more to support the players they have in more ways than just money. He was hitting some wonderful shots there and obviously has the ability.

As it's quite likely that the GB team will loose without Murray it's good that Alex isn't there to be made a scapegoat for the lack of UK competitors. Hopefully he can focus on doing his own thing, improving his ranking and enjoying his tennis.

Matt

Jac

Hi Matt, welcome to the site.

I certianly agree that it would be nice if Lloyd and LTA defended their players, especially Alex, in public better. Unfortunately from what i can gather there seems to be a blame culture in British tennis at the moment.

i hope team GB can put on a good show this weekend, i have a horrible feeling that regardless of the outcome of either a GB win or lose the media will try and find a negative light to put Alex in. Perhaps if we win saying we should have done away with him ages ago, or if we lose by saying that its his fault for not being mentally tough enough and forcing less talented players to play.

Anyway hopefully Cat will have a good time, even if the line up is drastically different to the one she expected when she bought the tickets Smile

Jac

Catriona · Too right!

You got that right, Jac, it definitely isn't what I expected! Apart from Alex, I wouldn't know any of the British team members if I fell over them, so it'll be good for me to see more of them. Ironic that my friend & I got our tickets for the players' box off Andy Murray's website & now he won't even BE there. At least we've got Colin Fleming on the team, so there IS actually going to be a Scot playing in his homeland, lol. But anyway, I'm REALLY looking forward to it, my second live tournament, & in my home town too. I think the GB team (& the Ukrainians of course) are in for a bit of a shock when they hear just how loud a Glaswegian crowd can be!!!

I hope Alex returns to the team sometime in the future, I really would love to see him play some day. I'm actually more disappointed that he won't be there than I am about Andy missing out - I've seen Andy before & obviously will do again, but I don't get many chances to see Alex & this would have been ideal. We were hoping that those who weren't playing this time round might come & watch, but sadly not. Oh well, c'est la vie. Go Team GB!

Jono

As John Lloyd says,only Andy Murray can save Britain. We have no British men even close to his standard yet. Boggo has tons more work to do to even get close to Gilbert's top 40 prediction.

Catriona · All over now :(

But what a weekend it has been! I don't know when I last enjoyed myself so much. According to people who've been responding to my friend's blog, we were on TV a few times - I think that's cos the group we went with ended up waving several interesting banners. I met all the team members - if I'm honest I'd only heard of any of them by name, but Josh, Ross, Chris, Colin & James were all such LOVELY guys, always willing to say hi (as my friend & I were always down at the court when the gates opened, we had plenty of time to chat with them, which was cool), sign autographs or have a picture taken. What a contrast to our visitors - they looked PERMANENTLY miserable, even when they won matches. They did come out into the crowd on this final day along with the GB team before play started to sign autographs, but they never said a word, just kind of grunted. I bet we have the nicest DC team in the world (and I'm including Alex, Andy & Jamie here too, as the team itself is so changeable), & they're ALL - repeat, ALL - rather nice-looking too! Wink

Right, back to serious stuff. Okay, we lost the tie, but personally I think the media grossly exaggerated everything, esp just by focusing on Andy all the time. Yes, we may not WIN without Andy, fine. But the matches themselves were all brilliant. We fought really hard, nothing to be ashamed of, on some occasions it could have gone either way. I remember hearing Josh Goodall being described as 'nervous & unfocused' in his match, which is tripe, & that the Ukrainians 'dominated' us in every match. Were these people THERE? Did they SEE the matches & the scores? We may have lost, but we put up one helluva fight! And WE WON THE FINAL MATCH!!! Chris Eaton is officially my new god, I don't think I've ever felt so excited in my life as I did during his match today. That was certainly, as the MC man said, ending the weekend on a high.

Anyway, like my subject says, it's all over, but it's been one of the most fantastic weekends of my life. Can't believe I've got to get back to the dull world of coursework after such a wonderful time. But I now can't wait till the next one against Poland in September - I'll be first in line for tickets!

Remembering what forum I'm on, I'll just say now that I hope Alex is there either in September or one of the next few - he's still near the top of my list of people to meet! Smile

Jono

I am so pleased for u. I suppose being my grumpy self, I get very negative, although I do comunicate positives to Roger Draper (LTA Head). We used to have a problem with ladies in the ranks, but now Anne is in top 100; it appeared a close run thing whether Anne or Boggo will make top 100; Anne won, Mel has dipped in which is great but dipped out currently, and Elena and Katie are just outside; so women's tennis is on a plus. The men was always Tim and Greg plus Boggo just outside 100. Andy had a quick jump with positive critics in McEnroe and Becker.To get to 4 and beat the top 3 is handy. Not many can beat the Fed Express and Rafa!! But without Andy it appears difficult. Some media say Andy has an attitude but sometimes u need it. I'm pleased u saw the team and thoroughly enjoyed it. September is Poland at home and it will be interesting to see if John Lloyd (and I think the LTA will keep him despite media negative pressure) does the play off again and Boggo reinstated.Josh may be 192 but my money is on Boggo beating Josh. You can check out atptour.com for ranks and events,challengers,etc and the lta website for British tennis week map to find out who plays what.

Catriona · The day after

Mixed feelings in papers this morning. Lovely big pic of Chris, & headline says DC MUST return to Braehead, John Lloyd called our crowd "phenomenal" & he'd love to come back. BUT the journalist said a return visit would only be "an enticing prospect" if Andy's presence was guaranteed. Cobblers!!!! This weekend was amazing even without Andy - in fact, I almost preferred it. By that I mean no offence to Andy, & we'd probably have won more with him, but I was so glad to have an opportunity to see the other guys play, we only have a chance to do so at DC, & even that depends on whether or not they're selected for the team. I remember choosing to watch Alex's Wimbledon match last year on TV rather than some of my big-name favourites, cos I knew they'd be there a fair bit later on in the tournament (hope Alex doesn't take that the wrong way!) & I wanted to see HIM play.

Presumably Andy will be back in September, perhaps Jamie too, but I'll really miss whoever leaves the team that was here this weekend. My friend got quite emotional at the end of the last match when all the players left the court & said, "We might not see some of them ever again!" which is certainly a possibility. We should have plucked up the courage to ask them all to come out for a drink after the match - unlikely that they'd accept (even though we are two VERY lovely young ladies), but could have given it a go. Would John Lloyd really be so quick to relegate Chris seeing as he was the only one to win a match?

Jac

Hi Cat, glad you had a great time, even if the result didn't work out (and you didn't get quite as close to the players as maybe you would have liked to Smile

).

if you are ever down London way i would strongly suggest going to watch the Queens Qualies, can see lots of Brits and get real close to the action (plus is free and you will get to see some of the big stars practising)

Will wait to see where the respective players move on from here. Once again Chris Eaton has proved he can play on the big stage, but why why why cant he seem to translate that to the smaller venues. if he can then he should get himself top 200 easily.

Will have to see where Josh ends up though, losing 5 straights sets to opponents he should be able to beat let alone match. Combine that with the fact that he has never won a match at ATP level (i'm not sure if he has ever beaten a top 100 player) and i'm not sure he should be picked again until he has. Him and Alex have similar rankings, but if you look a bit closer you will see that the majority of Alex points will have come against tougher opposition.

Will be interesting to see how things shape up for the next tie. choice of venue in September. i think indoor again would be a good bet, maybe at Birmingham. i also wonder if Alex will be back in contention??

Catriona · Why???

Thanks for the tip, Jac, I might very well try that. My friend & I are hoping to get tickets for Queens, but even if we don't, we'll at least visit the grounds. We managed to get (very) lucky in the Wimbledon ballot (men's semi-finals, here we come!) & while I'm not totally pessimistic, I doubt that lightning will strike twice. However, qualifiers sound good, I'd like that.

I'll say one thing, I never paid attention to our lower-ranked British players before & now I Everyone in the country rallies behind Andy Murray because he's a household name, but they don't seem to give a toss about any of the others simply because they're not on the tour & therefore they've never heard of them. I didn't pay that much attention till this weekend, but now I've become rather attached to & almost protective of them. Our team are "not worth seeing without Andy Murray"? The heck they're not! Why don't they get more publicity? It just seems so unfair. Sad

LadyTigress

Sorry... did everyone want me to post my blog?

I'm the aforementioned "friend" Smile

. It really was a great time. I did think about Alex and Jamie's absence, even talked about it with some of the team members when we ran into them, but I can't deny I was thrilled to get behind the boys that were there, and they are all so lovely I adore every one of them!!! Wink

Plus a couple of the Ukrainians too. Oh and yes, I agree we should have asked them out for a drink... even though I would expect them to say no because you know, they barely met us and we might be psycho-nutter fans or something. I'm just sad I have no idea when I'll be able to see them play again! Josh told me he was off to Thailand this week (fat chance of my getting out there!) and Chris said he was headed to Bath so that might be possible but it'd be very short notice to organise.

Do these guys have their own websites with their own schedules on? Because I looked and couldn't find any, and it'd just be so much easier if they posted their schedules somewhere, then people could easily see when and where with the tournaments.

Jac

Cat - Queens qualies isn't quite as good as it used to be, since they cut the draw, but its definitely worth popping too if you are around. As i said normally there is a good presence of Brits there, and you will get to see them wandering around, hitting on the practice courts etc, if they are not playing a match.

Unfortunately the lower levels of tennis don't really get much support, the players not given enough credit imo for the level they are at. People are happy to idolise a 3rd rate footballer, but a challenger lvl tennis player, who is probably much better at the sport than the footballer gets nothing but derision from the majority.

LT - as for going out, i don't know, some of the stories i have heard about the players and all.... Wink

I dont think many of the players have enough time to do website, so i dont think there is much of a way to find out tournaments too far in advance. sometimes i find out from Alex (his next events should be Jersey, Baton Rouge & Tallahassee, but I'm not sure after that) and i try and update the site accordingly, of course he only knows so far in advance himself, as it will depend on how he does between now and then and where his ranking will be etc.
The BT.net forums also put up entry lists when they become available, which for challenger lvl is normally about 1 month in advance, so thats a good place to check.

Catriona · Interesting...

Stories, Jac? This sounds incredibly intriguing! I take it you're not going to elaborate on that, so I will use my imagination. No, I won't, actually, I'd get it out of me Wink

Totally agree with you about the footballers thing - our lower-ranked tennis players deserve our country's attention & support too. God, I never really thought about before, but this weekend has REALLY got me worked up about it! Well, those people out there don't know what they're missing by not paying attention to these guys, cos they ROCK. I speak for both LT & I when I say we are definitely going to be following them all from now on - well, as best we can when it's so hard to find any info. Rolling Eyes

But the spirit will be there! Very Happy

Jac

Cat - in case you haven't come across it, this site is excellent for discussion on all British tennis players, especially the lower ranked guys where news and info isn't covered anywhere else. i post there often myself.

http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=61841&p=1

in case that link doesnt work go to www.britishtennis.net then follow their link to the forums.

Catriona · Cheers!

Thanks for the link, Jac, will check it out. I'm so bad on forums though, never know what to say - well, apart from here, you've not been able to shut me up over the last couple of days, you poor guys, lol. Wink

Then again, a lot depends on the other people who are on them. I'm not saying any names but some forums I've been on for players have been less than welcoming, not to mention WAY too obsessive about the players in question, & I'm never going back to them - the websites, yes, but never the forums. On the other hand, I met my partner-in-crime LT on Djokovic's forum, so there you go, they can be good! Very Happy

And one final thing (I say that, then I'll probably think of something else) that this weekend has done for me: it has shown me that there are some SERIOUSLY great guys in this country. Not that I thought the entire male population of the UK was awful, but I haven't met many guys since I left school almost 7 years ago, & the ones I did meet were mainly complete prats. So unless Colin, Ross, Chris, Josh & James - & Alex, can't forget him! - are six in a million, so to speak, then I'm reassured that there are wonderful men out there. I'm not talking romantically (though that could enter the equation at some point Wink

), just generally. Anyway, thanks again for the link, will have a look later on.

Jac

there's a few idiots on the site, there are on many, but 99% are very nice. a few of us have been posting on their for years and years so of course there is some joking etc going on, but people are always nice to new members.

on other message boards etc my nickname is normally count zero, however my posts usually stand out by their bad spelling and vociferous defence of boggo Smile

Catriona · No imagination

I'm always just Catriona, I never bother with any other name cos I can't think of anything! I had a different name for posting on YouTube (not my own stuff, I don't know anything about that sort of thing, but replies to others), then wasn't on for ages, then made a new post on something & realised I had a different name! I'm on one of the Internet Movie Database boards at least twice a day, & when I started exchanging PMs with someone, they said, "Btw, what's your real name?" I couldn't believe it, but then I don't suppose Americans come across that name very much. God, they were embarrassed when I pointed out that that IS my name.

And I wasn't trying to imply that the British tennis forum would be unfriendly or anything, & of course on every forum there will be the twits. Well, not on my IMDb forum, we're all angelically wonderful, never a bitchy comment or nasty word! It's the only forum I've made any particular impression on, & I think I'm best known for my fan fiction, meticulous spelling, grammar & punctuation & sometimes unwittingly using Scottish words or expressions that no-one can understand, lol.

LadyTigress

Jac - dude, don't tell me about the drinking! It was her idea! *points* Shocked

No need to tell me about good ol' bt.net ... good friend of mine is one of the people who runs that site and I'd already got onto him as soon as I got back, he's now provided me with a stack of links to follow the boys' schedules. Sadly it seems that Challengers and Futures are such short notice that any trips will be very hectic to plan!

Oh... I miss the boys! I'm so up in arms right now about the fact that hardly anyone seems to get behind them or even support them!

Catriona · MY idea???

It was NOT, LT! Well, not entirely. Razz

Maybe better luck next time. Then again, we'd have had the advantage here because I'm a Glaswegian & would know where to go, unlike them. Well, perhaps Colin would, I don't know. Oh, missed opportunities. Well, if they return to Braehead, which John Lloyd says he'd like - oh no, they'll probably have Andy then, & he'd know his way about. Damn.

Well, we'll keep our eye on what's happening, that's for sure. All the GB boys have our full support. I'm just in from Brownies now & one of the girls was also at DC - I sold her the tickets I'd bought when LT told me she had other ones for us. We were talking about it & someone's dad overheard us. "Oh, was it not really rubbish without Andy Murray?" And my young friend got really fired up & went, "NO! In fact I think it was BETTER, cos we got to see other players that we don't usually see! And they were REALLY good, even if they lost!" Wow. You tell them, Kirsty!

LadyTigress

I'm already trying to plan how I can get down to Bath to see Chris play. Razz

Davis Cup, March 09

Too right!

All over now :(

The day after

Why???

Interesting...

Cheers!

No imagination

MY idea???